Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction landed him in prison. Allegations of serial sexual abuse cost him his career and his movie studio. His company went bankrupt and later settled legal claims by about 50 women.
But one group of wealthy insiders walked away relatively unscathed — the Weinstein Company’s board of directors.
Some women alleged that the board knew for years that the producer had paid off some of his accusers, buying their silence through nondisclosure agreements. But the studio’s Chapter 11 filing ended up legally shielding the directors. As part of the settlement, a bankruptcy judge granted the board members — some of them billionaires — lifetime immunity from lawsuits related to the movie mogul’s alleged abuse.