Harvey Weinstein Got Fired From The Weinstein Company
Well, well, well, look whose “leave of absence” has turned out to be the permanent kind. I can’t say I’m surprised. But I can say I’m taking a little smug satisfaction in watching alleged pervert Harvey Weinstein get fired from a company with his own damn name in the title.
The New York Times says that The Weinstein Company fired co-founder Harvey Weinstein on Sunday after many sexual harassment allegations were made public (possibly with the help of his dear brother Bob) by the Times on Thursday. A statement was released by The Weinstein Company regarding Harvey’s exit, saying that the decision was made “in light of new information about misconduct” that has emerged in the past few days.
Additionally, the firing comes after Harvey reportedly violated the company’s code of conduct at some point last week. Harvey’s termination was delivered via email. Which is good, because we all know now that if you schedule a meeting with Harvey in person, there’s a chance it will end up with Harvey wanting to take a shower.
Harvey and Bob own 42% of the company. The Times couldn’t say how ownership would now be divided up.
Ever since The Times published their exposé on Thursday, lots of people have come forward with their own “I’m not surprised” tales, while some are just publicly letting everyone know where they stand. SNL creator Lorne Michaels more than heavily implied he’s still on Team Harvey. Meryl Streep, on the other hand.
Meryl, who worked with Harvey on August: Osage County and The Iron Lady, had her rep release a statement to The Huffington Post about this mess. Meryl says she didn’t know what was going on behind the doors of Harvey’s office, but she’s absolutely not having it.
“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.
One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew. Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally. I didn’t know about these other offenses: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts. And If everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.
The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.”
Everybody who watched 30 Rock knew, but that’s not everybody. And it didn’t help that some people in the industry allegedly tried really hard to make sure not everybody knew. Sharon Waxman of TheWrap says that back in 2004, she tried to get a story published at the Times about Harvey’s reputation as a predator. She traveled to Rome to speak with the head of Miramax Italy, a man she alleges had no film industry experience and was hired specifically to hook Harvey up with European escorts during film festivals. She also spoke with a woman from London who was allegedly paid off after an encounter with Harvey.
But the story ended up buried in the culture section and the subject changed to Harvey fighting with an Italian studio executive. Sharon Waxman claims the Times received intense pressure from Harvey and his defenders like Matt Damon and Russell Crowe to keep her mouth shut. So apparently Team Enable Harvey (Because We Want Our Movies To Be Made) includes Matt Damon and Russell Crowe. We already knew that Russell Crowe was a bit of a dick, but Matt Damon? Kind, sweet, dopey-faced Matt Damon? Wait a minute – I think I now understand where Meryl Streep was coming from. Jimmy Kimmel has been telling the truth about Matt Damon this whole time!
Pic: Wenn.com
Source: Harvey Weinstein Got Fired From The Weinstein Company
5 total views, 5 views today