Actress Jennifer Lawrence has opened up about her relationship with Harvey Weinstein, describing him as a “brute”, a “dog” and “tough to negotiate with”.

However, she also said she had never thought of him as a rapist.

The Hollywood mogul has been accused by as many as 40 women of s**ual harassment or assault, including rape, in the US and the UK.

A criminal investigation and class action lawsuit are underway.

Weinstein denies any allegations of non-consensual s**.

Lawrence, who has acted in a number of films produced by Weinstein, spoke about her reaction to the scandal during an interview with Oprah Winfrey for The Hollywood Reporter.

She described the moment when the accusations against Weinstein first emerged: “There was this moment when all of this broke out and everybody was silent, and then all of a sudden, every actress’ Twitter was blowing up with, ‘You need to come forward and you need to say something and you need to condemn!’ Which is true: We do have a responsibility to say something; we’ve all worked with him, but everybody needed a moment.”

She added: “Just speaking for myself, I had known him since I was 20, and he had only ever been nice to me — except for the moments that he wasn’t, and then I called him an asshole, and we moved on.

He was paternal to me.

So I needed a moment to process everything because I thought I knew this guy, and then he’s being accused of rape.

We all knew he was a dog, we knew that he was a… tough guy, a brute, a tough guy to negotiate with.

I didn’t know that he was a rapist.

And it’s so widespread, the abuse, from so many different people — it’s directors, it’s producers — that I think everybody needed to [process it].

Everybody needs to deal with this in their own way; everybody needs to heal.”
Lawrence also spoke about a recording that allegedly features Weinstein pressuring a woman.

“I felt sick in my bones for an entire day.

I was just sick.

I was just like, ‘I can’t,’ after hearing that.

And that’s why it’s so important to talk about abuse, all of the different forms of abuse, because he didn’t lay a finger on her, and I felt chilled to my bones.

Imagine having a man who is that powerful telling you to do something [and] you’re saying no.

[He’s] threatening you, saying, “Don’t embarrass me.

We’re at this hotel.”
The actress called for greater social awareness and change: “Men need more social awareness.

But this comes down to equality, and until all women in every job are paid equally for the same amount of work, how are we ever going to be thought of as equals? As long as there is one group of humans that is overruling another one, there’s going to be abuse, [and] why would we be thought of as equals?”
Lawrence also highlighted her personal commitment to political activism: “My political passion has almost turned into an obsession.

I mean, I don’t think you ever do feel settled, [but] as soon as you feel settled with your home and your personal life, you’re looking at the world and going, ‘How in the hell do I fix this? What do we do?’”
She said that abuse was a universal problem: “I don’t know a woman who hasn’t been touched by some sort of abuse.

I’m sad by the women’s stories, but I’m excited by the change that’s going to come from it.

The rule book is being rewritten right now.

People are terrified.”
There have been calls for Weinstein to be stripped of his CBE and honorary degree from the University of Southampton. A number of actors, including Meryl Streep, have spoken out against him.

Streep has said that she was “appalled” by the allegations, but denied claims that she had known about Weinstein’s behaviour.

In a statement, she said: “The behaviour is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar.