CIVIL RIGHTS PROBE ANNOUNCED OF WEINSTEIN COMPANY.
N.Y. attorney general seeks long list of documents
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a civil rights investigation on Monday into The Weinstein Co. following sexual harassment and assault allegations against its co-founder, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
On Monday, the attorney general’s Civil Rights Bureau sent a subpoena to the company seeking a long list of documents, including personnel files; criteria for hiring, promoting and firing; formal and informal complaints of sexual harassment or other discrimination based on gender or age; and records showing how such complaints were handled, according to a person who has seen the confidential subpoena and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The office is also seeking any documents and communications related to private out-ofcourt settlements struck with accusers, the person said.
The inquiry will also examine whether the company itself bears financial responsibility for any misconduct.
“No New Yorker should be forced to walk into a workplace ruled by sexual intimidation, harassment or fear,” said Schneiderman, a Democrat. “If sexual harassment or discrimination is pervasive at a company, we want to know.”
The New York City-based company fired Weinstein on Oct. 8 after The New York Times and The New Yorker exposed allegations of sexual assault and harassment spanning decades.
More than three dozen women, including Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, have publicly accused the entertainment mogul of abuse. Weinstein has denied allegations of nonconsensual sex.
A woman who answered the phone in The Weinstein Co.’s media relations office said the company had no comment on the subpoena or news of the investigation.
Police in Los Angeles, New York City and London are also investigating Harvey Weinstein over allegations of sex abuse in those cities.
The Oscar winner was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Producers Guild of America has started the process of expelling him.
ABC News says Ashley Judd will sit down with anchor Diane Sawyer for her first television interview since the actress-activist went public with allegations against Weinstein.
The interview will air Thursday on ABC News platforms including Good Morning America, World News Tonight with David Muir and Nightline.
Judd has described an incident two decades ago in which she said he invited her to his hotel room, greeted her wearing a bathrobe and asked if she would watch him shower.