Last week, the New York Times published an exposé detailing three decades of sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the wildly successful and influential film mogul who rose to power as co-founder of both Miramax and the Weinstein Company.
The piece contained a number of shocking revelations, such as the fact that Weinstein settled out of court with no fewer than eight women who accused him of sexual assault or harassment.
Within days of the report going public, Weinstein was fired from the company he helped to build after a board of directors meeting that reportedly devolved into a screaming match.
In the days leading up to his dismissal, Weinstein sent letters to many of his most powerful allies begging for them to help save his career and restore his reputation.
We may never know who responded to the 64-year-old’s pleas, but those who ignored him are likely glad they did, as a new report published today by the New Yorker paints an even more appalling portrait of Weinstein as an unrepentant sexual predator.
Over the course of a ten-month investigation, journalist Ronan Farrow claims to have spoken with 13 women who were harrassd or assaulted by Weinstein.
He also interviewed 16 current and former executives and assistants at the Weinstein Company who say they have witnessed verying degrees of sexual misconduct from Weinstein.
The piece also an incriminating audio recording from an NYPD investigation in which Weinstein attempts to coerce a reluctant woman into entering his hotel room.
When she protests and accuses him of grabbing her breast without consent, Weinstein responds that he is “used to” engaging in that sort of behavior.
Most shocking of all is the article’s revelation that Weinstein raped or attempted to rape several women over the years, including famed actresses Rosanna Arquette, Mira Sorvino, and Asia Argento.
Argento says that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her when she was just 21 years olf.
“‘He asks me to give a massage. I was, like, “Look man, I am no f–king fool,"” Argento tells The New Yorker.
“But, looking back, I am a f–king fool. And I am still trying to come to grips with what happened,” she adds.
Argento says she kept the encounter to herself for fear that Weinsteinwould “crush” her and ruin her career.
“I know he has crushed a lot of people before,” Argento said.
“That’s why this story—in my case, it’s twenty years old, some of them are older—has never come out.”
Sorvino says she was able to rebuff Weinstein’s advances, but she believes doing so resulted in irrevocable damage to her career.
“There may have been other factors, but I definitely felt iced out and that my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it,” she tells the magazine.
Thus far, Weinstein and his legal team have yet to respond to this latest round of allegations.
We’ll have further updates on this story as more information becomes available.