Movies

Harvey Weinstein reportedly reaches $44 million settlement with his alleged victims


Harvey Weinstein has reached a $44 million settlement deal to compensate his alleged victims of sexual misconduct according to reports.

As first reported in the Wall Street Journal, the tentative deal has been reached with his accusers, the board members of his former film studio and the attorney general’s office in New York.

Last year, Weinstein was indicted on a series of rape and criminal sex charges by multiple women, allegations he “unequivocally denies.”

The film producer was also sacked from the board of The Weinstein Company, the company he co-founded, following a series of sexual harassment accusations, some of which date back decades. The company filed for bankruptcy in light of the growing number of allegations and Weinstein was later expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

More than 15 lawsuits were filed accusing Weinstein or his company Weinstein & Co of misconduct. The reported settlement would cover many of these.

Weinstein still faces criminal charges of rape and performing a forcible sex act. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Aaccording to the Associated Press, Adam Harris, a lawyer for studio co-founder Bob Weinstein told a bankruptcy judge in New York yesterday (May 24) that “an economic agreement in principal” had been reached. The exact amount of the settlement was not detailed.

Harvey Weinstein and his attorney Ben Brafman

Harvey Weinstein and his attorney Ben Brafman

Last year, a lawyer who filed a class action suit against the disgraced movie mogul, said there could be up to a thousand alleged victims. Elizabeth Fegan told Sky News: “I think we are talking about hundreds [of women], I think it could be near a thousand.”

She continued: “I think that based on what we know, and what has already been made public, at least 150 women have come forward in some way.

“On top of that we have employees who said that there were women in his office three times a week, where they would have to go in his office and clean up after him, knowing that he had just done something.

“So if you’re talking about three times a week at least for all the number of years he’s been in power at Miramax and the Weinstein company, that’s a lot of women.”

Fegan added: “When you look at how long this went on, we’ve talked to women that started with him in 1979 at Miramax, women through the 80s. This was every day behaviour. He was a bully and he was a predator.”



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