Harvey Weinstein’s Contract With The Weinstein Company Basically Allowed For Sexual Harassment

I cannot believe this is real, but it totally, unequivocally is.

According to a report from TMZ, Harvey Weinstein’s company may have fired him ILLEGALLY. As it turns out, they had a contract which stated that he could be sued for sexual harassment REPEATEDLY as long as he covered the costs.

TMZ is privy to Weinstein’s 2015 employment contract, which says if he gets sued for sexual harassment or any other “misconduct” that results in a settlement or judgment against TWC, all Weinstein has to do is pay what the company’s out, along with a fine, and he’s in the clear.

Again. This was in an ACTUAL CONTRACT.

According to the contract, if Weinstein “treated someone improperly in violation of the company’s Code of Conduct,” he must reimburse TWC for settlements or judgments. Additionally, “You [Weinstein] will pay the company liquidated damages of $250,000 for the first such instance, $500,000 for the second such instance, $750,000 for the third such instance, and $1,000,000 for each additional instance.”

 

The contract says as long as Weinstein pays, it constitutes a “cure” for the misconduct and no further action can be taken. Translation — Weinstein could be sued over and over and as long as he wrote a check, he keeps his job.

In other words, Harvey Weinstein could win in a lawsuit against his OWN COMPANY. According to the contract, the Board of Directors could fire the perv if he was “indicted or convicted of a crime,” but as TMZ notes, “that doesn’t apply here.”

There’s another provision … he can be fired for “the perpetuation by you [Weinstein] of a material fraud against the company.” The question … where’s the fraud? Lance Maerov, the board member who negotiated Weinstein’s 2015 contract, said in an interview — and we’ve confirmed — the Board knew Weinstein had settled prior lawsuits brought by various women, but they “assumed” it was to cover up consensual affairs. The Board’s assumption does not constitute fraud on Weinstein’s part.

 

And here’s the kicker. Even if Weinstein had committed fraud by not fully informing the Board of Directors, the contract says before he can be fired he has a right to mediation and if that doesn’t work, he’s entitled to arbitration. He got neither. He was summarily fired, and sources connected with Weinstein tell TMZ he was never given a specific reason.

 

A source connected with TWC tells TMZ, the company had a right to fire Weinstein if he didn’t notify the Board of Directors of settlements. We’re told there have been no settlements since the contract was signed, so it would seem this clause does not apply.

This is insane. The Weinstein Company knew about his pervy behavior all along. It was so expected it was placed in a contract.

The Weinstein Company didn’t fire Harvey because they found out he was a sexual predator. They fired him because WE found out #realtalk

— 🎙Wayne Dupree (@WayneDupreeShow) October 11, 2017

Bingo!