As sexual violence allegations against Harvey Weinstein continue to mount, the University of Southern California has announced that it "will not proceed" with a $5 million endowment from the film executive.
"The USC School of Cinematic Arts will not proceed with Mr. Weinstein’s pledge to fund a $5M endowment for women filmmakers," the USC School of Cinematic Arts said in a statement released to The Wrap on Tuesday.
Following last week's New York Times report that detailed three decades of alleged sexual misconduct, Weinstein released a statement in which he mentioned plans to create the endowment, which would fund scholarships for women directors.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
"One year ago, I began organizing a $5 million foundation to give scholarships to women directors at USC. While this might seem coincidental it has been in the works for a year," Weinstein wrote in a statement to The New York Times following the publication's bombshell report.
USC announced its decision on Tuesday, the same day The New York Times published a follow-up in which A-listers including Gwyneth Paltrow stated they'd been victims of Weinstein's sexual misconduct. Other actresses who have gone public with allegations against Weinstein include Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.
A New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow, also published on Tuesday, included three women's accounts of reportedly being raped by Weinstein. The outlet also released an audio recording of Weinstein that was reportedly captured during an NYPD sting operation. He can be heard aggressively pressuring model Ambra Battilana to come to his room despite her repeated protests.
Weinstein was terminated from the Weinstein Company on October 8.
In a statement provided to US Weekly, Weinstein's representative Sallie Hofmeister said "any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein."