Seven women who say there were sexually abused by Harvey Weinstein urged the New York Attorney General on Monday for help in renegotiating the terms of the “unfair settlement” with the disgraced movie mogul. In an open letter to AG Leticia James, the women ask her to reconsider her office’s previous decision to support the proposed “civil settlement of all Weinstein-related sexual harassment and sexual assault cases” because it is insulting and only “represents a small fraction of what should be paid” to the accusers. The letter states that under the current agreement, a large percentage of the settlement intended for victims will instead pay Weinstein’s lawyers, his brother, and former members of the Weinstein Company board of directors. “By supporting a settlement which takes funds that would otherwise go to a victim to a victimizer, the Attorney General’s Office will effectively be working to recover funds on behalf of Harvey Weinstein to fill a war chest to be used for his ongoing campaign against his victims,” the women write, adding that “her voice needs to be heard.”
The seven women—who wrote the letter two days before Weinstein is set to be sentenced for rape and sexual assault charges in Manhattan—include Zoë Brock, Alexandra Canosa, Rowena Chiu, Wedil David, Dominique Huett, Zelda Perkins, and Kaja Sokola. Weinstein faces a maximum combined sentence of 29 years in prison. “We hope that the Attorney General, as the chief law enforcement officer of the state of New York, finds the courage to stand up to Harvey Weinstein and his associates that we believe enabled him so as to ensure a fair settlement that provides adequate compensation for those that want to settle their claims and an unencumbered path forward for those survivors that want their day in court,” Douglas Wigdor, the lawyer who represents five of the seven women, told The Daily Beast.
