The production company announced on Monday that they are selling their assets and are terminating the legal agreements Harvey Weinstein allegedly used to silence women.
The Weinstein Company has filed for bankruptcy, four months after a wave of allegations of sexual misconduct began to surface against the production company's co-founder, Harvey Weinstein.
In a statement released on Monday, the embattled production company shared their plans for their financial future and specifically addressed their decision to end all legally binding non-disclosure agreements that had allegedly been used by the disgraced former movie mogul to silence accusers.
"Today, the Company also takes an important step toward justice for any victims who have been silenced by Harvey Weinstein," the company stated. "Since October, it has been reported that Harvey Weinstein used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those 'agreements' end."
"The Company expressly releases any confidentiality provision to the extent it has prevented individuals who suffered or witnessed any form of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein from telling their stories," the statement continued. "No one should be afraid to speak out or coerced to stay quiet. The Company thanks the courageous individuals who have already come forward. Your voices have inspired a movement for change across the country and around the world."
The statement also said TWC "regrets that it cannot undo the damage Harvey Weinstein caused, but hopes that today’s events will mark a new beginning."
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who has been investigating the multitude of allegations against Weinstein and the production company, released a statement calling their decision to terminate the non-disclosure agreements "a watershed moment for efforts to address the corrosive effects of sexual misconduct in the workplace."
"My office will continue to fight for victims’ best interests throughout the bankruptcy proceedings," Schneiderman said, adding that his office will work with all parties involved in the bankruptcy and subsequent sale of assets "in an ongoing effort to advance the principles we set forward when we filed our complaint: ensuring that victims are compensated, employees are protected moving forward, and perpetrators and enablers of abuse are not unjustly enriched."
Schneiderman also took to Twitter to reiterate that the bankruptcy will not negate his office's lawsuit against TWC and Robert Weinstein, Harvey's brother and TWC co-founder.
"My office will continue to fight for the victims. Our lawsuit against The Weinstein Company, Bob Weinstein, and Harvey Weinstein remains active and our investigation is ongoing," Schneiderman wrote.
As for TWC itself, the company has entered into a “stalking horse” agreement with the private equity company Lantern Capital Partners, who will purchase essentially all of TWC's assets and holdings. The deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware.
"The Company hopes that this orderly sale process under the supervision of the Bankruptcy Court will allow it to maximize the value of the Company’s assets for the benefit of its creditors and other stakeholders," TWC said in their release.
Harvey Weinstein was fired from TWC on Oct. 8, three days after the New York Times published a report claiming the producer reached at least eight settlements with women over sexual harassment claims from 1990 to 2015 and featured interviews with multiple accusers.
Subsequently, dozens of other actresses, models and TWC employees came forward with additional allegations of sexual misconduct.
The former producer denied the initial claims in a statement released by his lawyer, Charles J. Harder, who said the New York Times report was "saturated with false and defamatory statements."
"Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances," a rep for Weinstein said in a statement to ET. "Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path."
For more on the ongoing scandal and the many accusations leveled against Weinstein, watch the video below.
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