UPDATED: Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of The Weinstein Company, has been fired following a New York Times report about repeated cases of sexual harassment involving the film and TV mogul. Weinstein Company board member Lance Maerov told the NY Times that Weinstein had violated the company’s code of conduct.
Weinstein acknowledged in a statement that he had “caused a lot of pain” with his behavior. He took leave from the company before his firing October 8.
Weinstein made his name in movies, at both Miramax, which he and his brother Bob founded in 1979, and The Weinstein Company, which started up in 2005. The brothers’ feature productions include Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love and Wind River.
The Weinstein Company, which Harvey and his brother Bob own 42% of, has increased its presence in TV substantially. Harvey and Bob both had co-chairman titles. Amazon has two series in the works from the Weinsteins, including Matthew Weiner’s The Romanoffs. Paramount Network has a limited series about Trayvon Martin from The Weinstein Company.
Various published reports say networks are removing Harvey Weinstein's name from series he produced, and that The Weinstein Company is considering a name change in light of co-founder Harvey's actions.
The Weinstein Company produces reality show Project Runway. Scripted series include Netflix’s Marco Polo, which ran for two seasons,The Mist, which ran for one on Spike, VH1’s Mob Wives, BBC’s War & Peace and Lifetime’s Million Dollar Shoppers.
A subsequent NY Times story reported that Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie said they were harassed by Weinstein. The Times said more than two dozen women have reportedly accused Weinstein of assault or harassment.
A story in the New Yorker that published after the NY Times report spoke with several women who claimed Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them. Some said they'd been raped by the executive. In a statement issued to media outlets, Weinstein denied those charges.
"Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein," it read. "Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances."
The Weinstein Company board said it was "shocked and dismayed" by the alleged actions of the company's co-founder. Several board members have resigned.
