Two weeks after he was unceremoniously fired from the board of the film studio he co-founded, disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has officially announced his "resignation" from the Weinstein Co. Board of Directors, Variety reported, presumably ending his quest to be reinstated as head of the company.
Weinstein made the resignation official at the company’s Tuesday board meeting, where it was rumored he would press the board to rescind his firing, likely instigating a clash with his brother Bob, with whom he co-founded the production company.
Weinstein is in rehab in Arizona, but he was expected to call in to the meeting and threatened to sue the company he founded with his brother in 2005. Harvey owns 22% of the company’s stock, according to Variety.
The board had already fired Weinstein on Oct. 8, just days after the New York Times published the first of a series of stories exposing the producer’s 30-year history of harassing and assaulting women. In its original story, the Times confirmed that Weinstein had reached settlements with eight victims that included non-disclosure agreements.
More than 30 women have accused Weinstein of harassment, groping and assault. The list includes famous actresses including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.
After the New Yorker reported that the New York Police Department had been planning to arrest Weinstein before Manhattan Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. quashed the investigation, the NYPD and Scotland Yard both announced that they had opened investigations into Weinstein. The FBI is also reportedly pursuing a federal case.
As Variety notes, the Weinstein Co. board has faced uncomfortable questions about how much it knew, with top company figures like Bob Weinstein and president David Glasser saying they knew that Harvey Weinstein could be angry and abusive, and knew that he cheated on his wife, but did not know of his alleged sexual abuses.
After initially denying that it was pursuing a sale, WSJ reported yesterday that Thomas Barrick’s Colony Capital had extended an emergency loan to Weinstein, and was also in talks to buy the film studio.
via http://ift.tt/2ijaLAr Tyler Durden