Harvey Weinstein drew up 'secret hit list’ targetting sexual harassment accusers

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly drew up a "secret hit list" of nearly 100 actors, publicists, producers and financers in an attempt to silence his sexual harassment victims.

The list, which was obtained by The Guardian's sister paper Observer, was compiled earlier this year and supposedly includes names of targets Weinstein hoped he could prevent from going public. The report adds that Weinstein handed the list to private investigators to extract information from anyone who might have been aware of his long history of sexual misconduct. Thought not all the names were shared by the website, there were some familiar ones.

Among them were Rose McGowan, Sophie Dix, and Laura Madden, all of whom have accused the producer of sexual harassment. Many of the names were highlighted in red to indicate targets Weinstein believed posed great risk to him.

File image of Harvey Weinstein. AP

It was reported last week that Weinstein had hired journalists and highly trained ex-spies and military personnel in order to stop accusers from going public with sexual misconduct claims against him.

In the month since The New Yorker and The New York Times published allegations of producer Weinstein's serial predatory behaviour, some 100 women have since accused him of misconduct ranging from harassment to rape. This, in turn, unleashed an avalanche of similar charges against other prominent men in Hollywood.