Democrats continued to distance themselves from Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein Sunday, following reporters that the filmmaker repeatedly sexually harassed his female employees. Weinstein had been a prolific campaign donor to the party.
Asked if she would return donations from the mogul, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told NBC on Sunday she was not certain she had received any money from Weinstein.
When she was told records showed she had received donations from Weinstein, the senator replied, “I just don’t know,” adding Weinstein had done “mighty wrong” before reciting her record on women’s issues.
“No one has ever questioned where I stand on any of this stuff. So, when somebody comes to you and says, ‘Oh, they contributed to you. Are you giving back the money?’ You sort of look like a startled bird and say, ‘Well, let me look and see.’ And that is the best I can do for you today,” Feinstein said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., another recipient of donations from Weinstein, told CNN on Sunday he would “probably” return the funds.
“This is a pretty bad guy who did some really awful things and if people need for that money to be returned in order to make it clear that the entities that received them want nothing to do with him and his behavior, then that’s probably a smart move,” Murphy said.
The New York Times reported last week at least eight settlements had been paid to women who alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax, the studio that produced such hits as “Pulp Fiction” and “Chicago.”
The report alleged Weinstein used his position to demand sexual favors from the women, in one case pressuring a woman to give him a nude massage. Weinstein’s behavior was apparently an open secret in Hollywood.
Weinstein attributed his behavior to having grown up “in the ‘60s and ’70s, when all of the rules about behavior and workplaces were different.”
The report prompted several prominent Democrats such as Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., to return donations from Weinstein. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the movie mogul has donated more than $1.4 million to the party since 1990.
