Harvey Weinstein Reneged on Payoff to HR Director, Suit Claims
The former Human Resources director of the Weinstein Co. filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming he never received a $450,000 payout he was promised in the wake of the New York Times’ expose in October 2017.
Frank Gil alleges that Weinstein promised him the money on Oct. 6, the day after the Times’ story ran. Weinstein had asked Gil to conduct an investigation to figure out who had leaked internal information about Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment to the Times.
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Within another two days, Weinstein would be fired. Gil was suspended the day after that, and later resigned. Gil is suing Weinstein for breach of contract, claiming the disgraced mogul reneged on a personal guarantee for the $450,000.
Gil is also suing Bob Weinstein and David Glasser, the former chairman and president of the company, respectively, claiming that the two wrongfully forced him out of the company.
In the suit, Gil states that he told Harvey Weinstein that his brother Bob and Glasser were behind the leaks to the Times. The complaint does not provide evidence or a basis for that conclusion. The suit also claims that Gil became aware of payments to Glasser from the Weinstein Co. CFO, which he says were hidden from Harvey Weinstein.
Gil alleges that Glasser and Bob Weinstein suspended him in retaliation for the leak probe and for his knowledge of the payments.
Gil goes on to accuse Bob Weinstein and Glasser of defaming him in the press. The suit alleges that the two were sources for a Vanity Fair story that alleged that Gil made off with Harvey Weinstein’s personnel file in the days following the Times report.
“As a result of these false published statements, Mr. Gil has been blacklisted from the entertainment industry and remains out of work since October 2017,” the suit alleges.
Weinstein’s representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
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