Gwyneth Paltrow said that she was "really scared" when it came to helping a pair of reporters in their investigation against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, but her teen daughter inspired her to participate.
Paltrow opened up on TODAY Thursday about her role in assisting New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who initially broke the story of allegations of sexual abuse by Weinstein.
In their new book, "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement," the two write about Paltrow's invaluable help in reaching out to women who had stories of alleged abuse by Weinstein.
"I was really scared,'' Paltrow told Savannah Guthrie. "I think society had shown us only basically examples where women coming forward ended up not being advantageous for the women. But I really felt like it was time."
Paltrow had starred in several movies produced by Weinstein, including the 1998 film "Shakespeare in Love," for which she won an Oscar.
Working behind the scenes to connect the reporters with women who had allegations of abuse against Weinstein came at considerable risk to her career. Paltrow said her daughter, Apple, 15, served as an inspiration to help her move the story forward.
"I think also having a teenage daughter that's the love of my life and worrying about her going into the workplace and feeling like, if there was ever a chance that there could be a cultural shift on this stuff, I wanted to participate in it,'' she said. "I never could've imagined that collectively a shift this seismic would happen, but I feel proud that I have a small part in it."
Twohey spoke on TODAY earlier this month about a particularly fraught moment for Paltrow.
"She was actually one of the first people to get on the phone, and she was determined to help this investigation, even when Harvey Weinstein showed up to a party at her house early, and she was sort of forced to hide in the bathroom,'' Twohey said.
"That was a surreal moment in the whole story for sure,'' Paltrow said on Thursday.
Paltrow, who stars in the new show "The Politician" on Netflix, also talked about transitioning from acting as her primary focus to being an entrepreneur and creator of the lifestyle brand Goop.
"I was talking to Laura Dern the other day and she said, 'Do you remember when you were like 25, you were sitting on the porch and you said, 'I think I want to go into business one day,''' Paltrow said. "I had no recollection of it, but she said that I was eyeing it even then, which is so strange."