A second member of the Weinstein family is under fire.
Industry publication Variety is reporting that a female TV showrunner, Amanda Segel, has accused Bob Weinstein, brother to Harvey, of sexual harassment.
Over the past two weeks, Harvey Weinstein, 65, has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by at least 34 women, and their tales each have disturbing commonalities. Through his representative, he has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.
Bob Weinstein’s lawyer, Bert Fields, released a statement Tuesday afternoon:
“Variety’s story about Bob Weinstein 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. There 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.”
READ MORE: The women who’ve accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault
Segel’s account of her interactions with Bob Weinstein, 62, during the latter half of 2016 sounds eerily similar to the allegations against his brother.
Segel and Weinstein worked together on the Spike TV series The Mist, and he would, according to Segel, frequently attempt to ask her out on dates and private dinners. After she says she rebuffed him multiple times, Segel’s lawyer, David Fox, told The Weinstein Company executives that she would leave the show if the unwanted advances by Weinstein didn’t stop.
“‘No’ should be enough,” Segel said to Variety. “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’s alleged memories of her time with Weinstein were exacerbated by all the news coverage of his brother and brought all the recalled trauma to the fore.
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It all began with a dinner in June 2016, when Segel says she agreed to have dinner with Weinstein, despite being told by colleagues that he had supposedly inquired about her relationship status. During the dinner, according to Segel, he asked her inappropriate questions (including her age and other intimate details). Segel then claims he asked her to drive him back to his hotel, and once there he asked her to come up to his room. She said no.
Following that experience, Weinstein continued to ask her out for dinners, she alleges. In a situation reminiscent to some of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers, Segel says that Weinstein invited her to a home he’d rented in Malibu for a party, but got the impression that it would just be the two of them, so she didn’t go.
After that, Weinstein allegedly began to joke that he was Segel’s boss and would fire her if she didn’t eventually come along. Accompanied by a male Mist executive producer, Segel says she finally agreed to an invitation and went to dinner with Weinstein. Segel says that he was visibly upset that she’d brought someone along.
Over time, Weinstein’s advances waned, said Segel. Eventually, TWC executives, Segel and her lawyer reached an agreement whereby she was never to be in the same room as Weinstein or on conference calls with him. This agreement was reportedly agreed to by both sides.
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As above, Bob Weinstein’s representative denied all accusations of inappropriate behaviour and a representative of TWC denied that Segel’s lawyer contacted them about the alleged unwanted advances.
In a statement, Weinstein’s rep acknowledges a dinner but that nothing untoward happened: “Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms. Segel in LA in June 2016. He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most unfortunate that any such claim has been made.”
This past week, Bob Weinstein has publicly condemned his brother’s alleged behaviour and said that he had no prior knowledge of the severity of the accusations.
Fox, the studio behind The Mist, declined to comment.
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