Salma Hayek claims Harvey Weinstein tried to ‘sink her film’ after turning down orders to be ‘sexier’
SALMA Hayek claims Harvey Weinstein ordered her to “be sexier” in his film, then boycotted her when she refused.
Oscar-nominated Salma — revealed this week as a possible witness against Weinstein at his sex-crimes trial — alleged the shamed Hollywood boss “tried to sink” her movie Frida.
Salma, who starred in and produced the 2002 biopic of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, says: “As the producer on that film he hindered me in every way.
“He tried to sink the film and I had to do my best to go along, despite all his absurd requests and wanting to rewrite it.
“He wanted me to be sexier, he asked me to thin my eyebrows.
“And after I had refused to do all those things, he boycotted me as revenge. Yet that film went on to earn six Oscar nominations and won two.”
Weinstein, whose trial on four counts of sexual assault started this week in the US, has previously been accused of threatening to kill Salma and forcing her to do lesbian scenes — allegations he has denied.
But Salma believes speaking out against powerful people such as Weinstein will help others.
She says: “It’s important that we’re starting to talk about the representation of women and minorities in the film industry.
“We couldn’t talk about that when I was starting out in the business or it could be very harmful to your reputation.”
‘HE PUT THE NEEDLE IN MY MOUTH AND I SAID NO’
Salma, 53, got married to billionaire French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, 57, in 2009. They have a daughter, Valentina, 12.
Now more confident than ever, she regularly posts photos on Instagram of herself looking sensational and has never resorted to surgery.
But today we can reveal how she was going to break her ban on Botox and lip fillers before pulling out at the last minute.
The actress was ready to undergo procedures to get the right look for her latest role as a glamorous cosmetic firm owner in the movie Like A Boss, which is released in the UK next month.
She says: “I wanted to do Botox and inject my lips, which I’ve never done. My friend, who is a dermatologist, said, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to be happy because it’s going to hurt super bad’.
“I said, ‘Well, let’s give it a try’.’’
“He put the first needle in my mouth and I immediately said, ‘No! Forget it! I’m done!’
“Injections into the face. Why? It’s so unnecessary and it doesn’t have the desired effect.
“It’s something you have to do for the rest of your life, more and more every time. I don’t look at things short term, I think of longevity.
“Listen, if there was something you could do that would keep you looking good, I would do it.
“But I’m in love with my husband, and I want to look like a lovely lady when I’m 70. I want him to see me and think, ‘OK. My girl is old now, but there’s still beauty there’.”
Instead of having lip injections, Salma wore an extra-large pair of fake teeth to accentuate her mouth for her role in the comedy movie.
She adds: “It became, ‘How do I make it look like I have lip injections?’ And we got these huge teeth. When you see the film, you’ll notice I had fake teeth.”
It’s not just cosmetic surgery the mum-of-one is against.
She says: “I don’t dye my hair because I am curious to see how I am going to look with this.
“I’m sure in the next movie they will say, ‘Sorry you will have to dye it’, but I am enjoying watching the grey hairs come.”
Salma insists her secret to looking young is surrounding herself with some of the best make-up artists in the business.
She jokes: “You don’t see my face in the morning or without the magic of talented make-up artists. You don’t see the effort.
“It’s all a show. All you have to do is peek behind it all to see reality.”
Mexican-born Salma adds: “I am lucky, I have Latin skin, it doesn’t age so fast. But I am also 53. If I wasn’t ageing, I am not alive, I am not human. You have to age — that’s part of life. It’s happening slowly but when I see the pictures of when I was younger, oh my God, I see it then. My face has changed. It’s gotten fuller and sags but I don’t think I’m doing so bad.”
And Salma, who played an erotic vampire queen in Quentin Tarantino’s 1996 action horror flick From Dusk Till Dawn, is pleased ageing is helping her shift away from being typecast as a sexy siren.
She says: “Sometimes with age you get better characters. I love to play the mother, and I’ll be excited to play the grandmother. How boring to play that sexy part for the rest of my life. I think I’d shoot myself.”
Though Salma admits she still loves to play the sexy role in her private life.
She and Francois-Henri spend much of their time living in London. They regularly feature in Britain’s rich lists. On how the pair keep their spark, Salma says: “Sex is not the key to a happy marriage, it’s a side-effect. But not every day. If it’s every day, it loses its charm.
More for older women
HOLLYWOOD bosses must start giving more roles to older women, Salma Hayek insists.
Her demand comes after critics claimed the nominations for last Sunday’s Golden Globes showed gender inequality.
Salma says: “Let’s talk action stars. Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are still working.
“In Hollywood, the only actress who’s working consistently at that age is Meryl Streep. I mean, whatever happened to Meg Ryan? I’ll tell you what happened, she turned 38 and that was the end of her.
“Hollywood doesn’t do programming for women.
“And yet women make 80 per cent of the decisions on how money is spent in the household.
“We are avid consumers, and there’s a lot of money to be made out of that market.
“The younger generation of women is working, making decisions and going to the movies more than ever before.”
‘IT’S LIBERATING TO MOVE IN THE WATER. I FIND IT SEXY’
“It’s so important to maintain your chemistry. You have to continue to laugh, explore, have fun with each other and have romance.
“A good marriage, full of love, is my biggest accomplishment. Home is where my husband is. He is home.
“Everything outside of the family nucleus is an adventure that you’re living together.” An unusual way the actress admits to “staying sexy” is through diving. She says: “It is the most sensual thing.
“It’s liberating to move in the water, to float, to observe things you cannot control, to be in touch with your breathing. I find that sexy.
“It might in the moment not look sexy, but this interaction with life makes you sexy.”
As well as being a wife, Salma insists her most important job is being a mum.
She says: “I’m the most embarrassing mother. Everything I do, ‘Oh Mum, why you do this? Mum, please stop! Why did you say that? Why are you wearing that?’
“I do not allow her a cell phone. It’s important they learn to wish for things that they cannot have. They have to wish for it for years until it is the right time. Everybody else in her classroom has a cell phone. I say I don’t care. I am very encouraging with the things she likes and I’m not too strict, but I am with the cell phone.
“You have to pick a few things to be strict for and then you have to let them be who they are and develop.
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“You have to let them show you who they are and then you have to adjust to who they are and try to be the best parent for that particular kid. It’s not the same for every kid.”
A spokesman for Weinstein said: “Mr Weinstein regards Salma Hayek as a first-class actress and happily cast her in several of his movies.
“He was proud of her Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Frida and continued to support her.”
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