Jane Fonda on Harvey Weinstein: 'I'm ashamed that I didn't say anything'

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Jane Fonda talked about her feelings concerning the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault controversy Thursday, stating that she should have shared what she knew about the producer sooner.

"I found out about Harvey about a year ago and I'm ashamed that I didn't say anything right then," the actress said during an interview with CNN.

"I guess it hadn't happened to me and so I didn't feel it was my place," she continued about why she stayed silent.

According to Fonda, she learned of Weinstein's behavior through Rosanna Arquette, one of 13 women who came forward saying the Hollywood mogul sexually harassed them in an article published in the New Yorker. The piece also featured 16 former and current executives sharing that they had seen or known about the reports of Weinstein's sexual advances.

"I'm glad it's coming out," Fonda added at the start of the interview. "I'm so proud of those fellow actors that are speaking up and I know that it's taken a long time. It's a very, very, very, hard thing to do. You don't get anything out of it as the person who has been victimized. But it's important that it come out."

Fonda also stated how she had been previously sexually abused in Hollywood, but not by Weinstein. "It happened to me. It has. I only met Harvey when I was old. And Harvey goes for young because that's more vulnerable. You know. But it's very, very common," the 79-year-old said.

In March, Fonda shared how she was raped and sexually abused as a child.

Fonda recently made headlines in October when she walked the runway during Paris Fashion Week alongside Helen Mirren.