$44M Settlement with Harvey Weinstein Is Not The Win We Think It Is

He’s not paying any of it, and there’s a good chance the accusers will only get a part of it.

Attorneys representing claims against Harvey Weinstein, his company and former associates have reached a $44 million settlement to resolve civil lawsuits over his alleged sexual misconduct.

Over 80 victims originally were supposed to get $90 million per a previous deal gone bad last year.

Now of the $44 million, $30 million goes to alleged victims, former Weinstein Company employees, studio creditors—all plaintiffs, and their lawyers. The rest goes to Weinstein’s attorneys according to a New York Times report.

So what figure do 80+ women walk away with for their memories of Weinstein groping, harassing, and even assaulting get? Not to mention the emotional scars of not just his alleged advances, but also having to open up their wounds to fight a mogul who had almost everyone in his pocket?

Probably tens of thousands each at best considering they’ll get only a piece of the $30M.

Attorneys told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Thursday that insurance companies— who will most likely get the money from their customers— will pay all of it. So if there’s a chance anyone else has insurance policies with the same companies, they’ll be paying for Weinstein’s assaults. Not him.

Justice?

Judge Walrath will determine whether or not to approve the settlement in a June 4 hearing.

Weinstein and his brother, Bob, founders of the Weinstein Company, declared bankruptcy for the company last year with less than $500,000 in cash and a load of legal fees from lawsuits.

The company is looking to liquidate and last week requested that the Delaware court convert the company’s current chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to a chapter 7 to resolve the civil litigation.

Investors who originally wanted to buy assets last year, proposed a deal that included $90 million victims fund, but it fell apart because of undisclosed amounts of debt that were troubling to the investors.

The investor group was led by Maria Contreras-Sweet, who ran the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama.

“I believe that our vision to create a women-led film studio is still the correct course of action,” Ms. Contreras-Sweet said in a statement. “To that end, we will consider acquiring assets that may become available in the event of bankruptcy proceedings, as well as other opportunities that may become available in the entertainment industry.”

That would’ve been some kind of justice for Hollywood, and maybe an emotional victory for women. But instead, they get cheated.

This settlement has nothing to do with the criminal case. His trial for allegedly raping a woman starts September 9.

Related

Trending Now

Follow us

Most Popular

Join Our Newsletter

Get the top workplace fairness news delivered straight to your inbox