Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood producer, and Democratic donor was accused last week of three decades worth of sexual harassment. Weinstein had ties to former President Barack Obama who as of writing on Oct. 10, has remained silent.
As both Republicans and Democrats joined together to blast Weinstein, some mentioned another connection the former president had with Weinsten—his daughter Malia Obama just interned with his company, Newsweek reported.
Malia, 19, Obama’s eldest daughter got an internship at the company after her dad left office earlier this year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
She worked for the New York City office and according to TMZ, Malia was “ensconced in the production/development department,” her job involved “reading through scripts and deciding which ones move on to Weinstein brass.”
The New York Times investigation into Weinstein also mentioned Malia’s internship and revealed he had paid off at least eight women who accused him of sexual harassment.
The Weinstein Company fired Weinstein on Sunday last week after the story broke.
Frank Rich, an executive producer for Veep and a New York writer questioned Malia’s parents’ decision to send their daughter to work there in the first place.
“Biggest mystery of @nytimes Weinstein story: How exemplary parents like Obamas let their daughter work there. The stories were out there,” Rich wrote on Twitter.
Biggest mystery of @nytimes Weinstein story: How exemplary parents like Obamas let their daughter work there. The stories were out there.
— Frank Rich (@frankrichny) October 6, 2017
Weinstein was a major donor to Democratic candidates and a few of them, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, vowed to give their equivalent sums to charity, Newsweek reported.
The Obamas also had their own history with Weinstein—the producer gave to Barack Obama’s campaign and in November 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama thanked Weinstein at a career event.
“This is possible because of Harvey. He is a wonderful human being, a good friend and just a powerhouse,” she said at the time.
Weinstein in a statement to the The Times last Thursday did not seem to deny the allegations, instead, he apologized.
“I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go” he wrote in a statement.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and producer Harvey Weinstein attend the TIME 100 Gala, at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2012, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for TIME)Hillary Clinton, who also received contributions from Weinstein, had initially remained silent on the scandal until five days later on Oct. 10, when she finally issued a statement CNN reported.
“I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein. The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior” the statement said. It made no mention of returning contributions from Weinstein.
According to CNN, Weinstein donated the most to Hillary, totaling over $15,000 across multiple races and elections.
As the controversy pulled in reactions from both politicians and celebrities, Corey Lewandowski, the ex-campaign manager for now-President Donald Trump, wrote in a column for The Hill that “’Harvey Weinstein Democrats’…live one way and preach that everybody else live by a different set of standards.”
From NTD.tv
