Sandeep Rehal has filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, claiming she was forced to follow orders from him while he was naked and clean up after his sexual encounters.
Rehal worked as Weinstein’s assistant from February 2013 to February 2015. She described her environment as sexuall hostile and said she suffers from severe emotional distress because of it.
The lawsuit claims that Rehal had to take care of Weinstein’s supply of injectable erectile drugs and throw away use condoms and clean semen off the couch. When the drugs were no longer available from Weinstein’s London doctor, he told Rehal to find a supply in the U.S. and would give her a $500 if she succeeded.
“As Ms. Rehal soon learned, Harvey Weinstein’s assistants were expected to be available at all times; there was no boundary between Harvey Weinstein’s work life and personal life. Much of Ms. Rehal’s work as an employee of TWC involved catering to Harvey Weinstein’s sexual appetites and activities, and catering to his demeaning and often abusive family members,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges that Rehal had to follow Weinstein’s order while he walked around naked. He touched her inappropriately while she was in the car with him. He also made lewd comments to her in public.
“When Ms. Rehal sat cross-legged in an attempt to prevent him from being able to touch her thigh, Harvey Weinstein would touch the back of her legs and butt,” the claim explains. The Oscar winner also allegedly had a penchant for walking so close behind her that “his large belly would touch her.”
The lawsuit also names Weinstein’s brother Bob Weinstein, the Weinstein Co. and human resource executive Frank Gil as co-defendants. They allegedly “aided and abetted Harvey Weinstein’s creation of a sexually hostile work environment.”
“This was an extremely hostile working environment that should have been of great concern to The Weinstein Co. They really should have pulled the reins back on Harvey Weinstein a long time ago,” Rehal’s lawyer, Genie Harrison, said.
Rehal is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
Weinstein has faced many sexual harassment lawsuits over the past several months. Just last December, six women sued Weinstein, claiming they were serving as a proxy for the “hundreds of other women in the entertainment industry who suffered false imprisonment, rape and other instances of harassment.”
According to their lawsuit, everyone knew what Weinstein was doing, including his brother and lawyer, and attempted to cover it up. The plaintiffs said the defendants “colluded together to perpetuate and conceal Weinstein’s widespread sexual harassment and assaults.”
For more information about the sexual assault cases in the news, read on at Cohen & Cohen
