By Frazier Moore,Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Spike network is investigating reports of sexual harassment by the brother of disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein against the female showrunner of a series produced by The Weinstein Co. and aired on Spike.
Amanda Segel, a former executive producer of the sci-fi series "The Mist," claims Bob Weinstein made repeated overtures to her that included invitations to dinner, to his home and to a hotel room, according to a story published Tuesday by Variety.
"We take all allegations of this nature very seriously, and are investigating," Spike said in a statement.
She says the propositions began in June 2016 and were put to a stop a few months later only after Segel's lawyer gave Weinstein Co. executives an ultimatum that Segel would leave the show if Weinstein persisted.
An arrangement reportedly was struck that restricted Weinstein's contact with Segel while she was doing her job. ("The Mist" was recently cancelled after a 10-episode first season.)
Bert Fields, an attorney for Weinstein, strongly refuted the allegations.
"Variety's story is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Miss Segel," Fields said. "Even if you believed anything that she said, it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching, or even a request for such touching."
"I've known Bob Weinstein for many years," Fields added, "and he's the last guy that would be involved in any form of sexual harassment."
Segel's attorney, David Fox, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Segel's accusations came to light just two weeks after an explosive story by The New York Times reported on older brother Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual harassment and assault of women spanning several decades. That story was followed by another expose in The New Yorker.
Since those stories surfaced, more than three dozen women have spoken up with additional accusations. Harvey Weinstein was fired from the company he co-founded with Bob, and on Tuesday resigned from its board. He lost his membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The very future of The Weinstein Co. is currently in doubt.
In the meantime, Bob Weinstein has publicly condemned his brother while professing he was unaware that Harvey had engaged in any non-consensual relations with women.
"I'm mortified and disgusted by my brother's actions. And I am sick for the victims," he said in an interview by The Hollywood Reporter published Saturday.
Until now, no such accusations had been made against Bob Weinstein.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More