Lupita Nyong’o on Why She Wrote Her Weinstein Essay: ‘I Needed to Get It Out’

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In October, Lupita Nyong’o wrote an essay for the New York Times detailing her sexual harassment at the hands of Harvey Weinstein. She was the latest in a string of high-profile actresses to tell the Times their experience with the former studio head, and the first of Weinstein’s nonwhite accusers. Weinstein invited her to watch a movie at his home, and lured her into his bedroom asking her for a massage, she wrote, and later invited her to dinner near his office, suggesting she sleep with him to further her career. Now in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning actress explained her decision to make her account public. “I felt uncomfortable in my silence, and I wanted to liberate myself from it and contribute to the discussion,” she told THR. “That was just what I felt I needed to do, quite viscerally. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to get it out.” Nyong’o said she wrote a draft alone over several days, and then let her mother read it. “I had to talk to her about it because it was something that we hadn’t talked about. She was really moved and very supportive.” When Nyong’o’s essay was published, Weinstein denied the allegations, saying he had a different recollection of their encounters.