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 Los Angeles-based street artist Plastic Jesus on Thursday
unveiled a statue called "Casting Couch," depicting a life-size
Weinstein, clothed in a bathrobe, sitting on a golden colored
couch and holding an Oscar. It was installed near the Hollywood
venue where the Academy Awards ceremony will be held.
More than 70 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct,
including rape. Weinstein has denied having nonconsensual sex
with anyone.
His representatives did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on the installation.
The accusations against Weinstein triggered a flood of
allegations of sexual impropriety by other celebrities that have
rocked Hollywood and dominated this year's movie awards season.
"Whilst many thought the 'casting couch' was a thing of the past
it was clearly still a part of the Hollywood culture," Plastic
Jesus said in a statement on his Facebook page.
"Hopefully now in the light of recent allegations against many
leading figures in Hollywood the industry will clean up it's
(sic) act," he said.
Weinstein was one of the movie industry's most influential men,
powering independent movies such as "The King's Speech" and
"Shakespeare in Love" to Oscar best picture wins.
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He was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
last year and fired from his company, the Weinstein Company. The
company said on Sunday it planned to file for bankruptcy.
The 'Casting Couch' statue followed the appearance in Los Angeles on
Wednesday of billboards designed by street artist Sabo that accused
the entertainment industry of staying silent about sexual
misconduct.
Plastic Jesus said the Weinstein statue was a collaboration with the
artist Joshua "Ginger" Monroe and took two months to produce. It was
paid for by donations through their websites.
Plastic Jesus and Ginger were also responsible for producing naked
statues of Donald Trump that appeared in various U.S. cities in
2016, before he was elected U.S. president.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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