Disney CEO Bob Iger released a statement condemning Harvey Weinstein on Tuesday, saying the producer’s “reported behavior is abhorrent and unacceptable, and it has no place in our society.”
Iger was president and COO of Disney from 2000 to 2005, when Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax was owned by Disney. The Weinsteins left Miramax after a public dispute with then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner over the distribution of Michael Moore’s documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
Iger is one of many in the entertainment industry who have distanced themselves from Weinstein following additional reports from The New Yorker and The New York Times on the producer’s history of sexual assault and harassment.
Among the dozens of women who have come out against Weinstein include actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. Another actress, Asia Argento, told The New Yorker that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her 20 years ago, but remained silent out of fear that Weinstein would use his influence to retaliate if she reported the incident.
Weinstein was removed as head of The Weinstein Company by the studio’s board of directors on Sunday, and on Tuesday, the University of Southern California announced that it was rejecting Weinstein’s $5 million pledge for an endowment fund for female directors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.