Lupita Nyong’o has said she spoke out with an allegation of sexual harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein because she “felt uncomfortable” about being silent.
The Oscar winner followed in the footsteps of several other actresses in October when she alleged that the “predator” had lured her into his room under false pretences when she was a drama student.
Nyong’o has now said that she felt she had to come forward in order to feel liberated, and that she “couldn’t sleep” as the scandal grew in pace.
She told industry magazine The Hollywood Reporter: “I felt uncomfortable in my silence, and I wanted to liberate myself from it and contribute to the discussion.
“That was just what I felt I needed to do, quite viscerally. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to get it out.”
Nyong’o, 34, said that she spent several days at her computer before showing what she written to her mother.
“I had to talk to her about it because it was something that we hadn’t talked about,” the 12 Years A Slave star said.
“She was really moved and very supportive.”
Nyong’o had written in The New York Times, the newspaper that published the initial bombshell report on Weinstein, that she was invited to his family home in Connecticut on the premise of watching a film shortly after they met in 2011.
In her article, she claimed that shortly after the screening started, he “insisted” that she follow him and she was led to his bedroom, where she said she felt pressured into giving him a massage after he offered her one.
Nyong’o told The Hollywood Reporter that when she and Weinstein met again at a restaurant, he allegedly invited her up to his private room.
She said that she told him: “With all due respect, I would not be able to sleep at night if I did what you are asking.”
Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.