Harvey Weinstein and his accusers reached a tentative $25 million settlement after two years of negotiations. But lawyers for one victim disagrees with a large portion of the settlement going toward Weinstein’s legal bills.
Weinstein, 67, is accused of sexually harassing and abusing more than 30 actresses and former employees. He is currently out of jail on $5 million bond.
A judge on Tuesday hiked Weinstein’s bond from $1 million to $5 million after the prosecutor’s office said Weinstein tampered with his ankle monitor 56 times.
The $25 million settlement requires final approval and a sign-off by all parties. But not all parties are happy with the terms of the settlement.
In a statement to Sandrarose.com on Wednesday, attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and Kevin Mintzer responded to a NY Times article about the settlement.
Wigdor and Mintzer represent Wedil David who accused Weinstein of raping her in 2016.
“I am not confirming the NYT story and facts contained therein. My statement is a comment on the story,” Wigdor said in his statement.
Wigdor says 48% of the $25 million settlement will go toward some of the legal bills for Weinstein, his bother Bob Weinstein, and directors for Weinstein’s bankrupt production company.
“We reject the notion that this was the best settlement that could have been achieved on behalf of the victims,” Wigdor said in the statement.
“It is shameful that $12 million of the settlement is going to the lawyers for the directors who we alleged enabled Harvey Weinstein and it is even more outrageous that the proposed settlement will seek to bind non participating members by providing a release to the insurance companies and the directors of the Weinstein Company itself. While we don’t begrudge victims who want to settle, we plan to vigorously object to any provision that tries to bind victims who want to proceed with holding Harvey Weinstein accountable for his actions which is exactly what we intend to do.”
Weinstein entered Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday using a walker. Weinstein’s lawyer said he will undergo surgery to repair a lower back injury he sustained in a car accident.
