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Harvey Weinstein is responding to Peter Jackson‘s belief that he was “fed false information” about Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino, leading him to not cast them in Lord Of The Rings.

Representatives for Harvey issued a statement on Friday (December 15): “Mr. Weinstein has nothing but the utmost respect for Peter Jackson. However, as Mr. Jackson will probably remember, because Disney would not finance the Lord of the Rings, Miramax lost the project and all casting was done by New Line. While Bob and Harvey Weinstein were executive producers of the film they had no input into the casting whatsoever,” the statement reads, via Entertainment Weekly.

“Secondly, until Ashley Judd wrote a piece for Variety two years ago, no one at the Company knew that she had a complaint and she was cast in two other films by Mr. Weinstein [Frida and Crossing Over] and Mira Sorvino was always considered for other films as well. There was no indication that Mira Sorvino had any issues until Mr. Weinstein read about the complaints in the news,” the statement continues.

“As recently as this year, Mira Sorvino called Mr. Weinstein and asked if her husband could be part of the SEAL television series [Six] he was producing and Mr. Weinstein cast him; when Christopher Backus received a better offer, Mr. Weinstein allowed him to amicably break his contact to peruse the opportunity.”

Peter Jackson is opening up about Harvey Weinstein, as well as realizing that he was led to believe false information about Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino.

The Lord Of The Rings director told Stuff that while in talks to produce Rings with Harvey‘s company Miramax, he expressed interest in casting both actresses.

“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” he said.

While he didn’t have reason to doubt the recommendation not to cast them at the time, he now feels it was likely a “smear campaign in full swing.”

“I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women – and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list,” he said.

Both Ashley and Mira have since responded on Twitter.

“Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying. There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick,” said Mira.

“I remember this well,” wrote Ashley while retweeting the story.

See their tweets below.

Time has named the #MeToo movement, or “the silence breakers,” as their Person of the Year for 2017. The #MeToo movement is a social media movement that shows just how many people have been the victim of sexual misconduct.

The magazine writes, “These silence breakers have started a revolution of refusal, gathering strength by the day, and in the past two months alone, their collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results: nearly every day, CEOs have been fired, moguls toppled, icons disgraced. In some cases, criminal charges have been brought.”

Many are quoted in the article, including Ashley Judd, who spoke out about Harvey Weinstein, and Taylor Swift, who came forward about a DJ who groped her during a photo opp.

“I figured that if he would be brazen enough to assault me under these risky circumstances,” Taylor told the magazine, “imagine what he might do to a vulnerable, young artist if given the chance.”

“I started talking about Harvey the minute that it happened,” Ashley said. “Literally, I exited that hotel room at the Peninsula Hotel in 1997 and came straight downstairs to the lobby, where my dad was waiting for me, because he happened to be in Los Angeles from Kentucky, visiting me on the set. And he could tell by my face�”to use his words�”that something devastating had happened to me. I told him. I told everyone.”

For more from these brave women, visit Time.com.

See the shortlist of other candidates for Person of the Year.

Ashley Judd is officially back to work on her new movie A Dog’s Way Home after she and other women spoke out to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment last month.

The 49-year-old actress was spotted filming new scenes for the drama – set for a 2018 release date – on Friday (November 17) in Vancouver, Canada.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Ashley Judd

She was joined by her co-stars Alexandra Shipp and Jonah Hauer-King.

Ashley sported a brown trench coat and looked pleased to be back on set with the cast and crew.

Ashley was instrumental in leading more than 60 other women to break their silence about Harvey‘s actions.

ICYMI, see what she most recently had to say about sexual abuse in the wake of the former film executive’s scandal.

Ashley Judd is speaking out about her experience with sexual assault from a young age.

The 49-year-old actress and activist, who was among one of the first to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, spoke about her past at the HOPE for Depression Research Foundation luncheon on Wednesday (November 8) in New York City.

“I was sexually abused the first time I was in second grade. And I’m a teller – Harvey knows that,” she told the audience. “I went straight to some adults and said, ‘This just happened, this guy molested me,’ and the adults said, ‘Oh, that’s not what he meant, he’s a nice old guy.’”

“There was another sexual assault I experienced when I was wearing a green and gold cheerleading uniform, which is all I know, which means I was in the 7th or 8th grade. This guy is a registered sex offender in a county that is contiguous to where I live in Tennessee, but I have no conscious memory of that assault whatsoever.”

In spite of her past traumas, Ashley believes that she is now “a living example of why there is hope.”

Ashley was honored with the HOPE award for Depression Advocacy during the event.

Ashley Judd has made her first official appearance since revealing she was one of the women harassed by Harvey Weinstein in a sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer.

The 49-year-old actress joined Jane Fonda, Julianna Margulies, Gloria Steinem, Judith Light, and Marisa Tomei at the Women’s Media Center 2017 Women’s Media Awards held at Capitale on Thursday (October 26) in New York City.

“I feel very special,” Ashley said in regards to being honored at the event (via E!). “I feel loved. I feel adored. I feel supported. I feel like I’m in [a] community.”

“And to the couple of women who came up to me today and gave me anonymous love letters, I’d like to say, this is for you,” Ashley added. “[I'd] been telling my story for a very long time. I was very forthcoming about my experiences all these years. And it was just the moment when I could be�”when The New York Times was willing to throw their venerable and considerable resources behind the investigative reporting of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohy�”who’s here tonight�”that everyone could hear the story.”

Ashley Judd is giving her first interview since revealing she was one of the women harassed by Harvey Weinstein.

During her first sit-down interview, Ashley was asked questions by Diane Sawyer about if there’s hope for him.

“I believe there is hope and help for everyone. It has to be the appropriate help. And there has to be a real profound understanding on the part of the sexual predator,” Ashley said.

She then was asked by Diane what she would say to Harvey right now.

“Her answer surprised us,” Diane‘s voice could be heard in voice over. “But she wants to make it clear that she’ll never forgive what he did to women. But something else comes from her deep faith.”

“What I would say to Harvey is, ‘I love you and understand you are sick and suffering. And there is help for a guy like you, too. And it’s entirely up to you to get that help,’” Ashley said. When Diane commented on the surprising nature of that answer, Ashley responded, “It’s just who I am…It’s an easier way to roll through the air than the alternative.”

Click inside to watch more from the interview…More Here! »