The Harvey Weinstein scandal, a searing account from Lupita Nyong'o. He wanted to take off his pants. I told him not to do that. It still makes me cry. She says she feared her future could be in jeopardy. Weinstein is a vicious sexual predator. You know that feeling of dread as the rollercoaster goes up. I was so uncomfortable. He told me not to be so naive. If I wanted to be an actress, then I had to be willing to do this sort of thing. When you are a woman of color. People believe in you less. He specifically went for the two of us. Two women of color. We are the easiest to get discredited. And I get this call from an unknown number. Don't ruin your friendship with me for five minutes. I'm everything, I'm a famous guy. You let down your guard. And then you're invited upstairs. I don't know whether I'm gonna survive it. In a statement, Weinstein via his reps, denies quote, "All of the sexual allegations." If he could discredit us he could then maybe discredit the rest. Why did you stay quiet for so long? When I was a teenager, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. My one prayer to God was that I would wake up lighter skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of a mirror because I wanted to see my fair face first. And every day, I experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as I had been the day before. My self-hate grew worse. All the imaginative things, the TV, the magazines, books I was reading, only had light skin, pale skin. And so it made me feel less worthy. And then, Alek Wek. She was dark as night. She was on all the runways. I couldn't believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me, as beautiful. When I saw Alek, I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. I didn't have that growing up. And I wanted to kind of use the pain that I felt for it to be my weapon. Lupita traveled alone to the US to become an actor, hoping to inspire young girls. But she had very little support. Ralph Fiennes and I had a conversation in which he asked me what I wanted to do. And I said, very timidly, that I wanted to be an actor. And he sighed, took in a deep breath and said, Lupita if there's anything else you wanna do with your life, do that instead. Only act if you feel like you can't live without it. Chasing her acting dreams, Lupita made the mistake of trusting movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein. Harvey invited her to his home to watch a screening with his family. But soon lured her into his bedroom. He asked me for a massage. He wanted to take off his pants. I told him not to do that and informed him that it would make me extremely uncomfortable. All the while I know your brain is going, How did it happen, yeah. She feared her future could be in jeopardy. I'd experienced this thing in isolation, and I didn't know how rampant it was. I thought it was just me. And, like many victims, you blame yourself. Haunted by what happened, she was too scared to speak up. And I get this call from an unknown number. And he says, this is Steve McQueen. I'd like to offer you the role of Patsey on "12 Years a Slave". From the minute Steve called me, until the minute I got on set, I was certain that he was going to call me and tell me he'd made a mistake. The doubt, it was always there. Then she got a life-changing letter from a little girl who reminded her of herself. Dear Lupita, it reads. I think you're really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia's Whitenicious Cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me. My heart bled a little when I read those words. Lupita felt ashamed for how long she had stayed silent. The whole thing, I had suppressed it, and it was just bubbling to the surface. I was so uncomfortable. And I had trouble sleeping the whole time I was doing "12 years a Slave". But it occurred to me as I was weeping in the night that my discomfort was temporary and Patsey's wasn't. And it still makes me cry. Lupita now realized the impact she had on others and she knew what she had to do next. I realized the shame is not mine to hold, the guilt isn't mine to hold. And so I wanted to speak up about it to free myself of the guilt. New developments tonight in the Harvey Weinstein scandal. A searing account from Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong'o. He only responded to two women. You and Lupita Yeah, two women of color. It was very strange to me that he responded to your op-ed. Harvey Weinstein is speaking out, addressing Salma Hayek and Lupita Nyong'o's accusations. In a statement, Weinstein, via his reps, denies quote, "All of the sexual allegations as portrayed by Salma and Lupita." He has not responded to accusations from Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, or Cara Delevingne. We are the easiest to get discredited. But the good news is that there's so many, because if there hadn't been so many, if he could discredit us, he could then maybe discredit the rest. I am benefiting from the efforts of a lot of other women who've come before me, who have had it a lot rougher than I have. More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. His trial seen as a watershed moment for the Me Too movement. Guilty of rape and criminal sexual assault. Once one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood, tonight Weinstein is now behind bars. Lupita discovered her true beauty. You can't rely on how you look to sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion. I had a woman come up to me in a store and she said, thank you for teaching me how to love my daughter. Through the experience of seeing me in magazines and talking about these issues, she learned that she was loving her daughter out of fear rather than like teaching her to love herself the way she was. So tell us about your children's book. You know, it's a mirror for dark skinned girls to see themselves. And so this children's book, "Sulwe", is a book that is hopefully a nugget of self-worth. And now she inspires people across the world to realize their own beauty too. You can affect and inspire other people without knowing it. You have a responsibility to humanity to play your bit. To find out what brings you joy, what gives you a sense of purpose, and pursue that. Because in pursuing that you will be able to contribute to the change that will make the world a better place. We all see ourselves better when we can see ourselves in someone else. And to think that I am that image for kids coming up is such a blessing and such an honor. So I hope that my presence on your screens and in magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty, but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. There is no shade in that beauty.
