TV Academy could boot out Weinstein; new charge revealed
LOS ANGELES—Another influential entertainment organization said Friday it would consider booting disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein as another woman accused the Oscar winner of sexual abuse.
The Television Academy, which bestows the Emmy awards, said a disciplinary hearing set for November could lead to termination of his membership.
Weinstein, accused of sexually harassing and abusing numerous women over decades, has been fired from The Weinstein Co., a TV and movie film production company he co-founded with his brother Bob.
He now faces criminal inquiries in three cities after an Italian actress told Los Angeles detectives that Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2013.
Attorney David Ring, who represents the 38-year-old actress, said Friday that she provided graphic details to police about the incident that occurred while she was in the city for the Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest.
The actress, who has not been named, met Weinstein in Rome previously and spoke with him briefly at the film festival before he arrived uninvited at her hotel room. Weinstein bullied his way in and raped her, Ring said.
Ring said the rape has had a “humongous impact on her life.” While she’s relieved to have reported it to police, she is also “extremely scared,” he said.
The actress has had no interaction with Weinstein since the night in 2013, Ring said.
He said his client had not received a settlement and wasn’t sure yet if she would sue Weinstein.
Sallie Hofmeister, a representative for Weinstein, said in a statement that Weinstein “unequivocally denies allegations of non-consensual sex.”
The Los Angeles investigation comes after announcements last week by police in New York and London that they are taking a new look at allegations involving the Oscar-winner.
More than 40 women have accused Weinstein, 65, of harassment or abuse. Actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Lupita Nyong’o have all accused Weinstein of harassment, while actresses Asia Argento and Rose McGowan have accused the film mogul of raping them.
On Thursday, a group of about 30 staffers for The Weinstein Company stated in a letter published online by The New Yorker that they didn’t know they were “working for a serial sexual predator.”
The employees say they knew of Weinstein’s “infamous temper” and that he could be “manipulative,” but didn’t know “that he used his power to systematically assault and silence women.”