Matt Damon has found himself at the centre of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, after a journalist claimed he helped have her 2004 investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct spiked.

The Wrap founder Sharon Waxman said she was working on an expose on Weinstein for The New York Times 13 years ago, but claims Damon and fellow actor Russell Crowe contacted her “directly” to deny the claims.

And she believes that led to her story being buried.

Actress Rose McGowan - who reportedly reached a settlement with Weinstein over unwanted sexual advances in 1997 - also pointed the finger at Ben Affleck, who worked with Damon and Weinstein on Good Will Hunting, and his brother Casey, who was accused of sexual harassment last year.

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"Hey @mattdamon what’s it like to be a spineless profiteer who stays silent?”she tweeted, adding, "Ben Affleck Casey Affleck, how’s your morning boys?"

Waxman had been investigating Fabrizio Lombardo, the Italian head of Weinstein’s company Miramax, after sources apparently told her that he knew nothing about films and was actually paid $400,000 between 2003 and 2004 to hook Weinstein up with women.

The journalist also said she’d found a woman in London who claimed she’d been paid off over an unwanted sexual incident with the Hollywood producer.

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But when Weinstein apparently got wind of her investigations, Waxman said her efforts were thwarted, and Damon, who had recently worked with the movie boss on The Brothers Grimm, and Crowe, who’d made Master and Commander with him, allegedly poured cold water over it.

"After intense pressure from Weinstein, which included having Matt Damon and Russell Crowe call me directly to vouch for Lombardo and unknown discussions well above my head at the Times, the story was gutted,” she wrote on The Wrap.

"I was told at the time that Weinstein had visited the newsroom in person to make his displeasure known. I knew he was a major advertiser in the Times, and that he was a powerful person overall.”

Actress Jessica Chastain, who worked alongside Damon in The Martian, branded the claims against her costar "heart shattering."

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Meanwhile, The New York Times has denied burying the story, with executive editor Dean Banquet stating: “I wasn’t here in 2004. But it is unimaginable to me that The Times killed a story because of pressure from Harvey Weinstein, who was and is an advertiser. After all, The Times is an institution that has published investigative reporting that caused our Chinese-language website to be blocked in China.”

Waxman’s direct editor, Jonathan Landman, also suggested that her story simply wasn’t strong enough.

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"The story we published last week took months of work by two experienced investigative reporters. It included the on-the-record accounts of numerous women who were harassed by Mr. Weinstein. It also included the fact that Mr. Weinstein paid settlements to keep women from talking,” he said.

“I’m sure Ms. Waxman believes she had a story. But if you read her own description, she did not have anything near what was revealed in our story. Mainly, she had an off-the-record account from one woman.”

Mirror Online has contacted reps for Matt Damon, Russell Crowe and Ben and Casey Affleck for comment.