Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Movie mogul sacked for ‘harassing’ stars
Weinstein pushed out of own firm amid row
SHAMED Hollywood boss Harvey Weinstein has been sacked from his own film studio amid claims he sexually harassed actresses.
The Oscar-winning producer, who co-founded The Weinstein Company, was told to go after refusing to quit or take a payoff, it was reported yesterday.
It followed allegations last week spanning nearly 30 years and said to include
Double Jeopardy star Ashley Judd and Scream’s Rose
Mcgowan.
Movie legends yesterday condemned Weinstein, 65, who apologised after the claims emerged in The New York Times last week.
Oscar-winner Emma Thompson, 58, described him as a “predatory man”.
It came after it was revealed she threatened to quit a film she was working on with him in 2007 after he told fellow British actress and Captain
America star Hayley Atwell, 35, that she looked like a “fat pig”. Meryl Streep and Dame Judi Dench also condemned his behaviour but insisted they had been unaware of it.
Dame Judi, 82 – who once joked of getting a fake tattoo on her bottom in tribute to their friendship – said Weinstein’s offences were “horrifying”.
Streep was “appalled”. Both backed those who had spoken out. It followed criticism of showbiz stars for being slow to condemn him.
Weinstein could now be stripped of his honorary CBE. Downing Street did not rule it out after saying PM Theresa May is “concerned” over the scandal. Weinstein and brother Bob founded Miramax in 1979 and sold it to Disney in 1993. They set up The Weinstein Company in 2005, making hits including The King’s Speech and Django Unchained. It must now salvage several films tipped for Oscars, including The Current War starring Benedict Cumberbatch.