Weinstein ‘to be suspended’ from company as wife vows her support
British fashion designer Georgina Chapman will ‘make me a better human’ says Hollywood mogul
HARVEY WEINSTEIN said his British fashion designer wife was standing by him “100 per cent” over accusations of sexual harassment as it was reported he is to be suspended from his film company.
Georgina Chapman, 41, the founder of Marchesa, married Weinstein in 2007 and the pair have two children.
She declined to comment yesterday after The New York Times detailed decades of sexual harassment allegations against the Hollywood movie mogul.
Weinstein told the New York Post: “She stands 100 per cent behind me. Georgina will be kicking my ass to be a better human being and to apologise to people for my bad behaviour.”
Last night Emily Smith, the editor of US website Page Six, said: “You know he’s a very rambunctious, feisty character, but I’ve never heard him like this. He was very apologetic, he was very contrite, he admitted to a lot of his personal feelings. He said, ‘I know I’ve acted in a really bad way and I need to go away and fix myself. I have to fix the way that I interact with women, and I have to address my anger problems’.”
The Weinstein Co will carry out an investigation, reports said last night. Leadership of the company was expected to be assumed by Weinstein’s brother, Bob Weinstein, and David Glasser, the chief operating officer.
There was no comment from Weinstein or the the company last night.
The New York Times published a litany of allegations, including that Weinstein appeared naked before staff in hotel rooms, asking for massages and for them to watch him take a shower.
Ashley Judd and Rose Mcgowan, the actresses, were among the women to have accused Weinstein of inappropriate behaviour. Jessica Hynes, who stars in the BBC One series W1A, also claimed yesterday that she lost a role after refusing to wear a bikini.
Weinstein has given an estimated $1.4million to Democrat political candidates and campaigns since 1990. That included $25,000 to Hillary Clinton and a five-figure sum to Barack Obama. Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader in the Senate, said he had received $14,200 but was now donating it to women’s charities.
Weinstein, 65, is now threatening to sue The New York Times for $50million and has hired Charles J Harder, the lawyer who forced the closure of gossip website Gawker.
Weinstein issued a contrite statement after the newspaper published its story. “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it,” he said. “Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.” But he then accused The New York Times of “reckless reporting”, and confirmed that he was suing.
“What I am saying is that I bear responsibility for my actions, but the reason I am suing is because of The Times’ inability to be honest with me, and their reckless reporting,” he said.
“They told me lies. They made assumptions. The Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didn’t live up to the bargain.” The newspaper claimed he had reached at least eight settlements with women. Weinstein told the New York Post: “No company ever talks about settlements, and neither does the recipient. It is conjecture.”