Harvey Weinstein. Photo courtesy of AV Club.
Summary: Harvey Weinstein has been accused of raping multiple women in the past thirty years.
Hollywood’s notorious bully Harvey Weinstein is finally the one getting pummelled. Last week, The New York Times released an expose about how the Miramax founder had paid off eight women who accused him of sexual harassment, and since then, dozens of other women have come forward, some even accusing him of rape.
Weinstein’s wife and mother of his three children, Georgina Chapman, announced on Tuesday that she was leaving her husband. Weinstein said that he understood her decision and that he was heartbroken. Yesterday, TMZ reported that police were called to his home because his family worried that he was suicidal.
But Weinstein’s troubles are not just personal. On Thursday, police in London and New York announced that they were conducting a probe into allegations of Weinstein’s sexual assaults.
The NYPD said that they were reviewing a claim from 2004 but declined to state which one. However, it is speculated that it could be the story told by actress Lucia Evans, who spoke to The New York Daily News about how Weinstein had forced her to perform oral sex on him during a supposed audition when she was still a college student.
New York state has no statutes of limitations for rape, criminal sexual act, and aggravated sexual abuse charges; and an NYPD spokesperson said that no claim was filed in 2004 against Weinstein but that they were taking any media reports about him seriously.
“The NYPD is investigating an allegation of sex assault from 2004,” an NYPD spokesperson said to Buzzfeed. “Based on information referenced in published news reports, the NYPD is conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints relating to the Harvey Weinstein matter. No filed complaints have been identified as of this time and as always, the NYPD encourages anyone who may have information pertaining to this matter to call the CrimeStoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.”
London police said they are investigating an accusation that dates back to the 1980s but they did not provide details about the crime to Buzzfeed.
Meanwhile, LAPD and Beverly Hills Police said that they are not conducting investigations on Weinstein’s past alleged behavior. For thirty years, Weinstein ruled Hollywood with an aggressive bulldog-like demeanor, and his inappropriate actions towards young actresses was an open secret which many A-Listers ignored even after a model had claimed that he had attacked her in 2015.
Two years ago, Filipina-Italian model and aspiring actress Ambra Battilana Gutierrez claimed Weinstein had grabbed her breast, and she had immediately reported the assault to the NYPD. The NYPD had helped her set up a sting, and she recording audio of him admitting to the groping while he coerced her into watching him shower. Even with the evidence, district attorney Cy Vance chose not to pursue any charges against Weinstein at the time.
It is unclear why it has taken the police and Hollywood so long to take action against Weinstein, but in the past week, the powerful titan has most certainly fallen. His former friends such as Meryl Streep and George Clooney have publicly condemned him, and his allies in politics such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have also said his actions were despicable.
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