The Birds star Tippi Hedren speaks out about Alfred Hitchcock's alleged assault, harassment in the wake of the Weinstein allegations

The Birds and Marnie actress Tippi Hedren likened alleged sexual assault and harassment at the hands of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock to the actions of film mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is accused of harassing, assaulting, and raping women over a nearly three-decade period, The Daily Beast reports.

"Some of these men think they have a tremendous amount of power, and a great deal of money," said Hedren. "They think that they can get away with these antics. I feel kind of sorry for them actually. If that's what they have to do — to make people miserable to satisfy their own sexual needs — I think it's pretty disgusting."

In her memoir, Hedren alleges Hitchcock tried to kiss her while filming The Birds and at one point asked her to touch him. On the set of Marnie, Hedren claims Hitchcock grabbed her in a way that was "sexual, perverse, and ugly."

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"The whole crew knew," Hedren told The Daily Beast. "Those things were not covered up. They were out there and obvious. One person said, 'Tippi, I’m so sorry that you have to go through this.' I said, 'I am not going through anything' — meaning that the impression Hitchcock was giving on set was not what was happening in reality."

Hedren expressed pessimism about the industry: "As long as there is male and female this will go on for millennia," she predicted. "Men can't change, I don't think so. I hope they can. It would be awesome if they could. It would make life a lot easier for everyone." Read her full interview here.