Uma Thurman Accuses Harvey Weinstein Of Sexual Assault

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Actress Uma Thurman has accused embattled producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, in a shocking piece published by the New York Times Saturday.

In an interview with Times columnist Maureen Dowd, Thurman -- who starred in half-a-dozen Miramax films, including "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" volumes 1 and 2 -- detailed how Weinstein attacked her in a room at the Savoy Hotel in London following the success of "Pulp Fiction," which was released in 1994.

"It was such a bat to the head," Thurman told the Times. "He pushed me down. He tried to shove himself on me. He tried to expose himself. He did all kinds of unpleasant things. But he didn't actually put his back into it and force me. You're like an animal wriggling away, like a lizard. I was doing anything I could to get the train back on the track. My track. Not his track."

The following day he sent her roses.

"They were yellow," Thurman said. "And I opened the note like it was a soiled diaper and it just said, 'You have great instincts.'"

That same day, she returned to the hotel to confront him. She was taken to his room by a Weinstein assistant after he apologized over the phone and told her "we have so many projects together."

"If you do what you did to me to other people you will lose your career, your reputation and your family, I promise you," Thurman said she told Weinstein.

She later told a friend that Weinstein threatened her career if she spoke of the incident.

FULL COVERAGE: The Harvey Weinstein Fallout

In response to the allegations, a spokesperson for Weinstein acknowledged Weinstein "making a pass" at Thurman, but denied the sexual assault.

"Mr. Weinstein acknowledges making an awkward pass 25 years ago at Ms. Thurman in England after misreading her signals, after a flirtatious exchange in Paris for which he immediately apologized and deeply regrets," the statement obtained by CBS News read. "However, her claims about being physically assaulted are untrue. And this is the first time we've heard those details."

KCAL9's Cristy Fajardo reported Saturday that Weinstein is insisting he never touched Thurman. He said he misread her signales.

According to Dowd, Thurman alleges her former agency -- Creative Artists Agency – knowingly enabled Weinstein's predatory behavior.

In the article, Thurman also describes being sexually in New York City when she was 16 by a man who was 20 years older.

"I was ultimately compliant," Thurman told the Times. "I tried to say no, I cried, I did everything I could do. He told me the door was locked but I never ran over and tried the knob. When I got home, I remember I stood in front of the mirror and I looked at my hands and I was so mad at them for not being bloody or bruised. Something like that tunes the dial one way or another, right? You become more compliant or less compliant, and I think I became less compliant."

Also in the piece, Thurman also accuses director Quentin Tarantino of forcing Thurman to do a dangerous stunt driving scene for "Kill Bill" without a stunt driver. The raw footage, which the Times published, shows Thurman driving down a stretch of road and crashing violently into a tree.

"Quentin came in my trailer and didn't like to hear no, like any director," she told The Times. "He was furious because I'd cost them a lot of time. But I was scared. He said: 'I promise you the car is fine. It's a straight piece of road.'" He persuaded her to do it, and instructed: "'Hit 40 miles per hour or your hair won't blow the right way and I'll make you do it again.' But that was a deathbox that I was in. The seat wasn't screwed down properly. It was a sand road and it was not a straight road."

Fajardo reports her working relationship with Tarantino soured at this point and she felt he turned on her. She said it's taken Tarantino 15 years to turn over footage of the crash.

Last October, Thurman told "Access Hollywood" on the red carpet for her Broadway play "The Parisian Woman," that she was not ready to speak out just yet.

"I don't have a tiny soundbite for you, because I am not a child and I have learned that when I have spoken in anger, I usually regret the way I express myself," Thurman said. "So I've been waiting to feel less angry, and when I'm ready, I'll say what I have to say."

In November, she posted an image of herself on Instagram from one of the "Kill Bill" films, which cast her as the angry "Bride" seeking vengeance on her fellow assassins who tried to kill her and her unborn child.

The caption read, in part, "I said I was angry recently, and I have a few reasons, #metoo, in case you couldn't tell by the look on my face. I feel it's important to take your time, be fair, be exact, so… Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (Except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators – I'm glad it's going slowly – you don't deserve a bullet) – stay tuned."

There have been a flood of accusations from dozens of women accusing Weinstein of sexual misconduct since the Times first reported on the allegations in October. Weinstein has since been ousted from his company and kicked out of several Hollywood organizations. HIs wife also left him. Several law enforcement agencies worldwide are investigating the allegations. Variety reports that, as of Saturday, nine women have accused Weinstein of 14 incidents of sexual misconduct just outside the U.S.