Two of Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Were Paid Off by Bob Weinstein in the ’90s
Harvey Weinstein’s reign of terror over Hollywood was enabled by a system of fear, intimidation, and a team of spies and lawyers who did everything in their power to cover up Weinstein’s pattern of behavior. According to a new report by Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker, Harvey’s brother Bob Weinstein was also behind at least two attempts to cover up accusations of sexual misconduct.
Farrow’s report describes an incident with ex-Miramax employee Zelda Perkins and her assistant, who quit after Weinstein allegedly assaulted Perkins’ assistant at the Venice Film Festival in 1998. When they threatened legal action they were told by Weinstein’s attorneys and their own to settle, and split the payment of £250,000 that came from Bob Weinstein’s personal account to hide it from Disney, Miramax, and Harvey’s wife.
In an interview with Farrow, Bob claimed not to know the nature of the payout:
In an interview, Bob Weinstein acknowledged the personal payout but said that his brother had misled him about the reasons behind it. “Regarding that payment, I only know what Harvey told me, and basically what he said was he was fooling around with two women and they were asking for money,” Bob Weinstein told me. “And he didn’t want his wife to find out, so he asked me if I could write a check, and so I did, but there was nothing to indicate any kind of sexual harassment.” A former senior Miramax executive said that it was implausible that Bob Weinstein did not know about the nature of the allegations, which were reported to the company.
Part of the settlement agreement with Perkins and her assistant was that Harvey receive treatment from a psychiatrist of Perkins’ choice and that Disney be notified of any future harassment settlements. Harvey Weinstein and his lawyers still deny all accusations of sexual misconduct, and he’s currently receiving treatment.
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