Jason Priestley says he punched Harvey Weinstein in 1995, sparking career fears

Canadian actor Jason Priestley says he once punched Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in the face at an industry party, which raised fears about his career.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Private Eyes" actor shared his story on Twitter in response to a post about Mira Sorvino allegedly losing a role in "The Lord of the Rings" film series because of a smear campaign orchestrated by Weinstein.

Priestley, a native of Vancouver, says his run-in with Weinstein occurred at a Golden Globes party in 1995.

He says Weinstein ordered him to leave the party and then became aggressive even as Priestley obeyed.

Priestley says things were "getting heated" and that Weinstein grabbed his arm and asked him to go outside to talk about it.

He says he told Weinstein he wouldn't go anywhere with him and proceeded to push him and punch him in the face. He says he was then escorted out of the party.

Priestley says his management team subsequently stressed how powerful Weinstein was in the industry and "strongly advised" him to write an apology. Priestley did not say if he ever apologized.

"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson recently told the New Zealand news outlet Stuff that Weinstein's Miramax Films had called Sorvino and Ashley Judd "a nightmare" to work with and he thus didn't consider them for roles.

Sorvino said Weinstein targeted her after she turned down his advances.

Judd and Sorvino are among dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. A spokesperson for Weinstein disputed the account, saying Miramax was not involved in casting, which was handled by New Line. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

-- With files from The Associated Press.

Of course there is more to the story... ‘95 Golden Globes... at the Miramax Party... Harvey told me I had to leave... I was leaving when he grabbed me by the arm and said “ what are you doing?” I said “ you told me leave, I’m leaving”
— Jason Priestley (@Jason_Priestley) December 15, 2017

“I didn’t say you had to leave” he replied. “You just told me to leave... right over there” I tell him once again. Getting heated now. He then grabs me tighter and says “why don’t we go outside and talk about this”. That was all I needed to hear,
— Jason Priestley (@Jason_Priestley) December 15, 2017

“I’m not going anywhere with you” I said as I pushed him back and punched him with a right hand to his face. Suddenly, there were security guards pulling us apart and I was escorted out of the party...
— Jason Priestley (@Jason_Priestley) December 15, 2017

IDK about that @tarastrong... I know I never worked for Miramax... and boy was my team HORRIFIED when they heard about what I had done! Harvey was powerful, my team STRONGLY ADVISED me to write him an apology the next day...
— Jason Priestley (@Jason_Priestley) December 17, 2017

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