THE WIFE OF Harvey Weinstein has said that she is leaving him over the string of rape and sexual harassment allegations against him.
Georgina Chapman, who married the film producer in 2007, told People Magazine that her “heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions”.
Chapman co-founded luxury brand Marchesa in 2004. She and Weinstein have two children together.
The news comes as the disgraced mogul faced claims he raped an Italian film star and two other women, in a widening scandal that has drawn condemnation from across the film industry as well as America’s political elite.
Fresh allegations
These latest accusations are a damaging escalation for Weinstein, with previous allegations limited to sexual harassment.
New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow spent 10 months interviewing 13 women who reported they were harassed or assaulted by Weinstein.
The investigation was published as fresh misconduct allegations emerged from Hollywood A-listers such as Angelina Jolie, Rosanna Arquette and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Italian actress Asia Argento, the 42-year-old daughter of iconic horror director Dario Argento, said Weinstein forced oral sex and intercourse on her 20 years ago.
She told the publication she had maintained her silence until now for fear that Weinstein would “crush” her, adding: “I know he has crushed a lot of people before.”
Lucia Evans, an aspiring actress, said she met Weinstein at the Miramax office in New York in 2004 and that he forced her to perform oral sex on him.
“I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t,’” she told the New Yorker.
Another woman, who was too afraid to allow her name to be published, told the New Yorker Weinstein brought her to a hotel room and “forced himself on me sexually”.
She thought about going to the police, but decided it would be a case of “he said, she said,” and worried about how powerful his legal team would be, and how much she had to lose.
Obama and Clinton weigh in
Weinstein was fired late on Sunday from his own film studio, three days after a New York Times report alleged that the man behind such hits as The King’s Speech and The Artist had preyed on young women hoping to break into the industry.
The Times, as well as various entertainment media, separately reported yesterday that the litany of Weinstein’s harassment victims also included Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Rosanna Arquette and French actress Judith Godreche.
“I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein,” former Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said in a statement yesterday, while former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle said they were “disgusted”.
“Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status,” they said in a statement.
With reporting by Sean Murray
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