On Wednesday, six women announced plans to sue disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein—and they’re not alone. The shellacked mogul is in the midst of legal hell, currently staring down several lawsuits with at least one more to come from a former assistant, which will apparently be filed in federal court in New York over the next few weeks. When it rains, it pours, and Weinstein is currently caught in a brutal storm.
The latest chapter of this litigious saga comes from the six women who filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in New York against Weinstein, as well as Miramax and the board of the Weinstein Company, according to Variety. The 14 counts in the suit include “witness tampering, mail and wire fraud, assault, civil battery, negligent supervision and retention, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress,” per Variety. The six women are Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sarah Ann Masse, Melissa Sagemiller, and Nannette Klatt.
“Harvey Weinstein is a predator. Bob [Weinstein, Harvey’s brother] knew it. The board knew it. The lawyers knew it. The private investigators knew it. Hollywood knew it. We knew it. Now the world knows it,” the plaintiffs said in a statement. “We have watched with horror, amazement, pride, and gratitude in the last two months as women (and men) the world over have come forward and named their abusers. We stand with all those brave people who have had the courage and temerity to shine a spotlight into the darkness. Predators thrive in the shadows. It is only by keeping their secrets for them that we allow them to get away with it.”
The suit, Variety notes, compares Weinstein’s alleged behavior to that of organized crime. “Over time, Weinstein enlisted the aid of other firms and individuals to facilitate and conceal his pattern of unwanted sexual conduct,” the suit reads. “This coalition of firms and individuals became part of the growing ‘Weinstein Sexual Enterprise,’ a R.I.C.O. enterprise.”
Over the last few weeks, there have been several detailed reports about Weinstein’s alleged behavior and the purported lengths he went in order to silence his accusers. The New Yorker published a report claiming that Weinstein hired Kroll, a massive corporate-intelligence company, and Black Cube, which is largely comprised of “former officers of Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies,” to allegedly gather information about his accusers and the journalists preparing stories about the accusations. Weinstein, via his representative Sallie Hofmeister released the following statement in response to the story: “It is a fiction to suggest that any individuals were targeted or suppressed at any time.”
Aside from the six women suing Weinstein now, there are also other suits that have been lobbed at the former Hollywood star. In November, an actress filed a class-action suit against Weinstein, alleging that he invited her up to his office for a casting session, then asked her to show him her breasts. When she declined, he threatened her, the suit states. “You know, I could launch your career, and I can make you or I can break you,” the suit quotes him saying, according to Variety. The suit also names the Weinstein Company as a defendant. In response, Weinstein reps issued this statement: “Any allegations of nonconsensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual.”
Shortly after that, another woman filed a suit against Weinstein—this time in Britain. She’s seeking damages for “personal injury, expenses, and consequential loss,” which could amount to $400,000, per Variety.
The Weinstein Company itself is also facing legal issues. The New York Times filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in New York state court for unpaid advertising bills that total $229,567.68, per Deadline. The four-page complaint, filed by attorney William J. McDermott, notes that “payment of the aforesaid amount, which is due and owing, has not been provided, although duly demanded by plaintiff.” News of the suit arrives mere hours after the Times published yet another shocking report about the allegations against Weinstein. T.W.C. did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment.
The company is also facing a $5-million civil suit from actress Dominique Huett, who claims Weinstein sexually harassed her, then performed oral sex on her and masturbated in front of her. Her suit claims the Weinstein Company board “had actual knowledge of Weinstein’s repeated acts of sexual misconduct with women.” Representatives for T.W.C. did not respond to V.F.’s request for comment.
This won’t be the last of the company’s, or Weinstein’s, legal troubles, either. On Wednesday, Variety reported that Sandeep Rehal, a former assistant who worked for Weinstein for almost two years and is quoted in the latest investigative Times piece, reportedly plans to sue him for sexual harassment in the next few weeks. Representatives for Weinstein have not yet responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.
