Weinstein Co. Bankruptcy Lifts Secrecy Agreements

NY investigates handling of 2015 allegations
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 20, 2018 1:03 AM CDT
Weinstein Bankruptcy Lifts Secrecy Agreements
In this Jan. 8, 2017, photo, Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Weinstein Company and Netflix Golden Globes after-party in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

The Weinstein Company has filed for bankruptcy—a move that could bring yet more sexual misconduct allegations against co-founder Harvey Weinstein to the surface. The movie and TV studio says that as part of the filing, all employees will be released from nondisclosure agreements. "Today, the Company also takes an important step toward justice for any victims who have been silenced by Harvey Weinstein," the company said in a statement, per the Guardian. "Since October, it has been reported that Harvey Weinstein used nondisclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those 'agreements' end." The statement thanked those "courageous individuals who have already come forward."

The Lantern Capital Partners private equity group has entered an agreement to buy the company's assets, but other companies will be able to bid at auction, the Hollywood Reporter notes. An earlier attempt to buy the company collapsed after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against the company last month, then collapsed again earlier this month amid debt issues. The New York Daily News reports that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered Schneiderman to investigate whether Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. properly handled allegations against Weinstein in 2015. "It is of great concern that sexual assault cases have not been pursued with full vigor by our criminal justice system," the governor said Monday. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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