Harvey Weinstein Reaches Tentative $25 Million Settlement With Accusers

More than 30 actors and former employees of the Hollywood mogul accused him of offenses ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

Harvey Weinstein has reached a tentative $25 million settlement agreement with dozens of women who accused the Hollywood producer of sexual assault, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The deal, which is pending court approval, would be paid by insurance companies representing the Weinstein Company and would not require Weinstein to admit to any wrongdoing, according to the Times.

If approved by all involved parties, the settlement would resolve dozens of lawsuits filed by over 30 women since 2017, when exposés by The New York Times and The New Yorker brought to light decades of alleged of sexual harassment and abuse by Weinstein.

The deal with the accusers would be part of a larger $47 million settlement aimed at ending the Weinstein Company’s obligations in the case, the Times reported, citing several lawyers.

The lawyers also said more than $12 million of the package would go toward reimbursing some of the legal costs for Weinstein; his brother, Bob, who ran the Weinstein company with him; and other former members of the company’s board. The accusers would also drop their claims against Weinstein and other executives.

Attorneys Douglas Wigdor and Kevin Mintzer, who are representing several of the accusers, in a statement on Wednesday called those conditions “shameful.”

“We reject the notion that this was the best settlement that could have been achieved on behalf of the victims,” they said, noting that they “don’t begrudge victims who want to settle.”

“But we plan to vigorously object to any provision that tries to bind victims who want to proceed with holding Harvey Weinstein accountable for his actions which is exactly what we intend to do,” Wigdor and Mintzer wrote.

An attorney for Weinstein declined to comment on Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, a New York judge raised Weinstein’s bail from $1 million to $5 million due to claims that he had violated his electronic ankle monitor requirements. Weinstein had already been out on $1 million cash bail after pleading not guilty to raping a woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcing a sex act on a second woman in 2006.

Under a new bail reform statute in New York that is set to go into effect in January, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge James Burke had to include several options when he reset Weinstein’s bail package. Among the options Weinstein’s defense team had were a $5 million cash bail, $50 million security bond secured partially at 10%, or a $2 million insurance company bond. His team chose the last option.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot