Actor Armie Hammer has praised women who have accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment as “brave”.
The executive behind Oscar winning hits such as The King’s Speech and Silver Linings Playbook was dismissed from the Weinstein Company, “in light of new information about misconduct”, the board of directors said.
The studio also launched an inquiry into allegations of harassment after a number of claims were made by women he had worked with.
Arriving at the BFI London Film Festival premiere of his new film Call Me By Your Name, Hammer praised them for speaking up, saying: “It doesn’t seem like people are that afraid, there is a lot of coverage going on and there have been a lot of people who have been really brave to come forward and admit some really hard things and I think all of those things need to be seen all the way through.”
The actor stars opposite Timothee Chalamet in the story about a summer romance between two young men in northern Italy.
While the duo initially fight their feelings for one another, Hammer said the film offers an important message about love and acceptance.
He said: “I think the speech that Michael Stuhlbarg (who plays Chalamet’s father) gives in this movie about acceptance and about accepting yourself and knowing yourself and loving yourself is something that every single human being on this planet could benefit from hearing.
“I feel like that speech should also be requisite watching for any and all parents.”
Call Me By Your Name is released in UK cinemas on October 27.
