Former "Beverly Hills, 90210" heartthrob Jason Priestley says he once punched Harvey Weinstein in the face after the mogul grabbed him by the arm during a Miramax party in 1995.
On Dec. 15, Mira Sorvino retweeted a story about how Harvey and his brother, Bob Weinstein, had allegedly unleashed a smear campaign against her and Ashley Judd, which resulted in the pair being "blacklisted" by Hollywood filmmakers, including Peter Jackson.
"Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying. There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I'm just heartsick," Mira tweeted.
The director told New Zealand's Stuff that he was advised by Miramax to avoid casting both actresses in "The Lord of the Rings."
"We had no reason to question what these guys were telling us," he explained, adding that "in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing."
"I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women — and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list," he continued.
Voice actress Tara Strong took to Twitter to reacted to Mira's tweet, writing, "Heartbreaking…. wouldn't be surprised if this happened to my good friend @Jason_Priestley who punched Weinstein in the face at a club one night. Go Jay."
That's when the actor chimed in to explain what happened.
"Of course there is more to the story… '95 Golden Globes… at the Miramax Party… Harvey told me I had to leave… I was leaving when he grabbed me by the arm and said 'what are you doing?' I said 'you told me leave, I'm leaving,'" Jason tweeted.
Continued the former teen idol, "'I didn't say you had to leave' he replied. 'You just told me to leave… right over there' I tell him once again. Getting heated now. He then grabs me tighter and says 'why don't we go outside and talk about this.' That was all I needed to hear. 'I'm not going anywhere with you' I said as I pushed him back and punched him with a right hand to his face. Suddenly, there were security guards pulling us apart and I was escorted out of the party…"
On Dec. 15, Harvey released a statement denying the smear campaign allegations.
"As Mr. Jackson will probably remember, because Disney would not finance the Lord of the Rings, Miramax lost the project and all casting was done by New Line," the statement claimed. "While Bob and Harvey Weinstein were executive producers of the film, they had no input into the casting whatsoever."
Since the October debut of a New York Times report detailing more than 30 years of Harvey's alleged sexual misconduct, more than 80 accusers — including Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale, Salma Hayek, Eva Green and many, many more women — have come forward with sexual harassment and assault allegations against the former Miramax studio head.