The new lawsuit filed on Sunday against The Weinstein Company by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman adds allegations of failure to protect employees to the existing accusations of sexual misconduct, harassment and violent threats against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
“Despite many complaints to TWC’s human resources department and widespread knowledge across the company’s leadership of HW’s persistent misconduct,” read an official statement from Schneiderman’s office, “TWC executives and the Board repeatedly failed to take meaningful steps to protect company employees or curb HW’s misconduct.”
Ben Brafman, attorney for Harvey Weinstein responded Sunday, saying in a statement, “If the purpose of the inquiry is to encourage reform throughout the film industry, Mr. Weinstein will embrace the investigation. If the purpose however is to scapegoat Mr. Weinstein, he will vigorously defend himself.”
The company’s board said in a statement that many of the accusations were “inaccurate.”
“With respect to the Company’s ongoing sale process, the Board sought a transaction to preserve jobs and create a victim fund,” the board statement said, adding that the board hoped to continue discussions with the Attorney General “in order to reach our common goal of bringing this situation to an appropriate resolution.”
Some shocking new charges stand out among the many in the lawsuit. Here are but a few:
“I Will Kill Your Family”
Weinstein’s penchant for bullying and harassing employees and others in the industry who drew his ire has been well-documented in media reports. The New York lawsuit continues this trend, with claims that Weinstein went as far as threatening his employees’ lives and the lives of their families. It also says that Weinstein claimed that he had deep political connections that he could use against others, including in the Secret Service.
Harvey’s Wing Women
Several groups of women who worked at TWC accused Weinstein of forcing them to provide a constant stream of women to accommodate his sexual desires, the lawsuit says. Among their duties outside the job description included contacting “friends of Harvey,” clearing out space on his schedule for sexual activity, and accommodating him on trips to Europe, where one of them taught the others “how to dress and smell more attractive to Weinstein.”
“Weinstein required them to meet with prospective sexual conquests in order to facilitate HW’s sexual activity, and to follow through on HW’s promise of employment opportunities to women who met with HW’s favor,” read the AG’s statement. “This compelled service demeaned and humiliated them, contributing to the hostile work environment.”
Getting Ahead at TWC…
The lawsuit also claims that a culture was created at TWC in which female employees were offered or demanded sexual favors in exchange for career advancement at the company. Those who refused soon found themselves on the outs at the studio.
…Even at the Top
One female executive quoted in the lawsuit says that only women with whom Weinstein had a “personal friendship” were selected as executives at TWC, which she interpreted as a sign that he saw them as sexual targets.
The “Bible”
Weinstein’s assistants kept a hard copy document called the “Bible,” which the lawsuit says was also kept by some TWC executives. The “Bible” included information about HW’s likes and dislikes, and a list of his “friends” with directions for assistants on how to arrange HW’s extensive and frequent “personals.”
Another Hotel Incident
Several actresses who have spoken out against Weinstein say that the producer coerced them into sexual activity by luring them to his hotel room. A TWC employee said a similar incident occurred in 2015, when Weinstein allegedly asked her to come to his hotel room to set up some devices for the next day. When she arrived, she found him naked under a bathrobe and was asked to give him a massage. When she refused, Weinstein badgered her until she relented for fear of damage to her career.
“I Quit”
According to the AG’s statement, another former employee who was an assistant for Weinstein’s daughter said that Weinstein told her his daughter was unhappy with her and asked him what she was “prepared to do” to keep her job. The employee said she interpreted it as a demand for sexual activity in exchange for keeping her job, and she decided to quit immediately.
Rubber Meets The Road
Weinstein’s drivers were instructed to keep condoms and erectile dysfunction injections available at all times. One employee said that in 2015, Weinstein made her sit next to him in the back of his chauffeured vehicle and groped her without her consent, even when she attempted to put bags between them. This employee also said that Weinstein made her take dictation from him while he sat naked on his bed.
Looking The Other Way
Several of Weinstein’s alleged victims submitted complaints to TWC’s Human Resources department, but none of them led to any formal investigation against Weinstein, the lawsuit says. On some of these occasions, TWC made moves to separate the employee from the company while moving to make a settlement in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement.
Where Was Harvey’s Brother?
In late 2014 and 2015, Weinstein’s brother and TWC co-CEO and founder, Bob Weinstein, had been notified of Weinstein’s repeated sexual harassment, yet made no attempt to investigate or curtail such behavior.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.