Widening Weinstein scandal prompts query: Who knew?
NEW YORK — As the grim scope of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse has continued to expand, attention is turning to the question of who knew about the film’s mogul’s behaviour.
A key and potentially volatile component of Tuesday’s New Yorker exposé was the claim that “a culture of complicity” has existed at both The Weinstein Co. and his previous film company, the Walt Disney-owned Miramax. “Numerous people throughout the companies [were] fully aware of his behaviour, but either abetting it or looking the other way,” the magazine reported.
Further scrutiny has followed the contention that Weinstein’s conduct was “an open secret” in Hollywood. Focus has turned, in part, to not just the workplace environments Weinstein operated in, but the stars who might have had some knowledge of Weinstein’s alleged behaviour, but who failed to raise any alarms.
Ben Affleck was called out Tuesday by alleged victim Rose McGowan. In a tweet, the actor accused Affleck of lying after he issued a statement that he was “saddened and angry” about the Weinstein revelations. “GODDAMNIT! I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT’ you said that to my face,” McGowan wrote on Tuesday. “The press conf I was made to go to after assault. You lie.”
Actor Hilarie Burton also renewed an earlier allegation that Affleck groped her during a visit to MTV’s TRL, which she was hosting in 2003. A Twitter user recalled the incident, noting “everyone forgot.” Burton replied: “I didn’t forget.”
Affleck tweeted an apology on Wednesday: “I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize.”
The ongoing fallout poses potentially severe legal issues for the companies involved. The Weinstein Co., which fired its co-chairman on Sunday, has moved to continue with plans to change its name. In a statement Tuesday night, the Weinstein Co. board of directors strongly denied that it knew about Weinstein’s behaviour.
“These alleged actions are antithetical to human decency. These allegations come as an utter surprise to the board. Any suggestion that the board had knowledge of this conduct is false,” the four-member board said in a statement.
The board, however, includes Weinstein’s brother, Bob, the company’s other co-chairman. And several board members earlier resigned in the wake of the initial allegations of sexual harassment. That report, published last week by the New York Times, also detailed hundreds of thousands of dollars in alleged settlements. It’s not known if Weinstein made the payments personally or if either The Weinstein Co. or Miramax did.
Legal experts are skeptical The Weinstein Co. could have been unaware, given the volume of allegations.
“There are just too many allegations here,” said Angela Reddock-Wright, an lawyer who has represented businesses in harassment suits. “Unless there were settlements paid out by Weinstein from his own personal money, settlements over a certain dollar value would have presumably been approved by the board.”
Representatives for both companies and for Weinstein did not return messages.
Three women accused Weinstein of raping them, The New Yorker reported Tuesday. A growing number of actors, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Roseanna Arquette, have also made allegations of sexual harassment.
Weinstein earlier apologized “for the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past.”