American actor Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that having a teenage daughter motivated her to push past her fears and speak up against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The actor said that she only thought about her daughter Apple when she decided to open up about her sexual harassment allegations against the disgraced movie mogul, reported People.
The 'Avengers' actor recently appeared on the Today show to promote her Netflix series 'The Politician' and said that she was scared to come forward but ultimately thought of her 15-year-old Apple and felt the need to speak up.
"I was really scared. I think society had shown us only basically examples where women coming forward ended up not being advantageous for the woman but I really felt like it was time," Paltrow said of her decision to speak up.
"I think also having a teenage daughter that's the love of my life, and worrying about her going into the workplace and feeling like if there was ever a chance that there could be a cultural shift on this stuff, I wanted to participate in," she added.
Paltrow also went on to say that she feels "proud" of serving a small part in the movement.
"I never could have imagined that collectively a shift this seismic would happen, but I feel proud that I have a small part in it," she said.
Paltrow shares Apple and 13-year-old son Moses with ex-husband Chris Martin.
The 'Iron Man' actor was one of the first women to speak on the record in 2017 about Weinstein, who she accused of sexually harassing her in a hotel room when she was 22 years old.
Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who first broke the story, appeared on the show earlier this month to speak about their new book 'She Said' recounting their investigation that played a role in his downfall and how it gave rise to the #MeToo and Time's Up movements.
The two women helped publish the accusations of assault, with Paltrow, Ashley Judd, and Angelina Jolie among the first actors to publicly speak out.
"Gwyneth was actually one of the first people to get on the phone and that she was determined to help this investigation, even when Harvey Weinstein showed up to a party at her house early and she was sort of forced to hide in the bathroom," Twohey previously said on the Today show.
In the New York Times report from October 2017, Paltrow said that the movie mogul sexually harassed her in a hotel room after he hired her for the lead role in 'Emma' when she was 22. The horrifying encounter ended with Weinstein placing his hands on her and suggesting a massage.
In March, Weinstein had reached a tentative USD 44 million agreement to resolve lawsuits filed by women who accused him of sexual misconduct and board members of his former movie company.
He is set to go to trial in January 2020 for charges of rape and predatory sexual assault based on the accusations of two women. He has denied all the allegations levelled against him.
( With inputs from ANI )