Ellen Barkin hits back at Terry Gilliam as he calls #MeToo movement 'mob rule'

Actress Ellen Barkin hit back at Hollywood director Terry Gilliam after he said the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault has morphed into "mob rule."

The 63-year-old actress took to Twitter to write: "My hard-won advice: never get into an elevator alone with Terry Gilliam." She went on to write that according to Gilliam, Harvey Weinstein was exposed as an alleged serial sexual predator "'because he is an asshole and made a lot of enemies,' not because he molested or raped over 80" women.

"What is it you are defending when you attack a movement whose goal is to keep women safe?" she wrote. Also Read: #MeToo on-ramp: Models as angels, men as pigs at New York Fashion Week

This, after Barkin, worked with Gilliam in the 1998 film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

Gilliam's statement became an issue on Friday when he ridiculed the #MeToo movement.

Speaking to AFP, Gilliam said that the reaction against the wave of sexual abuse and harassment revelations had become ugly and "simplistic... people are frightened to say things, to think things." He added: "I know enough girls who were in Harvey's suites who were not victims and walked out."

"It's like when mob rule takes over," Gilliam said.