Zelda Perkins, Harvey Weinstein’s former assistant who broke her 20-year non disclosure agreement in December, told the U.K. Parliament that she felt “defrauded” by these NDAs.
Perkins appeared in front of the Women and Equalities Committee on Wednesday to say she was pressure into signing an NDA that was “morally lacking on every level,” according to the BBC.
Perkins said she had felt “pressure” to sign the agreement and had tried to make sure that it contained obligations to prevent Weinstein from further exhibiting illegal behavior, which included therapy sessions, but these were not exactly enforced or met.
“Essentially we were defrauded,” she told the committee. “We signed that agreement with the belief that Miramax and Harvey Weinstein would uphold their obligations.”
Perkins said she was never given a copy of the NDA she signed, and that her lawyers said that they had never seen an agreement like it.
“I was told clearly it was a very broad agreement and, basically, I just couldn’t ever say anything about anything to anybody, and just the safest thing was to erase the entire last four years of my life pretty much from my memory,” she said. “At no point was it made clear to me that it was unenforceable or could potentially be unenforceable.”
During her appearance in front of the committee, Perkins scrutinized how the NDAs were used, saying they are “used abusively and within the law,” and that there isn’t enough “regulation and there isn’t a framework to protect the victims of the situation.”
In December, after nearly two decades, Perkins broke a non disclosure agreement, telling BBC’s “Newsnight” that the disgraced mogul attempted to rape a colleague 19 years ago. Perkins said that the incident at the 1998 Venice Film Festival left her unnamed colleague in a state of shock, and that she herself was threatened by Weinstein “emotionally and psychologically.”
Perkins said she confronted Weinstein and spoke to lawyers about pressing charges, but she was told that the options were limited because the incident was not reported to Venice police. Instead, Perkins agreed to a £125,000 settlement from Miramax in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement. She told BBC that among other conditions, the settlement called for Weinstein to attend therapy and be dismissed from Miramax, and that Miramax establish an HR policy on sexual harassment.
Now, Perkins, who worked at Miramax Films in the 1990s, said her former colleague didn’t talk about the assault to counsellors because she was “so afraid” of breaking the NDA. According to Perkins, the women could only talk to medical practitioners and legal representatives only if those representatives had signed their own — minimally detailed — NDA.
She said her career had “basically [come] to a halt” and that she and her former colleague left the country.
Weinstein’s lawyers have continued to deny any and all allegations. Weinstein, Miramax and Disney were invited to give evidence in front of the committee, but declined, according to the BBC.