Former news anchor accuses film mogul of sexual assault

LOS ANGELES: A former news anchor has come forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of forcing her to watch him masturbate in the hallway of a restaurant.

Lauren Sivan, a former news anchor in New York, told the Huffington Post that Weinstein trapped her in the hallway of a restaurant and masturbated in front of her until he ejaculated into a potted plant.

In the article by Yashar Ali, Sivan explained that she did not come forward sooner because she was in a relationship at the time and she feared Weinstein’s power.

The incident, which took place a decade ago at the restaurant-club Socialista, occurred after Sivan rebuffed his attempt to kiss her.

Weinstein did not respond to Ali’s request for response.

Also on Huffington Post, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and wife of California Lt Governor Gavin Newsom, published a column in which she related her own experiences with Weinstein and called for the end of “open secrets” of sexual harassment by powerful Hollywood producers and other elites.

“I was naive, new to the industry and didn’t know how to deal with his aggressive advances – work invitations with a friend late at night during the Toronto Film Festival, and later an invitation to meet with him about a role at the Peninsula Hotel, where staff were present and then all of a sudden disappeared like clockwork, leaving me alone with this extremely powerful and intimidating Hollywood legend,” Newsom wrote.

Her letter delved into the heart of the problem: the unspoken and complicit acknowledgement that Hollywood’s most powerful men leverage their power to sexually harass and abuse female employees, and then silence them from speaking out or taking legal action.

“Let this be the end of ‘open secrets’. Let there be no more passive waiting for the victims to reach a certain number before we do something about this culture of sexual harassment and assault,” she said. — Reuters