Harvey Weinstein has been fired from the Weinstein Company in light of new information “misconduct” that has emerged in the past few days. The board of directors made the announcement on Sunday, saying the change is effective immediately, according to The Wrap.
The company will be now be run under co-Chairman Bob Weinstein, who is Harvey’s younger brother, and COO David Glasser. The new CEO has not been named yet.
The company has been under pressure since The New York Times released a piece on Thursday detailing thirty years of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein, including that he harassed female employees and made sexual advances on actresses, The Wrap reports. After the investigative piece was released, more people came forward this weekend, including one news anchor who said Weinstein masturbated in front of her, according to The Wrap.
After the article, Weinstein announced he was taking a leave of absence, but according to The Wrap, that did not suffice to stem the “tide of rejected of the once-powerful mogul” by politicians, his own board, and industry colleagues. Four board members — Marc Lasry, Paul Tudor Jones, Dirk Ziff and Tim Sarnoff — resigned following the article’s release, and two legal advisers — Lisa Bloom and Lanny Davis — also stepped away from the situation, The Wrap reports.
Public figures who were previously friendly with Weinstein immediately started distancing themselves. According to The Wrap, Weinstein tried to stay afloat within his own company after the article broke. His advisers told him to take six months off and go to therapy, and to take the allegations seriously, The Wrap reports. He told The Wrap in an interview on Thursday that he was “sincere in his apology and his intentions to make amends.” But it appeared the CEO was determined to make the call on his leave of absence and treatment.
The board began negotiating a deal for Weinstein to resign, according to The Wrap, but that deal fell through, so the board issued the termination notice.
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