Sources Speculate Weinstein's Brother Was Behind Exposé

Movie mogul goes on indefinite leave from his own company
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 7, 2017 6:00 AM CDT
Weinstein on 'Indefinite Leave' as Harassment Scandal Heats Up
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, alongside award recipients Bob Weinstein, left, and Harvey Weinstein, attend the eighth annual Made in NY Awards on Monday, June 10, 2013 in New York.   (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is on indefinite leave from the company he co-founded while an internal investigation into numerous sexual harassment allegations against him is completed, the Weinstein Co.'s board of directors announced Friday. "We strongly endorse Harvey Weinstein's already announced decision to take an indefinite leave of absence from the Company, commencing today," the board said in a statement, per the AP. "As Harvey has said, it is important for him to get the professional help for the problems he has acknowledged. Next steps will depend on Harvey's therapeutic process, the outcome of the board's independent investigation and Harvey's own personal decisions." The announcement came a day after the New York Times reported that the co-chairman of the Weinstein Co. has over the years reached at least eight legal settlements with women over alleged harassment.

The statement was signed by four board members: co-chairman Bob Weinstein, who is Harvey Weinstein's brother, Tarak Ben Ammar, Lance Maerov, and Richard Koenigsberg. Sources tell Page Six Bob Weinstein may have been the one behind the Times story. "Bob’s wanted Harvey out for years," says one source; another says Bob has been "trying to take over and push Harvey out" of their film studio. "There has always been a love-hate relationship between the brothers," adds a former Weinstein employee. "There have been times they wouldn’t speak for months." According to the Hollywood Reporter, the emergency Thursday night meeting at which Weinstein's leave of absence was hashed out was "a scream-filled session of infighting"; sources tell the AP the company's board of directors has pressured Weinstein to step down entirely. Meanwhile, English actress Jessica Hynes revealed in a since-deleted tweet that Weinstein asked her years ago to audition in a bikini; when she refused, she was denied the role, the New York Daily News reports. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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