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Salma Hayek accuses Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment: 'For years, he was my monster'

Salma Hayek is the latest Hollywood star to come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against fallen movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

In a guest column for The New York Times Wednesday, the actress claims she said no to a list of unwanted advances from the producer when they worked together on the 2002 film Frida.

"No to me taking a shower with him. No to letting him watch me take a shower. No to letting him give me a massage. No to letting a naked friend of his give me a massage. No to letting him give me oral sex. No to my getting naked with another woman," she writes.

She also claims the producer once threatened to kill her following one of her refusals, and verbally insulted her on set.

Related: Meryl Streep slams Harvey Weinstein's alleged behavior

More: In the wake of Harvey Weinstein, film Academy issues new code of conduct

In the article, Hayek describes her excitement when she first signed a deal with Weinstein for the project, a biopic of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo — but also recounts her efforts to get herself and her film out of his company.

"I had to resort to using lawyers, not by pursuing a sexual harassment case, but by claiming 'bad faith,' as I had worked so hard on a movie that he was not intending to make or sell back to me," she writes.

She claims Weinstein gave her a list of "impossible tasks with a tight deadline" in order to "clear himself legally," but was able to meet his demands.

Once filming began, she claims the sexual harassment stopped but the rage escalated and demands continued.

"He would let me finish the film if I agreed to do a sex scene with another woman," she writes. "And he demanded full-frontal nudity."

Hayek says she gave in to his request, but struggled to film the scene.

"My body began to shake uncontrollably, my breath was short and I began to cry and cry," she writes. "It was not because I would be naked with another woman. It was because I would be naked with her for Harvey Weinstein... I had to take a tranquilizer, which eventually stopped the crying but made the vomiting worse."

Hayek also says she wonders if her friendship with Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney had "saved (her) from being raped."

Interactive graphic: The Harvey Weinstein effect

In the article, Hayek also explains why it took her this long to come forward.

"I hid from the responsibility to speak out with the excuse that enough people were already involved in shining a light on my monster," she wrote. "In reality, I was trying to save myself the challenge of explaining several things to my loved ones."

USA TODAY has reached out to Weinstein's representatives for comment.

If you have ever experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct while working in the entertainment industry, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a secure tip using the instructions at newstips.usatoday.com.

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