TMZ: Weinstein's contract allowed for sexual harassment

(FOX 11) - Adding to the growing list of sex assault allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, actress Kate Beckinsale revealed Thursday that he came at her when she was just 17-years-old.

Actress Rose McGowan also dropped a major bombshell when she identified Weinstein as the man who allegedly raped her.

"She's been under a non-disclosure agreement, but today in tweets she said 'HW' raped me and she later confirmed to us that 'HW' stands for Harvey Weinstein, Rebecca Sun, Sr. Reporter at Hollywood Reporter, said.
According to Sun, McGowan was one of the first women who entered into any settlement with Weinstein, long before allegations of sexual abuse became public.

Weinstein has been fired from the film company he founded, which maintains all the allegations come as an "Utter surprise."

However, the New York Times reports that his company was aware of settlements he made with women dating back to 2015.

"The argument is that they thought it was consensual, that he was having consensual affairs and paying off women," sun said.

Or were they turning a blind eye?

TMZ reports Weinstein's own employment contract from 2015 said if he got sued for sexual harassment all he had to do was pay his company back for the settlement and he was in the clear.

According to TMZ, damages reportedly started at $250,000 for the first instance all the way up to a million dollars for repeat instances.

"If this contract says what we're hearing it would certainly prove that the company did know about Weinstein's conduct and they tried to put a clause in there to protect themselves," Anahita Sedaghatfar, FOX 11 contributing attorney, said.

Sedaghatfar believes if Weinstein wanted to turn around and sue his company for wrongful termination based on the clause in his contract, that wouldn't hold up in court.

"You cannot enter into an agreement with somebody or look away if you violated a crime or a state law," Sedaghatfar said.

With dozens of women now coming forward with accusations against the movie producer, detectives in New York and London have opened a criminal investigation.

"I don't think you can describe him as a sex addict, he's a predator that's different," actress, Emma Thompson, said.

"It's epidemic and when they are famous and powerful like Harvey then it gets talked about," actress, Jane Fonda, said.

Weinstein, who has allegedly entered rehab in Arizona, denies all reports of non-consensual sex.

The LAPD said Thursday it doesn't have any open sexual assault cases against Weinstein and would only open an investigation if alleged victims filed a police report.