HORNY HARVEY HEAVED
WEINSTEIN FIRED FROM OWN FIRM
ROLL CREDITS — Horndog Harvey has gotten the heave-ho.
Moviemaker Harvey Weinstein, who came under fire last week amid embarrassing sexual harassment claims from such Hollywood stars as Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, has been fired.
“In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of the Weinstein Co. — Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar — have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with the Weinstein Co. is terminated, effective immediately,” the company said in a statement.
Once one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, Weinstein’s Tinseltown support began to fade to black after a New York Times exposé on Thursday detailed financial settlements to alleged sexual harassment victims.
The man behind such hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Gangs of New York” tried to hang on to his position at the company he co-founded with a promise to reform, saying he was “remorseful about the people I hurt.”
Weinstein, 65, had even vowed to donate to women’s charities, and take time off to “deal with this issue head-on.”
On Friday, Weinstein was suspended, and three members of the company’s nine-member board resigned.
But after his own lawyer, women’s rights advocate Lisa Bloom (photo inset facing page) bailed on him, and other Hollywood honchos called him out, Weinstein’s act was over. The reviews came in quickly. “Women’s voices heard,” tweeted former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, whose own sexual harassment claims helped bring down her former boss Roger Ailes. “Again and Finally. #BeFierceAlways Its working.”
“To be clear, what Harvey Weinstein did was a disgusting abuse of power and horrible,” tweeted actor Mark Ruffalo. “I hope we are now seeing the beginning of the end of these abuses.”
“I believe all the women coming forward about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment,” tweeted actor Seth Rogen. “It takes bravery to do so.” “If even 1/10th of the stories about Harvey Weinstein are true (and I believe they are), then good f-----g riddance,” tweeted “Deadpool” director James Gunn. “That s--t’s gotta stop. And f--k you to anyone who knew about it and let him get away with it. The enabling also needs to end.”
Since Thursday, several women have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, including actresses Judd and McGowan and Fox News reporter Lauren Sivan.
Weinstein had vowed to sue The Times over the article, but he also acknowledged the complaints last week in a statement.
“I came of age in the ’60s and ’70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.
“I have since learned it’s not an excuse, in the office — or out of
it, to anyone,” he said. “I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed. I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.”
Sivan said Weinstein masturbated in front of her at the Socialista nightclub in the Meatpacking District.
“Yeah. This happened,” Sivan tweeted. “Luckily I didn’t need a job or favor from him + didn’t have to be polite. Others did. Keep that in mind.”
Even President Trump, dogged during the campaign by his own issues involving gross disrespect for women, weighed in on the Weinstein drama.
“I’ve known Harvey Weinstein for a long time,” Trump told reporters Saturday at a GOP fundraiser in North Carolina. “I’m not at all surprised to see it.”
The Times’ story included an account from Judd, who said Weinstein once invited her up to his hotel room while he was wearing only a bathrobe and asked her to watch him shower.
A ballooning number of women have come forward with similar claims since the report was published.
Weinstein reached settlements with at least eight women, the most recent being Italian model Ambra Battilana after an alleged 2015 groping incident in his Tribeca office.
The Weinstein Co. brought in attorney John Kiernan to conduct an internal company probe of Harvey Weinstein amid reports that fellow executives wanted him gone for good. According to Variety, Bob Weinstein was among those calling for his brother’s dismissal. The movie exec married British fashion designer Georgina Chapman in 2007 after divorcing his first wife in 2004. He is the father of five children, ages 4 to 22. Several other celebrities, including actresses America Ferrera and Lena Dunham, have publicly blasted the once-invincible movie mogul. Weinstein’s lawyer said in a statement last week that he plans to sue The Times, calling its report “saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein.”
“It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses,” attorney Charles Harder said in a statement. “We sent The Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women’s organizations.”
Weinstein, who has been staying at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills since Friday night, according to The Hollywood Reporter, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Weinstein brothers launched the Weinstein Co. in 2005 after leaving Miramax.