Hillary Clinton's publicist reportedly expressed 'concern' to Ronan Farrow about his Harvey Weinstein investigation


Hillary Clinton's publicist reportedly expressed "concern" to Ronan Farrow about his investigation into Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual abuse.
Farrow's new book Catch and Kill is packed with explosive allegations about his time investigating Weinstein, originally for NBC News and then for The New Yorker. Among them is that Farrow claims Weinstein "attempted to leverage his long-term relationship with Hillary Clinton to pressure" him, as The Hollywood Reporter writes based on an advance copy of the book.
According to the Reporter, Farrow in the book reports that in summer 2017, while he was attempting to secure an interview with Clinton for an unrelated book he was writing, he received a call from Nick Merrill, Clinton's publicist. Merrill reportedly told Farrow the "big story" he was working on, that being the Weinstein investigation, was a "concern for us." Farrow in the book also says that in September 2017, the month before he would publish his New Yorker piece in which numerous women accuse the film producer of sexual harassment or assault, Weinstein proposed a docuseries on Clinton to NBC News International President Deborah Turness, who told him it "sounds absolutely stunning."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Merrill tweeted Wednesday he had "already rejected" a Weinstein Company documentary about the 2016 election before speaking with Farrow and that he has "no idea what Weinstein was saying to people to save himself." Clinton condemned Weinstein, a Democratic donor, after the allegations against him emerged in 2017, saying in a statement, "The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated."
This wasn't the only way Weinstein allegedly attempted to kill the investigation, with Farrow also reporting that Weinstein put pressure on NBC to spike the story by making it "known to the network that he was aware of [Matt] Lauer's behavior and capable of revealing it." NBC News ultimately did not run Farrow's story, with NBC News Chair Andy Lack saying in 2018 it was not "yet fit to broadcast."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Codeword: August 2, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: August 2, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib Bukele
Speed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on Canada
Speed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect
-
Harris rules out run for California governor
Speed Read The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee ended months of speculation about her plans for the contest
-
Trump sets new tariff rates as deadline nears
Speed Read New tariff rates for South Korea, Brazil and India announced
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Senate confirms Trump loyalist Bove to top court
Speed Read The president's former criminal defense lawyer was narrowly approved to earn a lifetime seat
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein