German actress details sex abuse in response to Weinstein scandal

A German actress has spoken out about sexual abuse in her country's entertainment industry after a series of women came out against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein following decades of alleged sexual assault.

Nina Brandhoff, who has acted in a series of German TV shows including SOKO Muenchen and Die Rosenheim-Cops, told Spiegel magazine that she had experienced abuse at the hands of a director who had exposed her breasts and put his tongue inside a female colleague's ear.

"Everyone is aware of it," she said. "But no one says anything, because the show is too important to them."

Brandhoff also told Spiegel about an audition during which another director, in offering her a role, had told her that he would like to "take your breasts out of your shirt and play with them."

In its report the magazine claimed that, in the wake of the Weinstein allegations, dozens of women had contacted Spiegel to report sexual abuse by people in the German entertainment industry but that all of them had wanted to remain anonymous.

The Weinstein Company forced Weinstein into a leave of absence earlier this month after reports said that the producer had paid off at least eight women who claimed he had sexually assaulted them.

Since then, a steady stream of women, including Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan, has continued to level allegations against him.