Less than a week after the New York Times published a story exposing the numerous alleged sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, a former NYT reporter has come forth claiming the publication killed a story which revealed Weinstein's involvement in similar accusations. Sharon Waxman, founder of The Wrap, detailed in a piece posted on Sunday how the Times buried her story amid pressure from Weinstein, as well as actors Matt Damon and Russell Crowe.
In 2004, Waxman was a fairly new reporter for the New York Times when she was assigned to look into the sexual allegations regarding Weinstein. Her research led her to Rome where she came across Fabrizio Lombardo, who was responsible for running Miramax Italy from 2003 to 2004. While the job title dictated one thing, Lombardo was allegedly responsible for taking care of "Weinstein’s women needs, among other things," according to Waxman. It was a job that netted Lombardo $400,000 while he was on Miramax's payroll for less than a year of work, even though he had no prior film experience.
Waxman was also able to track down a woman in London who was paid off following "an unwanted sexual encounter with Weinstein." While the woman feared speaking out after signing a non-disclosure agreement, Waxman claims that she had evidence proving she was paid off.
Before the piece could ever see the light of day, it was killed after Weinstein, a major advertiser for the Times, visited the newsroom to personally express his displeasure towards the story. Waxman also received phone calls from Damon and Crowe who vouched for Lombardo.
Eventually, a pared down version of her story made it to the Culture section of the New York Times. It was about an Italian executive being fired by Miramax and nothing more.
To read Waxman's piece in full, click here.
