Video has emerged of a man slapping Harvey Weinstein as he left a restaurant in Arizona.
Hollywood mogul Weinstein has made headlines in recent months following a series of rape and sexual assault allegations made by numerous women. Weinstein has “unequivocally denied” all claims, but is being investigated by police over the allegations.
TMZ reports that Weinstein was having dinner at the Elements restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona on Tuesday night (January 9) when a man reportedly named Steve approached his table to ask for a selfie.
According to the report, the man claims that Weinstein was “extremely rude” and “belligerent” when turning down his selfie request.
Footage shows the man later approaching Weinstein again as he leaves the restaurant. He is seen appearing to slap Weinstein twice on the face before calling him a “piece of shit”. Steve later told TMZ that he had “quite a bit to drink” prior to the incident.
Weinstein is said to have declined to call the police and swiftly left the restaurant.
The restaurant manager has reportedly contradicted the man’s claims that Weinstein was “belligerent”, with the manager telling TMZ that the shamed mogul was “sweet” during the initial interaction and politely declined the selfie request.
TMZ has since posted audio of the initial interaction, which it claims shows that Steve was “clearly not telling the truth”.
Meanwhile, the Weinstein Company is reportedly in the midst of being sold, with six potential buyers showing interest.
According to The Wall Street Journal, it’s set to sell for $500 million, with most of the funds – a reported $250 million – going towards legal fees.