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The Chicks have spoken out about the time Harvey Weinstein was “abusive” to the directors of their documentary Shut Up And Sing.
The 2006 film followed the backlash against the country pop trio – who recently changed their name from Dixie Chicks in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests – after they criticised George W. Bush’s Iraq war in 2003.
Speaking in a new interview, The Chicks allege Weinstein – who produced the documentary – yelled at directors Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck because he wanted the film to have a happy ending, despite it feeling false.
“He was standing, screaming at them,” Martie Maguire told The Guardian. “We were all dumbfounded.”
Frontwoman Natalie Maines went on to describe the encounter as “one of the scariest meetings we’ve ever had,” and added that it was the source of her one regret in life.
“I really wish I could be back in that room and go: ‘Listen, motherfucker, don’t you talk to our directors like that’,” she explained. “I know first-hand how scary that man can be. He was definitely getting off on belittling them, because it was completely unnecessary and abusive.”
“Can you imagine if we had known back then that he didn’t have testicles? To have had that information!” she added, referring to a testimony made by of one the accusers in Weinstein’s sexual assault case.
In March, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to serve 23 years in a New York state prison for sexual assault and third-degree rape.
Elsewhere in the interview, The Chicks claimed that they were “used and abused” by the music industry, stating that even without the Bush backlash and being banned from radio, they estimate they would still have only had one more album in them after 2003.
“I feel like we were used and abused by everybody who wanted to see us do well, but also make money off us,” Maguire said. “We were really run ragged.”
Meanwhile, nine women in the entertainment industry have agreed to an $18.87million settlement over a class action suit against Harvey Weinstein, The Weinstein Company and several officers, directors and employees of the company.
The two law firms leading the civil case announced the settlement in a press release on June 30. The case, which was filed back in November 2017, alleged that Weinstein was a serial sexual harasser and abuser, and that his affiliated companies failed to prevent his actions.
The settlement was aided by the New York Attorney General, who in 2018 filed a separate lawsuit against The Weinstein Company and its founders over allegations of an unsafe work environment.
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