Berry, Henson ex-manager will close agency after accusations of sexual harassment

VINCENT Cirrincione, who helped propel Halle Berry and Taraji Henson to Hollywood stardom, shut his management agency on Monday following allegations that he sexually harassed aspiring black actresses over a period of two decades.

Cirrincione, 70, read a statement to The Washington Post saying that he made the decision to close after 40 years in business to protect the careers of the two dozen actors and actresses he represented.

“It is with incredibly great sadness at this time that I believe it’s in the best interest of all my actors and actresses that I represent to close my management company,” Cirrincione said. “This business is hard enough, and I don’t want to distract in any way from their careers or opportunities in the entertainment field. I wish all my clients the very best in all their endeavours.”

Cirrincione’s decision to shutter Vincent Cirrincione Associates comes amid 12 new allegations of sexual misconduct against the Hollywood manager.

The Post reported last week that nine women of colour accused Cirrincione of dangling Berry’s and Henson’s names and achievements before them as he pressed them for sex.

The nine women said Cirrincione, who is white, used his role as a gatekeeper for black actresses in a fiercely competitive industry to prey upon young women of color seeking an entry in Hollywood.

They alleged that Cirrincione pushed for sex as a condition for representing them, and that he did not take them on when they refused. Those he did work with say he made regular requests for sex, at times masturbating in front of one woman during their meetings in his office.

The Post has since heard from 12 additional women, three of whom are white, who allege that Cirrincione made sexually inappropriate advances toward them, as well. The new accusations, dating back to New York in 1989, come from women who auditioned for him and those he represented, as well as from one of his former employees.

Notified of the new allegations, Cirrincione said, “I apologise for my bad behaviour. It was never my intention to disrespect anyone.”

He said last week that he accepts responsibility for pursuing sexual relationships but denies allegations that he sought sexual favours in exchange for representing actresses. He apologised to the women but characterised all of his interactions with them as “consensual.”

Barbara Stark, a former agent-turned-manager who said she worked with Cirrincione for more than three decades, called his behaviour toward women “absolutely unconscionable” and questioned how consensual any of the interactions could be.

“It’s not a two-way street,” she said. “When these men say it’s consensual, it’s really not an even road because the pseudo power lies with the one behind the desk.”

‘If there’s nine, there’s 90’

Stark said she met Cirrincione in New York in the 1980s when she was an agent and worked in his Los Angeles office as a manager for about five years in the 1990s representing lowerprofile clients.

She said that Cirrincione always treated her professionally — “nothing but a gentleman” — and that she witnessed him working hard for Berry and Henson at a time when “it was hard to get a black actress on anything.” But she said she left his company because of the “climate in that office.”

“If there’s nine, there’s 90,” Stark said, “because it’s been going on many, many years. But it’s the climate of Hollywood. Actresses were going in and out of his office all day long, every hour. I and other employees would just get totally disgusted. We all knew what was going on.”

She said she never spoke with Cirrincione about his behaviour. “It was not my job to supervise him,” Stark said. “I wasn’t brave enough to say anything.’’

Cirrincione did not dispute Stark’s account. —