Bob Weinstein, the younger brother and former business partner of embattled Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, is now facing sexual harassment allegations of his own. According to Variety, Amanda Segel, the executive producer of the short-lived Spike TV series The Mist, says Weinstein “repeatedly made romantic overtures to her and asked her to join him for private dinners” throughout production. He allegedly began harassing Segel during the summer of 2016, and refused to back off for the better part of three months, until her lawyer threatened The Weinstein Company board and Chief Operations Officer David Glasser.
In a statement to Variety, Segel said “‘no’ should be enough”:
“After ‘no,’ anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didn’t want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that ‘no’ is enough from now on.”
Segel apparently threatened to leave The Mist if Weinstein “did not stop contacting her on personal matters.” His representative, however, denied Segel’s claim. “Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms. Segel in LA in June 2016,” the statement read. “He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most unfortunate that any such claim has been made.” The Weinstein Company also denied Glasser had ever been warned by Segel’s lawyer.
Segel’s charge of sexual harassment comes in the middle of an increasingly explosive situation in Hollywood. The mounting allegations against Harvey Weinstein have encouraged stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon to speak out about their own horrendous experiences. The Weinstein brothers’ company recently received an influx of cash from a potential new owner, though it may not be enough to save it from increasing scrutiny — especially now that Bob, who recently called his brother “indefensible and crazy,” is facing his own allegations.
UPDATE: In a statement specifically responding to Variety‘s reporting, Bob Weinstein’s lawyer, Bert Fields said the story “is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Ms. Segel and we have the emails to prove it, but even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching.” What’s more, he continued, “[t]here is no way in the world that Bob Weinstein is guilty of sexual harassment, and even if you believed what this person asserts there is no way it would amount to that.”
In a statement responding to the matter, Spike TV said, “We take all allegations of this nature very seriously, and are investigating.” Fox Television, however — which was also involved in the production of The Mist series — refused to offer a specific comment for fear of “the possibility of litigation involving the Weinstein Company.”
(Via Variety)
