Of Course Survivors Aren't Happy With The Harvey Weinstein Settlement

In October 2017, a pair of concurrent investigations gave platform to the dozens of girls who alleged that the producer Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed, assaulted, and, in some cases, raped them. Rumors about the producer’s actions had swirled around Hollywood for years, although plenty of people considered he would never be toppled. Then, a number of actors and former staff at the Weinstein Firm went on the record about the abuse they faced to Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey at the New York Times and Ronan Farrow at the New Yorker — and suddenly everything changed.


Weinstein was fired, and his eponymous organization later filed for bankruptcy. Tarana Burke’s Me Also movement received a viral bump once the actor Alyssa Milano used the hashtag #MeToo to disclose her own survivor status. Millions of people shared what they lived through, and some days those stories led to real consequences: Several of the people in entertainment and other industries have been accused of varying shades of misconduct, and then some have lost jobs or faced legal proceedings as a result.


Nevertheless several survivors still feel as if justice has however to be served, or that the legal response to the cultural groundswell has been fair. Case in point: On Wednesday (December 12), the Times reported that Weinstein and former associates may be reaching a settlement deal with more than 30 people who have accused him of predation; survivors are mentioned to be procuring $25 million total.


because the Times reports, $6.2 million of the $25 million would go to 18 survivors; $18.5 million could be reserved for a pool related to a class-action suit against him. Those figures are part of  a total $47 million settlement, which includes $12 million would go toward legal fees for Weinstein, his brother, and other former Weinstein Agency board members. The fees could be paid by insurance organizations that represented the organization before it filed for bankruptcy.


“I don’t love it, nevertheless I don’t know how to go soon after him,” the actor Katharine Kendall instructed them Times of the suggested settlement. “I don’t know what I can really do.”


Per the Times, the settlement “would not require the Hollywood producer to admit wrongdoing or pay anything to his accusers himself, according to lawyers involved in the negotiations.” Weinstein was once estimated to be worth $300 million at his height, which included the years he allegedly targeted a host of ladies, including the actors Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and his former assistant Rowena Chiu, to whom he allegedly also made racist remarks. All told, more than 80 girls have come forward; Weinstein has denied all allegations made against him.


Even if the $25 million settlement is reached, the former producer, whose organization financed films like Shakespeare In Love, Silver Linings Playbook, and Kill Bill, is facing January court dates for criminal costs connected to three separate claims from ladies who mention he sexually assaulted them in 2004, 2006, and 2013. Due to the statutes limitations related to sexual assault, several of the females who mention they suffered due to his actions were not able to press formal charges; others may have chosen to forego such a process for other reasons.


In October, three people confronted Weinstein while he made an appearance at a comedy club in Manhattan; he is now out on a $1 million bail in connection with the criminal expenses. One individual, the actor Zoe Stuckless, was kicked out immediately after confronting him directly; The Cut announced that around 10 more people walked out following Stuckless’s removal. A representative for Weinstein called the incident “downright rude” and that the producer had been “trying to find some solace in his life that has been turned upside down.”