Harvey Weinstein resigns from board of his movie company amid sexual harassment row

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company on Tuesday, in the face of a storm of allegations of sexual abuse and assault by a number of women in the film industry, as reported by Reuters. The revelations against Weinstein came to public knowledge when the New York Times on 5 October blew the lid on several settlements with sexual harassment accusers that the powerful Hollywood producer had made over three decades. Following the story,  dozens of accusers including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie , Ashley Judd have come forward and presented shocking testimonies of abuse by Weinstein. He initially apologised for his conduct but continues to maintain that his relationships were consensual. [caption id=“attachment_4154941” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company. AP Photo[/caption] The Weinstein Company has been faltering in its response to the scandal, although it fired Weinstein as co-chairman on 8 October and has tried to distance itself from his actions, he continued to own 22 percent of the company stock and held a seat on the board, which ends with this announcement. The resignation comes in a series of several denouncements by several companies, directors and institutions in Hollywood over the past week, including his expulsion from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . The company is finding it difficult to feign ignorance of all knowledge of Weinstein’s behavior and the settlements. Weinstein is fighting his termination on the grounds of violation of company’s code of ethics. His attorney Patricia Glaser, claims the board was aware of several settlements when Weinstein signed his most recent contract in 2015. The embattled board of the company had announced a possible sale to Colony Capital in an effort to save the organisation, as reported by the Hollywood trade publication Variety. Harvey Weinstein was a hugely successful and powerful Hollywood producer who co-founded Miramax (1979) and The Weinstein Company (2005), known for producing films like The King’s Speech and Pulp Fiction.