Winona Ryder Says Sexual Harassment ‘Soured’ Passion for Making Movies

Winona Ryder opened up about her experiences in Hollywood during a cover story with Esquire published Thursday. During the interview, the iconic Heathers actress discussed how sexual harassment she faced in her 20s and 30s had “soured” the passion she had to make movies.

“I had a couple of difficult experiences with a couple of people who were just blatantly sexually harassing me,” Ryder told the magazine. “It wasn’t an assault. But it was incredibly inappropriate. It was wild. I really understand [what the victims of Weinstein and others went through]. I was lucky because I was known, so it didn’t happen as much as maybe it would if I had been a struggling actor. But I remember this feeling in your mind: you’re negotiating, you’re thinking about what’s going to happen if you say something. You’re working it out while this person is being extremely creepy.”

Ryder said she realized how wrong the situation was when she talked about her experiences with her Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-star Jenna Ortega, per Esquire. She declined to name the people who allegedly harassed her.

“If someone was being inappropriate or drunkenly hitting on me it was like, ‘Ha ha!’. You kind of do that,” Ryder said. “‘Ha ha!’ Inappropriate? I dealt with that. But touching me? It felt very invasive,” she added. “I think in retrospect, it really soured [her on making movies]. All the great actors always told me that when it stops being amazing, you gotta get out. I really took that to heart.”

Ryder also recalled feeling that she was blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein’s company Miramax for angering the now-disgraced producer. “I went to the Miramax office and I extended my hand and he shook my hand and I sat on the couch and we had a conversation and I left,” Ryder told the magazine. “And [afterwards] I got like screamed at [by an agent]. ‘What the fuck did you do?’ I was like, ‘What?’ Apparently, I offended him because I extended my hand?”

The reporter asked if she felt Weinstein was expecting something else. “I guess,” Ryder replied.

“I think I knew a little bit too much,” Ryder said. “He did not like me.”

Ryder is reprising her role as Lydia Deetz in the Tim Burton-directed Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which releases this weekend. Along with new characters played by Ortega and Willem Dafoe, Michael Keaton is returning as his famed titular demon character, while Catherine O’Hara is coming back as Delia Deetz.