Harvey Weinstein reaches tentative deal to resolve lawsuits, compensate victims: reports

UPDATE: Actor Ashley Judd, one of the women who filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, posted to Twitter that she has no plans of settling with the movie director, and instead intends to take him to trial.

ORIGINAL STORY: Harvey Weinstein, women who accused him of sexual misconduct, his former film studio’s board members and the New York attorney general’s office have reached a tentative deal to resolve lawsuits and compensate alleged victims of the Hollywood producer.

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Adam Harris, a lawyer for studio co-founder Bob Weinstein, told a bankruptcy court judge Thursday that “an economic agreement in principal” has been reached. The amount of the settlement wasn’t provided.

More than 15 lawsuits have been filed accusing Harvey Weinstein or the company of misconduct. The settlement would cover many of them, including a class action by alleged victims and a suit by the New York attorney general.

The deal, if finalized, would resolve a civil rights lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general’s office last year that accuses Weinstein Co’s executives and board of failing to protect employees from a hostile work environment and Weinstein‘s sexual misconduct, the Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal said the proposed agreement would not affect a criminal case pending against Weinstein in Manhattan, in which he has been charged with rape and other sex crimes. A trial in that case has been scheduled for September.

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Weinstein, who won plaudits and awards through his company and another studio, Miramax, for movies including “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “The King’s Speech, fell from grace after more than 70 women, mostly young actresses and others in the movie business, accused him of sexual misconduct dating back decades.

As the accusations against Weinstein mounted, his company Weinstein Co fired him and filed for bankruptcy, and he was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

His case helped launch the #MeToo movement, which has led to dozens of powerful men in entertainment, politics and other fields being accused of sexual misconduct.

— With files from the Associated Press.