Oliver Stone was one of the few people refusing to condemn Harvey Weinstein over the many allegations of serial sexual harassment and rape, but he hopped on the bandwagon after causing a stir on social media.
"I'm a believer that you wait until this thing gets to trial," he said at the Busan International Film Festival on Thursday. "I believe a man shouldn't be condemned by a vigilante system. It's not easy what he's going through, either. During that period he was a rival. I never did business with him and didn't really know him. I've heard horror stories on everyone in the business, so I'm not going to comment on gossip. I'll wait and see, which is the right thing to do."
Those words didn't sit too pretty with some of his fans online though, who took the director to task in some passionate tweets.
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View StoryFormer child actress Mara Wilson ("Matilda"), for example, tweeted, "How the f-ck are you going to believe in every shady conspiracy theory in the world but not believe MULTIPLE women?"
Hours later, Stone issued a followup statement on his Facebook page, saying he wasn't fully aware of the situation when he initially commented on it.
"I've been travelling for the last couple of days and wasn't aware of all the women who came out to support the original story in the New York Times," he wrote. "After looking at what has been reported in many publications over the last couple of days, I'm appalled and commend the courage of the women who've stepped forward to report sexual abuse or rape."
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View StoryHe also vowed to remove himself from the "Guantanamo" TV series he was working on with the Weinstein Company.
See more of the backlash below.
Hey. Fuck. You. Oliver Stone. Another toxic dinosaur like Schrader. pic.twitter.com/8xVKbdtgTv
@scottEweinberg
Oliver Stone is both a sociopathic defender of serial sexual predators & a shill for Putin. Cool. https://t.co/xyAxr2BTBQ
@anconl16
.@TheOliverStone You've just lost a fan for life. Maybe that doesn't mean much to you, but there it is. I can't watch your movies, now. https://t.co/OQ0G1qsVdW
@cmclymer
I give zero ZERO! fucks at what Oliver Stone thinks about HW. This is a man who has NEVER directed a film with a female lead.
@melsil
How the fuck are you going to believe in every shady conspiracy theory in the world but not believe MULTIPLE women https://t.co/KznVkDsWp5
@MaraWilson
Oliver Stone has issues with women? But I've seen all of his films and oh wait that's right I'm not surprised at all duh.
@DrewMcWeeny
The award for "the worst take on the Weinstein scandal" goes to Oliver Stone. https://t.co/ftTbwFjHVD
@pmm526
Then there's this asshole: Oliver Stone Refuses to Condemn Weinstein: 'It's Not Easy What He's Going Through' https://t.co/UaBQwIxfv1
@secupp
Oliver Stone - a man convinced of a vast intricate conspiracy to kill JFK - is taking the "wait and see" approach to Harvey accusations
@BittrScrptReadr