It’s on tonight. Don’t miss it.
Over the past few months, various women have made allegations of harassment, sexual abuse and rape against Harvey Weinstein. In the documentary, Working with Weinstein, Channel 4 will attempt to uncover how he used his position of power to abuse his colleagues and workers in the British Isles.
The documentary will feature in-depth interviews with former assistants and other people who worked closely with Weinstein during his time in the UK.
For example, a former Miramax employee describes how, as a young woman, and during what was her first meeting with Weinstein, the producer requested a massage. When she did not agree, this woman says that Weinstein pressured her to remove her clothes so that he could massage her whilst he masturbated.
Another former employee alleges that the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements within The Weinstein Company became widespread and allowed the producer to continue this behaviour with impunity.
Film producer David Parfitt also describes how he was physically assaulted by Weinstein during the making of his film, My Week with Marilyn.
Lawyer Jill Greenfield, who is representing half a dozen women in a UK Civil Court Action against the producer, said in the documentary: “You’ve got an awful lot of women who have been afraid for many years and are still very afraid, but these women now have an awful lot of other women and people around them who are really not afraid and are prepared to go all the way on this. Because it’s so important that they have the right to access to justice in a way that they were so fearful of all those years ago. He may be or may have been a powerful man, but it doesn’t matter. He’s not above the law. He’s just a man.”
In terms of what audiences can expect to discover, here’s a transcript from a former Miramax employee regarding her first meeting with Weinstein:
“It very quickly turned from being a conversation about a profession, a job, to being about him being tired and having travelled a long way and him wanting a massage. And I think, I remember feeling sort of, sort of, quite shocked by this request. And him sort of, you know, you know, saying, you know, “What’s wrong with that, that’s normal. All my staff do this, this is very normal.” And I felt that I was the one who was sexualising it and who was making it a problem. And so I ended up being given a massage by him. So he took my top off and he started massaging me. And I think all my clothes ended up coming off. And he, he was wearing a robe and masturbating. And then, it was a constant, there were constant new requests. It was, have a… no, no, let’s have a shower,” she said.
After being made aware that this documentary was about to air, representatives for Weinstein released a statement. It reads: “The use of Non-Disclosure agreements with employees in both entertainment and media companies is standard in the industry. Mr. Parfitt and Mr. Weinstein had creative differences on the film, any conflict between them was solely over their different visions for the film. While Mr. Weinstein has apologised for boorish behavior in certain situations in the past, Mr. Weinstein unequivocally denies he ever engaged in criminal misconduct of any kind.”
A spokesperson for Harvey Weinstein has previously said that any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied.
Working with Weinstein airs Tuesday 20th February 10pm on Channel 4.
