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An ‘Empire’ Actress Admits She Went To Harvey Weinstein’s Hotel Room Because She Was ‘Desperate’

It was a low point.

Most women coming forward with horror stories about their experiences with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein have claimed to have unknowingly been put in situations that ultimately led to their allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault against him. One actress has shifted that narrative after revealing that she completely disregarded previous warnings about Weinstein’s questionable behavior and went to his hotel room despite them.

Get more on TIME's "Silence Breakers" Person of the Year feature with BET Breaks, above.

Empire star Kaitlin Doubleday revealed that she’d been in contact with Weinstein after meeting him in New York in 2009 during a candid post on TheHollywoodReporter.com. After exchanging numbers and developing a rapport, Doubleday wrote, “It was an insanely huge carrot dangling in front of me. I desperately wished for Harvey’s intentions to be pure. I wanted to believe he was just recognizing the talent I saw within myself.”

(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly)

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly

(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly)

Doubleday claimed that she made a joke about not coming up to Weinstein’s room after meeting up for drinks at a Beverly Hills restaurant. The actress claims she was invited to his room to help with an ending on the film version of the musical Nine. Despite warnings of Weinstein’s reputation as a sexual harasser from her manager, Doubleday said, “ I didn’t want to go. I knew what he was doing. I had prepared myself for this moment, but still, I went… Now the world knows what happens when Harvey Weinstein invites you to his hotel room.”

While she didn’t go into too much detail on what happened in Weinstein’s hotel room, Doubleday did compare her experience to Ashley Judd. Judd accused Weinstein of greeting her in a robe, asking if she could watch him shower as well as a massage.

Offering insight into how societal norms subconsciously influenced her decision, Doubleday added, “I went up to that hotel room because I’ve been groomed by the world, by the industry and by people’s expectations that an aspiring young woman can achieve success only with the help of a powerful man.”

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