Harvey Weinstein: British assistant 'paid £125k for silence'
A British former assistant of Harvey
Weinstein says she was paid £125,000 ($165,200) to keep quiet after
accusing the movie mogul of sexual harassment.
Zelda Perkins told the Financial Times she signed a non-disclosure agreement in 1998 after making the accusations.
She
said he asked her to give him massages and tried to pull her into bed,
but she "was made to feel ashamed for disclosing his behaviour".
Weinstein has denied any allegations of non-consensual sex "unequivocally".
The
former assistant said she reported her allegations after a female
colleague told her she had also been sexually harassed by the film
producer.
The two women subsequently sought damages and were
awarded a sum of £250,000 ($330,500), split equally, but also signed a
non-disclosure agreement, prohibiting them from discussing the
allegations.
By breaking the agreement, Ms Perkins could be
liable to repay the settlement, and potentially pay damages and other
legal fees stipulated in the contract.
However, she told the Financial Times: "I want to publicly break my non-disclosure agreement.
"Unless
somebody does this there won't be a debate about how egregious these
agreements are and the amount of duress that victims are put under."
She
claims that the film executive would ask her to massage him while he
was in his underwear, when they were alone in hotel rooms.
Her testimony is similar to that of a number of Hollywood actresses - Lupita Nyong'o and Gwyneth Paltrow both claimed Weinstein suggested a massage in his bedroom and hotel room respectively.
Ms Perkins added that she often had to wake him up in the morning and "he would try to pull me into bed".
Weinstein
has apologised for the way he has "behaved with colleagues in the past"
and acknowledged that his actions have "caused a lot of pain".
However,
he has said many of the accusations against him are "patently false",
and in a statement to the FT, said he had "confirmed that there were
never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his
advances".
Ms Perkins is one of scores of accusers who have come forward after a New York Times investigation into Weinstein's conduct.
Actress Rose McGowan
claimed that she reached a $100,000 (£84,000) settlement with Weinstein
in 1997 after an alleged incident in a hotel room at the Sundance Film
Festival.
The New York Times said a legal document confirming the
settlement stipulated it was "not to be construed as an admission", but
intended to "avoid litigation and buy peace".
Allegations against the 65-year-old are subject to criminal investigations in London, Los Angeles and New York.
He is also under civil rights investigation in New York state.
BBC
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