Yet another woman has accused disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, with a former employee now coming forward after two decades to tell her story.
Rowena Chiu, who worked for Weinstein while she was an assistant at Miramax, spoke with journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their new book She Said, alleging Weinstein assaulted her in a hotel room in 1998, as reported by The New York Times. She later received a settlement. Chiu spoke alongside Kantor, Twohey, and actress and Weinstein accuser Ashley Judd on Monday's Today, saying that when she was initially approached in October 2017, when the allegations against Weinstein were first reported, the idea of breaking her non-disclosure agreement was "terrifying."
At that point, Chiu says she had not spoken with her loved ones about the assault, and she "wasn't ready" to come forward, fearful of the "repercussions."
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"It really has taken all of two years to square some of those things away," Chiu told NBC News.
Chiu said that Weinstein on numerous occasions asked her to give him a massage and that this escalated until "he pushed me back against the bed, and I was petrified and terrified as he tried to rape me."
According to the Times, Chiu says she struggled with depression after the alleged assault and attempted suicide, but she was inspired to come forward after meeting Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 2018. Weinstein, who has been charged with rape and predatory sexual assault and will stand trial in January, has denied Chiu's allegation. Brendan Morrow
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