In the wake of numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations levied against entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein, his brother and Weinstein Company co-founder Bob Weinstein denied similar accusations raised by an executive producer of one of the company’s television shows.
As reported by Deadline, Amanda Segel, an executive producer and showrunner for the Spike TV program The Mist, claimed that Bob Weinstein sexually harassed her during the show’s production over a three-month period in the summer of 2016.
The Mist is a horror series produced by the Weinstein Company’s Dimension Television which was cancelled after one season. Segel was a co-creator as well as an executive producer, and Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein and David Glasser were executive producers.
Segel claimed that after a June 2016 dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant, Weinstein made repeated romantic overtures toward her, sending frequent email invitations to private dinners, parties and hotel visits.
On Tuesday, Segel told Variety that the harassment ended only when her lawyer David Fox informed executives at the Weinstein Company (TWC), that his client would leave the show if Weinstein did not stop the unwanted advances.
“‘No’ should be enough,” Segel said.
“After ‘no,’ anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didn’t want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that ‘no’ is enough from now on.”
Bob Weinstein’s attorney Bert Field denied Segel’s allegations of sexual harassment in a statement to Deadline.
“Variety’s story about Bob Weinstein is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Ms. Segel and we have the emails to prove it, but even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching.
There is no way in the world that Bob Weinstein is guilty of sexual harassment, and even if you believed what this person asserts there is no way it would amount to that.”
In response, Segel’s attorney Suann MacIssac said “the efforts to deny the harassment are shameful.”
Deadline quoted a company rep from TWC who claimed that a deal had been reached with Segel where she “would continue her work on the show but arrangements were made that she was never to be in the same room as Weinstein or on telephone calls with him, an agreement that was honored by Weinstein.”
Meanwhile, the fallout from the mounting allegations against Harvey Weinstein continued to impact the scandal-plagued TWC. After being fired from the company which he founded, Harvey Weinstein resigned from its board of directors on Tuesday, the same day that Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer asked victims to come forward with details of their stories. Feuer issued a statement requesting that victims contact his office “so your cases – and justice – can be pursued.”
Feuer acknowledged the agonizing decisions faced by victims of sexual harassment in their place of employment.
“We know this is not just a Hollywood thing—it’s a workplace thing, arising all too often in virtually every industry,” Feuer wrote.
“Indeed, while most people don’t work in the entertainment industry, victims of sexual harassment and abuse share many of the very same concerns we’ve heard about in recent days: Will my job be on the line if I say something? Will I be publicly humiliated? Will anyone believe me—and will anyone stand up for me? I am here to say we will. We take allegations like these very seriously, and where the facts support conviction, we will prosecute.”
Deadline reported on Tuesday that the New York Police Department and the London Metropolitan Police Department are currently investigating allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
The Los Angeles Police Department had not yet begun an official inquiry, but Feuer’s statement confirmed that “LAPD recently issued a call for alleged victims to come forward so LAPD can investigate.”
[Feature photo: Associated Press]
