Film producer Harvey Weinstein on Friday surrendered to authorities at a New York City police station on sex crime charges, months after he was toppled from Hollywood’s most powerful ranks by scores of women accusing him of misconduct.
More than 70 women have accused the co-founder of the Miramax studio and The Weinstein Co with sexual misconduct including rape, allegations that gave rise to the #MeToo movement in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.
Weinstein will be charged over an allegation by at least one accuser, Lucia Evans, a former aspiring actress who told the New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to give him oral sex in 2004, the New York Daily News reported.
Entertainment industry heavyweights have distanced themselves from Weinstein, once one of Hollywood’s most powerful men, since the accusations became public. The board of theWeinstein Co fired him, the company itself filed for bankruptcy in March and he was expelled in 2017 from the Academy of Motion Pictures.
Actor Ashley Judd last month sued Weinstein, saying that he cost her a part in 1998 for the film “The Lord of the Rings” after she rejected his sexual advances, charges that Weinstein has denied.
Other prominent actors who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct include Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
May 26, 2018 at 7:00 pm
The charges of sexual abuse must be investigated