In a sad end to a stellar entertainment career, Hollywood film mogul and frequent Democratic donor Harvey Weinstein has been terminated as co-chairman of The Weinstein Company.
Entertainment
On Sunday afternoon, the board of directors decided to oust the noted Hollywood executive after reports of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. The claims were sparked by an October 5th New York Times article detailing decades of sexual harassment. The board initially met on Thursday, then reconvened on Friday and announced an indefinite leave of absence by the mogul. However, as more charges came to light, they felt there was no other recourse but to remove him immediately.
“In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days…the directors of The Weinstein Company -— Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar — have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately,” a statement from the board of directors said.
The sexual misconduct charges were brought to public light last week by actress Ashley Judd, who announced that 20 years ago Weinstein invited her to the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel for what she expected to be a business breakfast meeting. Instead, he answered the door in a bathrobe and asked if he could give her a massage or if she could watch him shower.
“How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?” Judd said she remembers thinking.
Soon after Ms. Judd’s claims, more reports flooded in.
In 2014, Weinstein allegedly invited Emily Nestor, a temporary employee, to the same hotel and offered to boost her career if she accepted his sexual advances. The following year and again at the Peninsula, a female assistant said he harassed her into giving him a massage while he was naked, leaving her “crying and very distraught.”
“There is a toxic environment for women at this company,” Ms. O’Connor said in the letter, addressed to several executives at the Weinstein Company.
Additional reports include a claim from a TV news reporter regarding an incident from a decade ago in which Weinstein masturbated in front of her in a hallway at Cafe Socialista restaurant in New York, ejaculating into a potted plant. Writer and artist Liza Campbell also recounted how Weinstein once asked her to “jump in the bath” with him as she heard him disrobe after summoning her to his hotel room in the Savoy for what she believed was a business meeting.
According to The Times, Weinstein has reached at least 8 settlements with women over sexual harassment claims, including a young assistant in New York in 1990, an actress in 1997, an assistant in London in 1998, an Italian model in 2015 and Ms. O’Connor shortly thereafter.
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I am a 28 year old woman trying to make a living and a career. Harvey Weinstein is a 64 year old, world famous man and this is his company. The balance of power is me: 0, Harvey Weinstein: 10. – Lauren O’Connor
Entertainment
Since the scathing report from The New York Times, 3 members of the 9 member, all-male board of The Weinstein Co. have resigned. They include Dirk Ziff, Tim Sarnoff, and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, who joined the board when former Cablevision CEO (and close friend of Harvey Weinstein) James Dolan vacated his seat in June 2016. The company is now being run by Harvey’s brother and co-chairman Bob Weinstein alongside president/COO David Glasser.
In a statement to The Times late last week, Harvey Weinstein said: “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.”
Over the years, Weinstein donated heavily to Democrats, including the Hillary Clinton for President campaign and even provided former first daughter Malia Obama with a job interning at his company during the past year. In light of the charges, several prominent Democrats announced they will redirect any donations from Weinstein to charity.
After enduring his own set of sexual harassment charges, Donald Trump weighed in on Weinstein over the weekend with a snarky response.
“I’ve known Harvey Weinstein for a long time,” Trump told reporters on Saturday. “I’m not at all surprised to see it.”
For some reason I’m having trouble today signing into the site as a “member.” I’ve tried several times but no success. Truth is, it’s time for a new home computer (this one has served me well but it’s on its last leg)…so the problem is probably on my end. But I want to say Thank You DJ for posting this story. Apparently it’s been a “well-known OPEN secret” in Hollywood For DECADES. And yet, even now, when the story has finally been made public, Hollywood in general, as well as most “Liberal elites” including Dem politicians who have benefited monetarily from Harvey’s support remain mostly SILENT in speaking out against this SEXUAL PREDATOR of women. So the two major political parties in America are indeed filled with -and led by- all manner of pure FILTH. Vile and repugnant and corrupt and dangerous creatures. Bald-faced laying-azz HYPOCRITES. And we wonder how… Read more »