Staff reveal what it was like working for Harvey Weinstein in new claims against disgraced producer

ESCORTING women to his hotel room and picking up erectile dysfunction medication was part of the job working for Harvey Weinstein, former staff have revealed.

FORMER staff of embattled super-producer Harvey Weinstein have revealed how they were forced to bring women to his hotel room and collect erectile dysfunction medication in a new documentary about the one-time movie mogul.

Working With Weinstein covers the UK-based claims of sexual harassment and alleged abuse carried out by Weinstein stretching back three decades.

The documentary set to air on the UK’s Channel Four features interviews with former assistants and staff at The Weinstein Company, as well as producer David Parfitt, who worked with him on My Week With Marilyn and Shakespeare In Love and claimed Weinstein physically assaulted him over a movie.

MORE: All the women accusing Harvey Weinstein

Weinstein denies all the allegations made in the hour-long documentary.

During an interview, a former employee of The Weinstein Company said she was called on to escort women to his room and pick up a “sensitive” prescription that turned out to be “boxes and boxes” of injections.

“They were penile erection dysfunction injections. And I thought, I’ve been picking these things up off the floor,” she said.

Actor Uma Thurman, who is indelibly linked to Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax studio, has broken her silence about the disgraced Hollywood mogul, accusing him of attacking her and threatening her career. Picture: AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat and Robyn Beck

Another former Miramax employee said her first meeting with Weinstein went from a work conversation to him asking for a massage.

“I remember feeling sort of, sort of, quite shocked by this request. And him sort of, you know, you know, saying, you know, ‘What’s wrong with that, that’s normal. All my staff do this, this is very normal.’ And I felt that I was the one who was sexualising it and who was making it a problem. And so I ended up being given a massage by him.

“So he took my top off and he started massaging me. And I think all my clothes ended up coming off. And he, he was wearing a robe and masturbating. And then, it was a constant, there were constant new requests. It was, have a ... no, no, let’s have a shower.

“Any time I was, summonsed to a, to the Savoy where he would work from, there were always requests for massage. You know, he never stopped trying it on, never. Even having promised that he wouldn’t. It was consistent and constant.”

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn. The film’s UK producer David Parfitt accused Mr Weinstein of physical assault.

Salma Hayek said Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed her in an article in the New York Times. Picture: AFP/Chris Delmas

The documentary also hears staff claim widespread use of nondisclosure agreements within The Weinstein Company allowed him to behave with impunity.

Former employees spoke about a “code” between assistants where they would wear large jackets, stay in groups or refuse to sit next to him to avoid his advances.

UK producer David Parfitt also alleged that he was “physically assaulted” by Weinstein after having seen a final cut of My Week With Marilyn, when the pair disagreed over the film’s final cut.

“In his fury about it doing so well when he thought it wouldn’t, he physically assaulted me. We were talking at the back of the theatre after the audience had left, but the Miramax crowd were around, and he pinned me up against a Coke machine and threatened all sorts of stuff,” he said.

“It was very scary. But he was just furious that the film in our version had worked.”

Mr Weinstein said all the claims in the documentary are false and the use of nondisclosure agreements was common in the film industry. He also denied assaulting the producer.

“Mr Parfitt and Mr Weinstein had creative differences on the film. Any conflict between them was solely over their different visions for the film,” a spokesman for Harvey Weinstein said.

“While Mr Weinstein has apologised for boorish behaviour in certain situations in the past, Mr Weinstein unequivocally denies he ever engaged in criminal misconduct of any kind.”

Taylor Swift, musician Este Haim, actor Jaime King, producer Harvey Weinstein and recording artist Lorde attend The Weinstein Company & Netflix’s 2015 Golden Globes After Party. Last year, celebrities wore black as part of a Time’s Up initiative against sexual assault. Picture: Getty Images

The documentary is the first to detail the UK-based allegations against the former Hollywood powerbroker following an outpouring of allegations from high-profile stars like Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman. UK police are also investigating allegations from nine different women against him that stretch back to the 1980s.

Lawyer Jill Greenfield, who represents “half a dozen” women in a UK Civil Court Action said many of those who felt powerless are now fighting back.

“You’ve got an awful lot of women who have been afraid for many years and are still very afraid, but these women now have an awful lot of other women and people around them who are really not afraid and are prepared to go all the way on this.

“He may be or may have been a powerful man, but it doesn’t matter. He’s not above the law. He’s just a man.”

Working With Weinstein airs on Tuesday, February 20 at 10pm on Channel 4 in the UK.

Originally published as Staff reveal what it was like working for Harvey Weinstein in new claims against disgraced producer