Harvey Weinstein Terminated From Own Company After Sexual Harassment Allegations
LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Harvey Weinstein has been fired from his own company, days after an explosive exposé revealing decades of sexual harassment against women, from employees to actress Ashley Judd, was published in The New York Times.
The Weinstein Co. board of directors announced Sunday that Weinstein had been terminated, effective immediately.
The Times article, published Thursday, includes first person accounts of Weinstein's alleged conduct, including from Judd, who recounts an incident from two decades ago in which she said she was asked to meet Weinstein in his hotel room. Weinstein greeted her wearing a bathrobe and asked her if she would give him a massage or watch him shower, the paper reported.
"Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it's simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly," Judd told the Times.
Two company officials told the Times that at least eight women have received settlements from Weinstein over the years, including actress Rose McGowan, who allegedly had an incident with him in 1997 when she was 23.
"The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein," Weinstein's attorney Charles J. Harder said in a statement Thursday. "It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses. We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women's organizations."
Weinstein on Thursday issued a statement that read in part: "I came of age in the '60s and '70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then. "I have since learned it's not an excuse, in the office — or out of it. To anyone. I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person, and my interactions with the people I work with have changed. I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it."
Weinstein had a powerful perch in Hollywood for three decades, and was known for producing films like "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love," for which he won an Oscar, and launching careers of actresses and directors with his company Miramax, which he ran with his brother Bob Weinstein. In 2005, they launched a new production company, The Weinstein Company. His often aggressive tactics were chronicled in the Peter Biskind book "Down and Dirty Pictures."
Weinstein has been married to designer Georgina Chapman since 2007, they have two children together. He has three children from his previous marriage.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
