Police preparing Weinstein case as Netflix drops Spacey
The New York Police Department has stepped up the pressure on movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, saying it received a ‘‘credible’’ rape allegation from an actress, has corroborated parts of her story and is gathering evidence for an arrest warrant.
Paz de la Huerta has said she told New York police that in 2010, Weinstein raped her twice. The
Boardwalk Empire actress gave a detailed account to Vanity Fair magazine, published on Friday.
NYPD’s chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, said yesterday that investigators found de la Huerta’s account believable and that, in the nine days since she gave her report to them, they had corroborated portions of her statement and subpoenas had been issued.
The public statement by Boyce – flanked by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill – are the most highprofile move by law enforcement against the beleaguered film producer, who for the last month has faced a plethora of allegations from several dozen women accusing him of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape spanning four decades. At least 13 have filed sexual assault reports with police in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, New York and London.
New York prosecutors ultimately will decide whether to charge Weinstein.
Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister has repeatedly said that the producer ‘‘unequivocally denies allegations of non-consensual sex’’.
De la Huerta told Vanity Fair that Weinstein raped her at her home in November 2010, and assaulted her again in late December 2010.
In Los Angeles, police are investigating an Italian modelactress’ allegation that Weinstein forced her to have sex with him in her hotel room in 2013. They are also investigating allegations made by a second woman.
Meanwhile, Netflix officially parted ways yesterday with House of Cards star Kevin Spacey amid mounting claims of sexual assault and harassment.
The streaming giant also announced it had cancelled a biopic of US author Gore Vidal, which was set to star the embattled actor.
‘‘Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey,’’ a spokesman said in a statement.
Earlier, it was reported that the producers of House of Cards were considering killing off Spacey’s character, the villainous politician Frank Underwood, and have the show’s sixth and final season concentrate on his equally manipulative wife Claire, played by Robin Wright, according to insiders.
The producers are also cognisant of the fact that 300 cast and crew members are employed by the series and would be put out of work if the sixth season does not move forward.
The show has just started filming, so the sense is that Spacey’s character could be safely written out without too many logistical hurdles.
Production on House of Cards season six was suspended on Wednesday, two days after actor Anthony Rapp alleged in an interview with Buzzfeed that Spacey had sexually assaulted him when he was 14 years old.