Harvey Weinstein’s company to rename itself after his firing, insider says

The Weinstein Co. will change its name following the firing of co-founder Harvey Weinstein over sexual harassment allegations, a studio insider said on Monday.

The insider, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the name change is expected to take some time, but “it will happen”. Weinstein’s name will also be stripped from several TV projects.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood establishment – slow to react to the initial allegations against the hot-tempered Hollywood mogul – began speaking out after his ousting. Among those condemning Weinstein were Meryl Streep and Judi Dench.

Streep, who called Weinstein “God” when accepting a Golden Globe Award in 2012, said on Monday that Weinstein’s alleged conduct was not universally known in Hollywood.

“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,” Streep said in a statement. “The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.”

It was the latest fallout from the allegations against Weinstein that on Sunday toppled one of Hollywood’s biggest moguls – a combative power player who has regularly dominated the Oscars as few others have done.

The firing and stripping of Weinstein’s name from projects follows a devastating New York Times exposé last Thursday that detailed years of harassment allegations against him.

In ousting him from the company, the Weinstein board of directors said it was reacting to “new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days”. It did not elaborate.

The television series Waco and Yellowstone are among the projects from which Weinstein’s name will be stripped.

Many in the industry believe the studio boss’ career in Hollywood is over.

Actress Lena Dunham tweeted on Sunday night: “Easy to think Weinstein company took swift action but this has actually been the slowest action because they always knew.”

Under Weinstein’s leadership, the company has been a dominant force at the Oscars. It accomplished the rare feat of winning back-to-back best picture Academy Awards with The King’s Speech and The Artist.

In recent years, however, Weinstein’s status has diminished because of money shortages, disappointing box-office returns and executive departures.

An lawyer for Weinstein didn’t return messages on Sunday, and neither did a press representative he identified as handling inquiries.

The Times article chronicled sexual harassment settlements Weinstein made with actresses and former employees at both the Weinstein Co. and Weinstein’s former company, Miramax.

Weinstein’s other movie credits over the years include Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love and The English Patient.

In a HuffPost report, TV anchor Lauren Sivan on Friday detailed an alleged 2007 encounter with Weinstein. Sivan, then working at a New York cable channel, Long Island 12, said Weinstein cornered her in the hallway of a New York restaurant closed to the public and masturbated in front of her.

Sivan said she had rejected an attempt by Weinstein to kiss her, and he responded: “Well, can you just stand there and shut up.”

She told of the encounter on Megyn Kelly’s NBC show on Monday.

While many in the movie industry have vented their disgust with the allegations against Weinstein in recent days, most of the A-listers whom Weinstein led to Oscar nominations have been largely silent since Thursday’s report.