UNITED STATES—On Wednesday, December 11, film producer Harvey Weinstein made a tentative settlement deal for $25 million to end accusations of sexual misconduct by more than 30 women.
In October 2017, news broke that Weinstein was responsible for sexually harassment, sexual abuse and rape during a 30 year time frame. Criminal investigations into complaints are ongoing in the cities of Los Angeles, New York City, and London. On May 25, 2018, Weinstein was arrested in New York where he was charged with rape and other offenses, but was later released on bail.
If approved by a judge, the settlement would not require Weinstein to either admit to wrongdoing or pay personally. The settlement money will not be coming from Weinstein himself, but the insurance companies that represent his old film company, The Weinstein Company. More than $12 million of the settlement will pay legal costs accrued by Weinstein and his associates.
Weinstein is still scheduled to face a criminal trial in New York in January 2020 on charges of sexually assaulting two other women. Weinstein was the head of Miramax and started
The Weinstein Company with his brother Bob. The Weinstein Company fired Harvey from the company in October 2017. The Board of Directors issued the following statement in response to Harvey’s firing:
“In light of the 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.
The New York Times broke the story Thursday, October 5 that several former associates of Weinstein allege to have been the targets of sexual harassment by the film producer and executive. Included in that list of accusers is actress Ashley Judd, “Scream” and “Charmed” star Rose McGowan and Italian model and actress Ambra Battilana. Battilana claimed that Weinstein assaulted her in March 2015 after he invited her to his Tribeca office under the premise of assisting her film career aspirations.
The New York City Police Department opened an investigation into the incident, but the case was closed when Weinstein agreed to make an undisclosed payment to Battilana. According to reports, over the course of his career, Weinstein has reportedly reached settlements with at least eight different women regarding claims of harassment.
The film producer has maintained his innocence. Weinstein’s exposure in 2017, led to the #MeToo movement were women shared their experiences of sexual harassment and rape in the corporate arena.
Written By Brenda De La Cruz and Casey Jacobs
