Who Is Lauren Sivan? Harvey Weinstein Allegedly Masturbated In Front Of Reporter

At a time when Harvey Weinstein is surrounded by several sexual abuse claims, a news anchor has come forward and revealed how the Hollywood producer had masturbated in front of her in public decades ago.

According to a Huffington Post report, Lauren Sivan who was working as a news anchor with a local cable channel in New York at the time said the experience had left her shocked and that she had discussed the incident with her friends who had advised her to remain quiet.

The report also details how Sivan met Weinstein along with a few other people at a popular Italian restaurant in Manhattan and then rode with him to Socialista, a Cuban-themed club, and restaurant.

As Sivan and Weinstein reached Socialista, he took her for a tour of the property. As they reached the kitchen area, Weinstein saw a few staffers working in the kitchen. Soon, he dismissed all of them. As they left, he leaned in to kiss Sivan. However, she rejected his advances to which Weinstein said to her: “Well, can you just stand there and shut up.”

According to Sivan, Weinstein then undressed and masturbated in front of her, zipped his pants back and left the place. Sivan, who was shocked by the entire incident, said Weinstein had called her at her office the next day to tell her “he had a great time last night.”

Speaking further about Weinstein, Sivan also said that the Hollywood producer’s car was “stocked full of cases of Diet Coke” and that she found it very weird, according to the report.

Meanwhile, The Weinstein Company on Friday announced that the Hollywood producer would go on an indefinite leave with immediate effect, the New York Times reported.

“As Harvey has said, it is important for him to get professional help for the problems he has acknowledged. Next steps will depend on Harvey’s therapeutic progress, the outcome of the Board’s independent investigation, and Harvey’s own personal decisions,” a statement signed by four board members, Bob Weinstein, Tarak Ben Ammar, Lance Maerov and Richard Koenigsberg read.

As Weinstein left for an indefinite absence from work, one-third of his company’s board members submitted their resignation. Members of the board — Dirk Ziff, Marc Lasry and Tim Sarnoff — all three resigned from their posts, according to the report.

On Friday, Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing Weinstein called his behavior “gross” and “illegal” even as she continued to defend him. In an interview with ABC News presenter George Stephanopoulos, Bloom said about Weinstein: “I'm working with a guy who has behaved badly over the years, who is genuinely remorseful. I’m not defending him in any sexual harassment cases – there aren’t any sexual harassment cases.”

Speaking to the New York Times a day prior to her interview with Stephanopoulos, Bloom had said: “The allegations if true would constitute sexual harassment. However, Mr. Weinstein denies many of them and was not given a fair opportunity to present evidence and witnesses on his side.”