Former filmmaker Louisette Geiss has stepped forward as the latest accuser of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein.
Geiss said Weinstein asked her to watch him masturbate during a conversation about one of her films at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008 at a press conference at her attorney Gloria Allred’s offices in Beverly Hills Tuesday.
She said that she agreed to meet Weinstein at the restaurant hotel where they were both staying after the premiere of “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden,” which she had attended at Weinstein’s invitation.
When they arrived at the restaurant, however, they were turned away because it was closing, and Weinstein suggested to meet in his office attached to his hotel room. Geiss said she was hesitant because she had heard rumors about Weinstein, and agreed to go to his office as long as he would shake her hand in agreement he would not touch her.
She said they ended up having a “great conversation” about her movie, and that he “seemed genuinely interested.” But after excusing himself to go to the bathroom, he returned wearing a robe. “He was buck naked,” Geiss said.
Geiss said he proceeded to ask her to watch him masturbate, and when she tried to leave, he grabbed her arm and led her to the bathroom, “pleading [she] watch him masturbate.”
Weinstein said he’d introduce her to Bob Weinstein and “green-light my script, but I had to watch him masturbate,” according to Geiss. On the verge of tears, she left, she recalled.
Geiss said Tuesday that the ’08 encounter with Weinstein is the reason she left the movie industry.
Allred said she has heard from several other women who allege they are victims of Weinstein’s unwanted advances, and that the statute of limitations for each alleged encounter has since expired. She said the women never filed claims because they were afraid Weinstein could “ruin their careers.”
Allred is “inviting [Weinstein] to agree to engage in an arbitration of these claims with these women” with an agreed upon retired judge.
“This proposal is similar to what I suggested to Bill Cosby,” Allred said. “He was not wise enough [to agree].” Allred continued to say that she thinks one day Weinstein will want to return to Hollywood, and agreeing to an arbitration could be a “positive step he could take to restore his battered reputation.”
Geiss’ accusation comes just after three more women said Weinstein raped them in a New Yorker piece published Tuesday morning.
In a long-anticipated story following a 10-month investigation, journalist Ronan Farrow wrote that he spoke with 13 women who detailed various levels of sexual assault by Weinstein over two decades.
“Three women — among them [actress Asia] Argento and a former aspiring actress named Lucia Evans — told me that Weinstein raped them, allegations that include Weinstein forcibly performing or receiving oral sex and forcing vaginal sex,” wrote Farrow.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie also came forward Tuesday with stories of sexual harassment from the mogul.
The New York Times published a report last week that Weinstein has been sexually harassing and assaulting actresses and female employees for decades, and since several more have come forward. You can see Hollywood’s reactions to the scandal here.
A Short History of Harvey Weinstein's Oscar Campaigns (Photos)
Indie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was fired last October from his position of co-CEO of The Weinstein Company, revolutionized the Oscar race both at TWC and his previous company, Miramax.
Harvey Weinstein first got into the Oscar race in a big way in 1990 with a "guerilla" campaign for the art-house drama "My Left Foot" by setting up meet-and-greets between Academy members and film talent. The result? Oscar wins for stars Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker.
Miramax snagged its first Best Picture victory for 1996's "The English Patient" -- which earned a total of nine awards, including for director Anthony Minghella and lead actress Juliette Binoche.
Weinstein built an awareness campaign for the then-unknown Billy Bob Thornton for 1996's "Sling Blade" -- which yielded an Oscar for his adapted screenplay and a nomination for Best Actor.
Miramax pulled off a double coup with 1997's "Good Will Hunting," delivering Robin Williams his long-awaited first Oscar and a rare screenplay prize for two twentysomething newbies, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
One year later, Miramax pulled out all the stops after landing two Best Picture nominations, including for the Italian-language drama "Life Is Beautiful." According to Peter Biskind's book "Down and Dirty Pictures," star-auteur Roberto Begnini "moved into L.A. for a month during the peak of the voting period." The film came away with three Oscars, including Best Actor.
That year, Miramax pulled off a bigger upset when "Shakespeare in Love" seized Best Picture over Steven Spielberg's heavily favored "Saving Private Ryan." "Shakespeare" won a total of seven Academy Awards, including for actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench.
Miramax surprised many by landing yet another Best Picture nomination for the 2000 Juliette Binoche-Johnny Depp bonbon "Chocolat."
In 2003, the Weinsteins had a hand in four of the five Best Picture nominees: "Chicago," "The Hours," "Gangs of New York" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (on which they had producer credits). "Chicago" won the top prize -- as well as five others.
In 2004, Miramax took advantage of a careful reading of Academy rules and scored four nominations for the Brazilian inner-city drama "City of God" -- even though the film had failed to land a Best Foreign Language film nomination the previous year.
The Weinsteins exited Disney-owned Miramax and founded their own company in 2005 -- and got right back in the Oscar race with two nominations for one of their first releases, the Felicity Huffman vehicle "Transamerica."
By 2009, The Weinstein Company landed its first Best Picture contender with "The Reader" -- and also snagged Kate Winslet her first Oscar as Best Actress in a role that many thought was more of a supporting part.
Two years later, TWC scored its first Best Picture win for "The King's Speech" -- as well as three other awards, including Best Actor for Colin Firth.
The following year, Weinstein pulled off another coup: landing five Oscars, including Best Picture for the mostly silent, black-and-white ode to Old Hollywood, "The Artist."
In 2013, TWC again had two horses in the Best Picture race: Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and "Silver Linings Playbook" -- which landed Jennifer Lawrence the prize for Best Actress.
Last year, Weinstein successfully landed six nominations -- including Best Picture -- for Garth Davis' tear-jerker "Lion." But just as Open Road won the top prize in 2016 for "Spotlight," another upstart, A24, used a lot of Harvey touches to score the indie "Moonlight" a Best Picture win.
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This is the first Oscar season in decades without the disgraced mogul who challenged the major studios and changed the game at the Academy
Indie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was fired last October from his position of co-CEO of The Weinstein Company, revolutionized the Oscar race both at TWC and his previous company, Miramax.
