Harvey Weinstein, one of Hollywood’s most prominent producers and an executive at The Weinstein Company, reached eight previously undisclosed settlements with women over the past three decades, according to a new report published by the New York Times. Those allegations included unwanted physical contact and sexual harassment, according to the Times.
In a story published Thursday morning, the Times reports that those who reached settlements with Weinstein included a New York-based assistant in 1990, an actress in 1997, a London-based assistant in 1998, a Los Angeles-based employee in 2014, and an Italian model in 2015. The Times also included several comments from former and current employees who testified to knowing about Weinstein’s alleged inappropriate, often lewd actions while they worked for him.
“Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly,” said actress Ashley Judd, who claims Weinstein asked her if she wanted him to give her a massage or watch him shower two decades ago.
In a statement supplied to the Times, Weinstein said he was seeing therapists and planning to take some time off of work following the paper’s report. “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,” he said.
A lawyer for Weinstein, Lisa Bloom, did, however, claim several of the accusations were “patently false.” This won’t be the last time that Weinstein will respond to allegations of misconduct. A Hollywood Reporter story earlier this week claimed that NBC News correspondent Ronan Farrow is working with the New Yorker on a “lengthy” story about the film executive’s past.
