Weinstein’s brother now facing claim of sexual harassment
THE younger brother of shamed film producer Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexually harassing a crew member of one of his television series, repeatedly attempting to persuade her to go out with him despite her repeated refusals.
Amanda Segel, who worked on ‘The Mist’, claimed in an interview with ‘Variety’ magazine that the harassment began in the summer of 2016, when Bob Weinstein asked her out for dinner.
She said she was told by colleagues that he had asked whether she was single, and during the dinner he inquired about her age – telling her he didn’t want to date anyone younger than his daughter.
An invite to a party at his home turned out to be just the two of them – she did not attend when she learnt, she said.
The 62-year-old continued to ask Ms Segel out to dinner, joking at times that he was her boss and could fire her if she didn’t agree, she claimed.
Ms Segel agreed to another dinner with him in which she was accompanied by the show’s executive producer and writer, Christian Torpe – something which she alleges Mr Weinstein was clearly unhappy about.
She said the repeated overtures from Mr Weinstein continued on and off for about three months, until her lawyer informed The Weinstein Company executives that she would leave the show if he did not stop contacting her on personal matters.
“‘No’ should be enough,” she told ‘Variety’. “After ‘no’, anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didn’t want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that ‘no’ is enough from now on.”
Mr Weinstein denied any improper behaviour.
“Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms Segel in LA in June 2016,” his lawyers said in a statement to ‘Variety’.
“He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most
‘He didn’t want a friendship. He wanted more’
unfortunate that any such claim has been made.”
Ms Segel’s accusations came as Mr Weinstein’s older brother resigned from the board of the company they founded in 2005.
Harvey Weinstein (65) was on Tuesday in rehab in Arizona, but dialled in to a meeting of The Weinstein Company board in Los Angeles. He was represented by his lawyer, Patricia Glaser.
He was fired from the company on October 8, but retained his seat on the board until Tuesday. It was unclear whether he would contest his removal from the company.
Bob Weinstein last week described his brother as a “sick and depraved” bully, and said Harvey Weinstein showed no remorse for his actions.