Creative Artists Agency has issued an apology in response to a New York Times story Tuesday that included accusations that it failed to act on reports of abuse by Harvey Weinstein.
Eight CAA agents fielded complaints from clients about Weinstein, the Times said, though no time frames or names were given.
Among the numerous charges in the Times piece is an accusation that Bryan Lourd, CAA’s managing partner, attempted to facilitate a meeting between Weinstein and reporter Ronan Farrow around the time the latter was reporting his bombshell New Yorker story on the disgraced mogul.
Upon its October publication, it contained decades of rape, assault and sexual harassment accusations. Weinstein has consistently denied any instance of non-consensual sex.
“This guy won’t meet right now,” Lourd reportedly wrote to Mr. Weinstein on Sept. 26. “He did say he will call you soon. I think he is absolutely pursuing the story.”
The Times piece is a lengthy list of participants in a s0-called “complicity machine” Weinstein reportedly built to shield himself from the violent behavior he now stands accused of. The list includes previously reported entities like David Pecker’s American Media, a journalism operation which reportedly gathered oppositional information on his accusers.
The article also says that, in the ’90s, actress Gwyneth Paltrow told her CAA agent Rick Kurtzman that Weinstein harassed her in a hotel room. He “looked incredulous” at the account, the Times said, nothing that Kurtzman did not advise Paltrow to escalate to complaint to his superiors at the agency.
That would include Lourd and his fellow managing partner Kevin Humane, who the actress and entrepreneur counts in her innermost circle.
You can read the apology below:
We want to make clear to clients and colleagues that even one of our clients being harassed over the company’s 42 years is one too many. We are here to serve, fight for, and protect our clients. We apologize to any person the agency let down for not meeting the high expectations we place on ourselves, as individuals and as a company.
We unequivocally support those who have spoken out publicly. Out of respect for our clients, we will maintain the confidence of anything said in private conversations.
We are committed to continuing to champion female actors, writers, directors and producers for the best creative and commercial opportunities; achieving gender equality and pay equity; and adding more women into positions of leadership and operational supervision at CAA. We continue to take additional action. We established an initiative called Evolve, led by a group of 17 women, to evaluate and improve our existing policies and practices to ensure even greater vigilance, awareness, and information-sharing in preventing harassment.
We are determined to succeed for our clients and employees in this regard. We will continue to use the influence and resources we have, inside and outside the company, working alongside equally motivated women and men, to help create permanent change.