The office of the New York Attorney General has reached a settlement of about $19 million for women who have been sexually assaulted and harassed by Harvey Weinstein, 68, the incarcerated former movie mogul.
“Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company failed their female employees. After all the harassment, threats, and discrimination, their victims are finally receiving some justice,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement on Tuesday, June 30.
The settlement is the outcome of a 2018 civil rights case brought by the Office of the Attorney General of New York against Weinstein, Robert Weinstein and the Weinstein companies at large for “egregious violations of New York’s civil rights, human rights, and business laws,” the attorney’s office said at the time.
Under the plan, a $18,875,000 victims’ compensation fund will be created and distributed among “women who experienced a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and gender-based discrimination while working at The Weinstein Company, as well as sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein,” the attorney general’s office said.
The agreement would also free survivors from confidentiality, non-disclosure, or non-disparagement agreements with The Weinstein Company or any of the company’s former representatives relating to any sexual harassment by Weinstein. They will be free to share their stories now, said prosecutors, without fear of retribution.
But the agreement also needs to be approved by the district court and the bankruptcy court that presides over the bankruptcy case of The Weinstein Company.
“This agreement is a win for every woman who has experienced sexual harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or retaliation by her employer,” New York Attorney, General Letitia James said.
Reacting to the agreement, Douglas H. Wigdor and Kevin Mintzer, the attorneys for several of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged victims disagreed with the settlement and consider it deeply ‘unfair’ because Weinsten doesn’t not accept responsibility for his actions.
“The proposed settlement is a complete sellout of the Weinstein survivors and we are surprised that the Attorney General could somehow boast about a proposal that fails on so many different levels,” the attorneys told CNN in a statement.
“We are completely astounded that the Attorney General is taking a victory lap for this unfair and inequitable proposal, and on behalf of our clients, we will be vigorously objecting in court,” they added.
Weinstein is serving 23 years at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Alden, New York, after being convicted of committing a criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
The disgraced movie mogul is also facing several charges in Los Angeles, including forcible rape, sexual penetration by use of force, and sexual battery. Weinstein has denied all the allegations.
