Gilles Marini Claims: ‘I Became a Piece of Meat’ After ‘Sex and the City’

Hunky actor Gilles Marini became known internationally for his role in the first Sex and the City movie, where he played a lothario type character named Dante who at one point tries to woo Samantha (Kim Cattrall) over to his apartment.  Since that film, he claims that he has been approached by several powerful people in the industry who see him as a 'piece of meat', which he details in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE Magazine.  

“I was approached by extremely powerful people, especially after Sex and the City,” Gilles tells PEOPLE. “I became a piece of meat for many executives in Hollywood.”

Gilles made the comments as it relates to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, where more than fifty women now have accused the media mogul of some form of sexual harassment.  Kevin Spacey is the latest person in Hollywood who has also been accused, including an incident with Anthony Rapp where he allegedly made sexually unwanted advances against the Rent actor when he was only 14 years old.  

Gilles also explained that it is difficult for men to come forward about their own claims of sexual misconduct.   “I didn’t see many men use the hashtag #MeToo,” he said, in reference to the viral hashtag used by alleged abuse victims on social media. “And the reason is because it’s a stigma, it’s a shame, you lose your manhood.”

“When a young man is affected by being raped, or sexually harassed, or touched … you will never hear [about it] — but those people exist," Gilles added.

After he revealed that he was propositioned one too many times by Hollywood executives after Sex and the City, he said, " “I didn’t have to talk about it because I told them to their face that this is not going to fly, this is not who I am. … If this job entails me bending over, it’s not going to work for me.”

He also mentioned that sexual misconduct happens in all industries not just in Hollywood.   “No, it’s a worldwide thing,” Gilles said, adding, “And it involves women, but it also involve a lot of men. Those men will never come out, and it’s sad.”