LOS ANGELES - The Hollywood establishment, slow to react to the initial sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, began speaking out against him more forcefully Monday after the powerful studio boss was fired by his own company.

Among the A-listers weighing in were his longtime allies and beneficiaries Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and director Kevin Smith. They spoke with a combination of disgust over his alleged behavior and remorse or defensiveness over their own business entanglements with him.

"He financed the first 14 years of my career," Smith, whose movies Clerks and Chasing Amy were produced by Weinstein, wrote on Twitter. "Now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed."

Weinstein, 65, was fired Sunday by the Weinstein Co, the studio he co-founded, three days after a New York Times expose alleged decades of crude sexual behavior toward female employees and actresses, including Ashley Judd. The Times said at least eight settlements had been reached with women.

Streep, who once called Weinstein "God" while accepting the Golden Globe for The Iron Lady, condemned his alleged conduct as "inexcusable" while also saying she did not know about it before.

"The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported," Streep said in a statement.

Stories of his behavior, she said, were not universally known in Hollywood.

"Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally," Streep continued. "If everybody knew, I don't believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it."

Dench, whose awards and nominations have been inextricably linked for two decades to Weinstein, said that she was "completely unaware" of the "horrifying" offenses.

AP

(China Daily USA 10/10/2017 page2)