Weinstein paid money to assistant to silence her

A British former assistant of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein says she was paid $165,200 to keep quiet after accusing the movie mogul of sexual harassment.

Zelda Perkins told Financial Times that she signed a non-disclosure agreement in 1998 after making the accusations, reports bbc.com.

She said he asked her to give him massages and tried to pull her into bed, but she "was made to feel ashamed for disclosing his behaviour".

Weinstein has denied any allegations of non-consensual sex "unequivocally".

The former assistant said she reported her allegations after a female colleague told her she had also been sexually harassed by the film producer.

The two women subsequently sought damages and were awarded a sum of $330,500, split equally, but also signed a non-disclosure agreement, prohibiting them from discussing the allegations.

By breaking the agreement, Perkins could be liable to repay the settlement, and potentially pay damages and other legal fees stipulated in the contract.

"I want to publicly break my non-disclosure agreement. Unless somebody does this there won't be a debate about how egregious these agreements are and the amount of duress that victims are put under," she said.

--IANS

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