Harvey Weinstein fired from own company following sexual harassment allegations

Harvey Weinstein. Photo / AP

Hollywood movie executive Harvey Weinstein has been fired from his own company following sexual harassment allegations, TMZ reports.

Weinstein Company Board of Representatives have issued a statement saying that his employment with The Weinstien Company has been terminated.

Breaking: Harvey Weinstein has been fired from The Weinstein Company. pic.twitter.com/0iIxt8qIha

— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) October 8, 2017

The New York Times reported that Weinstein has over the years reached at least eight legal settlements with women over alleged harassment.

The allegations extend back to Weinstein's days running Miramax, an independent film studio that was then owned by the Walt Disney Co.

As the crisis worsened, Weinstein has lost key allies.

His lawyer Lisa Bloom resigned on Saturday, as did his adviser Lanny Davis, a former White House hand to Bill Clinton.

One third of the all-male board quit on Friday, including billionaire investors Marc Lasry and Dirk Ziff, and technicolor executive Tim Sarnoff. Weinstein was said to be furiously resisting efforts to force him out permanently.

He has also struggled with forming a coherent response, veering from contrition to combativeness.

An initial statement to the Times acknowledged past mistakes, while pledging to reform himself.

Shortly after, Weinstein's lawyer Charles Harder said he was preparing to sue the paper, accusing it of making "false and defamatory statements". Weinstein also said he was taking a leave of absence, only to continue appearing at work.

The board later forced him to take an indefinite leave on Friday. Bob Weinstein and Glasser have been pushing for Weinstein to leave the company, believing he threatened the studio's ability to continue to attract top talent and to release film and television shows.

Weinstein has maintained that he can weather the crisis and re-emerge. Weinstein has been a major force in independent film for decades, helping bring art house movies such as Cinema Paradiso and The Crying Game to mass audiences, and propelling the likes of Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love to commercial success and awards glory.

- additional reporting news.com.au