Amanda Segel, an executive producer of the Weinstein Company television drama "The Mist," has accused Hollywood film producer Bob Weinstein of sexually harassing her.
Segel said that Weinstein repeatedly made romantic overtures to her over the course of three months during the summer of 2016, when he asked her to join him for private dinners, Variety reported Tuesday.
The harassment began in the summer of 2016 and continued on and off for about three months until Segel's lawyer, David Fox of Myman Greenspan, informed TWC executives—including COO David Glasser—that she would leave the show if Bob Weinstein did not stop contacting her on personal matters.
"'No' should be enough," Segel told Variety. "After 'no,' anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didn't want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that 'no' is enough from now on."
A representative for Bob Weinstein denied that he engaged in any inappropriate behavior in a statement to Variety.
"Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms. Segel in L.A. in June 2016," the statement said. "He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most unfortunate that any such claim has been made."
Segel's allegations against Weinstein come on the heels of explosive allegations of sexual harassment and assault levied against his older brother and longtime business partner, Harvey Weinstein. The New York Times and the New Yorker both reported earlier this month that Weinstein, an Oscar-winning producer and Democratic mega-donor, has been accused of sexually harassing dozens of women, including actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.
Segel's discomfort with Weinstein began when he asked her intimate questions during a dinner in Los Angeles. She told Variety that he asked her age and mentioned that he did not want to date anybody younger than his daughter. He also asked her in the middle of dinner if she could give him a ride to the Beverly Hills hotel that he was staying at and asked her to come up to his room, which she declined, according to Variety.
After Segel declined Weinstein's invitation to his hotel room, he began sending her emails that asked questions out of the ordinary that did not pertain to her work on "The Mist." Weinstein told Segel that he wanted to be friends with her. She said that it was possible, but in a non-romantic way and emphasized that she was not open to dating him, Variety reported.
In a scenario that echoes some of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Segel asserts that during this period Bob Weinstein invited her to a house he'd rented in Malibu for a party. When he called Segel to tell her the address of the house, she gathered that it was not a party but an invitation for the two of them to be alone. She did not attend.
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Eventually, Weinstein stopped the unwanted attention toward Segel. During a notes conference call with network executives about the show, Segel says Weinstein became angry and screamed at Segel over a production issue that she says was out of her control. When questioned about the outburst by others on the call, Segel expressed her view that she had been sexually harassed by Weinstein for three months. After that incident, Segel had her lawyer contact TWC executives with the ultimatum that she would leave the show if Weinstein did not stay away from her.
Segel, her lawyers, and executives at the Weinstein Company went back and forth until they finally made an agreement that she would continue her work on the show under the condition that she would never be in the same room as Weinstein or on phone calls with him. Weinstein abided by the agreement.