Harvey Weinstein sacked over sexual harassment claims

Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein has been fired by the board of his company, following a string of sexual harassment allegations spanning more than 30 years.

In a statement issued by the Weinstein Company, the board of directors said “in light of new information about misconduct", the decision had been made to end Weinstein’s employment “effective immediately”.

“It was an escalation from Friday, when one-third of the company’s all-male board resigned and four members who remained announced that Weinstein would take a leave of absence while an outside lawyer investigated the allegations”, the New York Times says.

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The allegations against Weinstein have triggered a strong response from Washington, with a number of Democrats – to whom Weinstein had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars – working to distance themselves.

The Democratic National Committee said in a statement that it would donate more than $30,000 to various causes, "including Emily’s List, a political-action committee funding Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights,” the Wall Street Journal says.

“If people need for that money to be returned in order to make it clear that the entities that received them want nothing to do with him and his behaviour, then it is probably a smart move,” Democratic senator Chris Murphy said.

US President Donald Trump, who has himself faced allegations of sexual assault over the years, “told reporters outside the White House that he had ‘known Harvey Weinstein a long time’ and that he was ‘not at all surprised’ about the allegations,” the ABC reports.