NEW YORK (AP) โ The allegations against Harvey Weinstein spanned three decades. His downfall came in three days.
That was all it took to topple one of Hollywoodโs most high-profile and sharp-elbowed moguls โ a combative power player who, like few ever have, regularly dominated the Academy Awards.
But it was the all-powerful Weinstein who was ousted Sunday night from the company he co-founded and that bears his name. Following a devastating New York Times expose that detailed years of sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein, the Weinstein Co. co-chairman was unceremoniously fired by his brother, Bob, and three other directors on the film companyโs board.
โIn light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company ... have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately,โ the company board said in a statement Sunday night.
For a domineering studio head long known for intervening in the edit room, this is very likely the final cut. His career in Hollywood, many in the industry believe, is finished.
Of course, it took much longer than three days for Weinsteinโs fall. The reporting took months, and followed years of previous efforts by other journalists to nail down details of the behavior that was roundly considered โan open secretโ in Hollywood. And it took years for the alleged victims, including actress Ashley Judd, to work up the courage to go on the record.
Actress Lena Dunham tweeted Sunday night, โEasy to think Weinstein company took swift action but this has actually been the slowest action because they always always knew.โ
Meryl Streep, who called Weinstein โGodโ when accepting a Golden Globe Award in 2012, said on Monday that Weinsteinโs alleged conduct was not universally known in Hollywood.
โThe disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,โ Streep said in a statement. โThe intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.โ
Streep said that she had no idea about allegations that Weinstein paid settlements to accusers, met with women in his hotel room or engaged in โother inappropriate, coercive acts.โ She said she doubted that journalists knew specifics of Weinsteinโs conduct and didnโt report on them, and called on โthe watchdog mediaโ to pursue other stories of harassment in Hollywood and beyond.
Before his firing, Weinstein had taken an indefinite leave of absence following a New York Times expose chronicling decades of allegations of sexual harassment by the Oscar winner. The board on Friday endorsed that decision and announced an investigation into the allegations, saying it would determine the co-chairmanโs future with the company.
But The Weinstein Co. board went further on Sunday, firing the executive who has always been its primary operator, public face and studio chief. Under his leadership, the company has been a dominant force at the Oscars, including the rare feat of winning back-to-back best picture Academy Awards with โThe Kingโs Speechโ and โThe Artist.โ In recent years, however, Weinsteinโs status has diminished because of money shortages, disappointing box-office returns and executive departures.
The company has attempted to continue with business as usual, including a promotional event Sunday night for its 2017 awards hopeful, the indie hit thriller โWind River.โ While it has a handful of films scheduled for release in the coming months, much of the companyโs business has recently angled toward television, producing shows like โProject Runway.โ
An attorney for Weinstein didnโt immediately return messages Sunday. But Weinstein will surely be heard from soon.
On Thursday he issued a lengthy statement that acknowledged causing โa lot of pain.โ He also asked for โa second chance.โ But Weinstein and his lawyers also criticized The New York Timesโ report in statements and interviews, and vowed an aggressive response. The New York Times said it was โconfident in the accuracy of our reporting.โ
The Times article chronicled sexual harassment settlements Weinstein made with actresses and former employees at both The Weinstein Co. and Weinsteinโs former company, Miramax. Weinstein made his name with Miramax, the company he founded with his brother in 1979. They sold it to Disney in 1993 for $60 million. The company was a fixture of the 1990s independent film movement, launching the careers of filmmakers Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Steven Soderbergh, and winning best picture with โShakespeare in Loveโ and โThe English Patient.โ
The allegations triggered cascading chaos at the Weinstein Co. A third of the all-male board has stepped down since Thursday. The prominent attorney Lisa Bloom, daughter of well-known Los Angeles womenโs rights attorney Gloria Allred, on Saturday withdrew from representing Weinstein, as did another adviser, Lanny Davis.
A spokesperson for The Weinstein Co. declined to provide further details on the firing. Messages left for attorney John Keirnan, who had been appointed to lead an investigation, werenโt immediately returned Sunday.
Pressure to act continued to mount on the board as more developments followed. Congressional Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, donated to charities thousands of dollars in donations they had received from Weinstein.
TV anchor Lauren Sivan on Friday detailed an alleged 2007 encounter with Weinstein in a HuffPost report. Sivan, then working at a New York cable channel, Long Island 12, alleged that Weinstein cornered her in the hallway of a Manhattan restaurant closed to the public and masturbated in front of her.
Sivan said she had rejected an attempt by Weinstein to kiss her. โWell, can you just stand there and shut up,โ she claims he responded.
She recounted the encounter on Megyn Kellyโs NBC show on Monday
Bob Weinstein and David Glasser, chief operating officer, are now running The Weinstein Co. But it remains to be seen not only if the company can continue without its prominent producer but also whether it can weather questions of culpability in its former co-chairmanโs behavior. In reaction to Thursdayโs report, many in Hollywood called Weinsteinโs behavior โan open secret.โ The settlement funds paid out also may have come from The Weinstein Co.
Many in the movie industry vented their disgust with the allegations against Weinstein in recent days, including Lena Dunham and Brie Larson. For them, the allegations against Weinstein not only compare to those against Bill Cosby and Roger Ailes, but reflect Hollywoodโs deep-rooted gender inequality. Imbalances in pay between actors and actresses and the continued paucity of women directors behind the camera for the biggest productions have been ongoing issues in Hollywood.
Still most of the A-listers who Weinstein led to Academy Awards nominations have been largely silent since Thursdayโs report. On Sunday night, others celebrated Weinsteinโs exit.
โIf even 1/10th of the stories about Harvey Weinstein are true (and I believe they are), then good riddance,โ said โGuardians of the Galaxyโ director James Gunn, who added an expletive. โThe enabling needs to end.โ
Read More at the Associated Press