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Harvey Weinstein Reportedly Declared Actress Sophie Okonedo Unbangable, So He Didn’t Cast Her

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Michael Caton-Jones (right)
accused Harvey Weinstein of making a crude remark about Sophie Okonedo.
(Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File/David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images/Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

While many may find “After Earth” actress Sophie Okonedo easy on the eyes, fallen film executive Harvey Weinstein isn’t among them. The Miramax co-founder apparently didn’t think Okonedo was fit to star in his 1998 cult flick “B. Monkey.” And director Michael Caton-Jones may have the stunning reason why.

“Sophie Okonedo was not f—able and that was it,” he recalled Weinstein asserted, according to BuzzFeed News. “Find someone who is.” (Okonedo has not publicly commented on the claim).

Caton-Jones had been in charge of casting the lead actress in the thriller-drama and sorted through “100 or so” women. While searching for unknown starlets, he thought Okonedo, who currently stars in the London play, “The Goat,” would be a great fit.

Weinstein had other thoughts, however.

“Harvey kept saying to me, ‘Do you think she is f—able?’” Caton-Jones said of his meeting with the accused sexual assaulter. “That was what the deal was all the time. I said, ‘She is the best actress for the job, Harvey.’ And we started arguing about it. It was only when I said to Harvey, ‘Don’t screw up the casting of this film because you want to get laid,’ whereupon he went mental.”


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The two got into a heated argument and Caton-Jones ultimately ended up leaving the film. At the time, outlets reported the split was due to “creative differences.” Ultimately, Michael Radford directed “B. Monkey” and Italian actress Asia Argento took the lead role. She accused Weinstein of raping her in a Sunday, Oct. 15 tweet.

https://twitter.com/AsiaArgento/status/919565561725685760

Argento is the latest in a long list of Hollywood stars who have recently admitted to being sexually harassed, assaulted or abused by Weinstein.

“Anyone who didn’t know, didn’t want to know,” Caton-Jones staid. “It’s like Germany after the Second World War — I’ve never seen so many people not knowing anything. I certainly knew what was going on at the time. And everyone around us pretty much all knew what the score was.

“You only had to spend five minutes with Harvey to get the nature of the man. He didn’t particularly hide who he was.”

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