According to a new report from BuzzFeed News, Harvey Weinstein showed up Wednesday night at the Downtime Bar in Lower Manhattan to watch an event supporting young artists; the evening’s performers did not hold back in calling out the disgraced Hollywood mogul who is set to stand trial in New York this January over rape allegations.
Said the report, “Weinstein turned up with an entourage to watch Actor’s Hour, a monthly event ‘dedicated to artists’ at the Downtime bar in the Lower East Side.” His appearance resulted in an angry woman comedian getting booed and two attendees being thrown out of the bar after they protested his appearance. See video from the encounter below.
Comedian Kelly Bachman called out Weinstein onstage, deeming him “the elephant in the room” and “Freddie Krueger” during her set. “I didn’t know we had to bring our own Mace and rape whistles to Actor’s Hour,” Bachman later posted on Instagram. See below.
Weinstein has kept a low profile since multiple accusations detailing his repeated sexual harassment of women began to emerge in fall 2017. “I’m comfortable enough to talk about my experience, but when I’m sitting in the room with a monster that people are supporting, it just sucked the air out of my chest,” Bachman said to BuzzFeed News.
“It kind of felt like old-school Harvey to me — having his own table in a Lower East Side bar, surrounded by actors,” Bachman said in the interview with BuzzFeed.
Another performer, 21-year-old Zoe Stuckless, who uses they/them pronouns, said they saw Weinstein enter the venue using a walker. “As his little booth filled out, his demeanor changed. And it became really apparent that it was who we thought he was,” they told BuzzFeed.
According to the report, another comedian in attendance, Andrew B. Silas, tried to speak his mind as well. “Who in this room produced ‘Good Will Hunting’? ‘Cause that shit was great.”
Per the BuzzFeed story, “Shortly before performing, one of the show’s organizers asked performers not to mention Weinstein’s presence. Silas said he did not mean for his ‘Good Will Hunting’ crack to support Weinstein and instead was intended to play off and remind people of Bachman’s earlier joke.”
“So many women have suffered so greatly because of their experiences with this man, and there were no repercussions,” Stuckless told BuzzFeed. “And, in fact, he was being supported — and the community meant to uplift emerging actors and emerging artists was not only complicit but directly responsible for their silencing.”
As revealed in the YouTube video below, Stuckless attempted to confront Weinstein. “Weinstein placed his elbows on the table while another man next to him was heard speaking to Stuckless. They said the man accompanying Weinstein told them it was none of their business and that they had no right to ask,” wrote BuzzFeed’s Amber Jamieson.
Despite Stuckless’ repeated protests, they were then escorted out of the venue. “This guy was leading me out the stairs, just repeating ‘due process, due process’ to me,” said Stuckless, who could not ascertain whether or not their escort was employed by the bar.
The BuzzFeed story noted that the Downtime Bar’s Facebook page labeled Stuckless as a heckler: “Shortly into the evening, one guest began heckling another, causing a disturbance to everyone in attendance. After several requests to stop were ignored, we kindly asked the heckler to leave.”
According to the story, performer Amber Rollo also confronted Weinstein and his companions. “You’re a fucking monster. What are you doing out here? Fuck you.” One of Weinstein’s companions allegedly called Rollo a “cunt.” According to Actor’s Hour organizer Alexandra Laliberte, this is not the first time Weinstein has made an appearance at one of their events.
“I welcome all walks of life into my space,” she told BuzzFeed. “I protect them by freedom of speech.”
IndieWire has reached out to those involved as well as Weinstein’s representatives.
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