Streep, Clooney sue Weinstein company Mogul faces new sex claims
A NETFLIX series producer has filed court documents in New York alleging disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein raped, sexually assaulted and verbally abused her over a five-year period.
Alexandra Canosa, an associate producer of Marco Polo, had filed a $10-million (R126.8million) suit in December, and this week amended it to further detail her allegations against the 66-year-old father of five.
Weinstein “made it clear that if she did not succumb to his demands for sexual contact or if she exposed his unwanted conduct there would be retaliation, including humiliation, loss of her job and loss of any ability to work in the entertainment business”, according to documents filed on Monday.
The misconduct included sexual and physical assault and multiple instances of rape between 2010 and 2015, according to the updated filing.
Defendants including the Weinstein Company did not act to correct or curtail such activity, Canosa alleges. Instead, they “facilitated, hid and supported” his conduct.
In August, Canosa says, Weinstein – whom more than 100 women have since accused of sexual misconduct – threatened her against speaking out.
Weinstein denies any allegations of non-consensual sex and retaliation. – AFP THE great and the good of Hollywood have filed objections against the sale of the Weinstein Company, saying the bankrupt studio owes them money.
Stars including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Quentin Tarantino and Jennifer Lawrence have filed documents regarding outstanding payments from the company before it is sold in a court-supervised auction.
The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in March, after months of trying to find a buyer.
It also ended all non-disclosure agreements, some of which may have been signed with Weinstein’s victims.
Tarantino, the Oscar-winning-director who made four films with the studio, says in papers he is owed more than $4-million (R50.8-million) in royalties, including nearly $2.5-million (R31.7-million) for The Hateful Eight.
The director has asked that the sale of the company be stalled until the Weinstein Company fulfils its contractual obligations and says it will pay.
Elsewhere, Lawrence has said she is owed $102 623 (R1.3-million) for Silver Linings Playbook and Clooney has filed for $250 000 (R3.174-million) for his production of August: Osage County, while saying the amount does not account for back-end participation.
Many of the celebrity filings state that the amounts are difficult to ascertain without an audit due to the Weinstein Company’s poor accounts.
Several production companies have raised concerns over the company’s bookkeeping, with some films lacking accounting for a year while on others records have been lax for up to seven.
The bankruptcy filing listed thousands of names on its 394-page list of people owed money by the Weinstein Company, including Malia Obama, Judi Dench, David Bowie and Daniel Radcliffe.
The case unfolds against more legal drama for the producer himself.
On Monday, Ashley Judd sued Weinstein, saying he had hurt her acting career in retaliation for her rejecting his advances.
In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judd accused Weinstein of defamation, sexual harassment and violating California’s unfair competition law.
Director Peter Jackson’s claim, which was made public in December, that Weinstein had warned him 20 years ago that Judd was a nightmare to work with and should be avoided at all costs, is central to the suit.
Jackson was considering Judd for a major role in his Lord of the Rings movies, and had met her about it.
Weinstein has denied trying to derail Judd’s career. – The Telegraph