There are many Weinsteins in Hollywood, says Priyanka Chopra

Los Angeles: Actor Priyanka Chopra has said that people like Harvey Weinstein are not an anomaly to Hollywood, saying women are sexually harassed at the hands of powerful men everywhere.

The 35-year-old actor said that this behaviour was not the result of sexual gratification needs, but about having control over people, reported Marie Claire.

“I don’t think there’s ‘a’ Weinstein. I don’t even think there’s one Weinstein in Hollywood. There are a lot more men, and not just in India, but everywhere else. Just men trying to take away power (from women).

“It is not about sex, it is about power. About putting a woman in ‘her lane.’ For the longest time women have been told only one of us will
survive. Only the best girl will get the job. But that just can’t be tolerated anymore,” Priyanka told Anne Fulewider in a discussion at 2017 Marie Claire Power Trip.

The Quantico star compared the film industry to a “big boys’ club”, where women always live with the fear that one wrong move can cost them their career.

“In our business, if you don’t stroke someone’s ego, or network, you’re threatened that you’ll not get that movie. Or this ‘big boys club’ will get together and boycott you.”

“So, as a woman you feel alone, that my work might get shattered, because this club can just take that away. It’s an isolating feeling. The easiest thing to take away from a woman is her work,” she said.

Priyanka added women have been told that femininity is a weakness since time immemorial and there cannot be a bigger myth.

“So what if I’m in heels? So what if I wear a dress? We’ve been told our femininity is our weakness, but it is not. We can be compassionate. We can be tough. When you open your mouth, you deliver,” she said.