UPDATED: Lisa Bloom has resigned from advising Harvey Weinstein, who is embattled in accusations of decades-long sexual harassment.
The high-profile lawyer who has made a name for herself by defending women over the course of her career tweeted her resignation on Saturday afternoon.
“I have resigned as an advisor to Harvey Weinstein,” Bloom tweeted. “My understanding is that Mr. Weinstein and his board are moving toward an agreement.” Weinstein took an “indefinite” leave of absence from the Weinstein Company after the board put him under investigation due to the allegations.
I have resigned as an advisor to Harvey Weinstein.
My understanding is that Mr. Weinstein and his board are moving toward an agreement.— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) October 7, 2017
Bloom’s resignation comes after a flurry of criticism surfaced on social media over the past 24 hours, attacking Bloom’s decision to represent Weinstein. Naysayers called her a hypocrite, and posited that her advising Weinstein marked a reversal of her career’s previous objective of providing a voice for women.
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Lanny Davis, another Weinstein adviser, has also resigned, according to sources close to the situation. Davis’ office declined to comment on the matter. According to The New York Times, Davis and Weinstein had allegedly disagreed over how to handle the sexual harassment allegations.
Over the past year, Bloom became a highly-recognizable media figure for her work with celebrity clients including Kathy Griffin, Blac Chyna, and Mischa Barton, the latter of which dealt with revenge porn. Most notably, she was the driving force behind taking down former Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly through her representation of several alleged female victims.
One of Bloom’s biggest critics was her own mother, power lawyer Gloria Allred, who attacked her daughter for representing Weinstein. She said in a statement, “Had I been asked by Mr. Weinstein to represent him, I would have declined, because I do not represent individuals accused of sex harassment.”
Just yesterday, Bloom spoke to Variety and defended her decision to advise Weinstein, telling us exclusively, “I have a different kind of law practice. My mother does only plaintiff side discrimination and harassment work. I have a successful, 12-lawyer general practice law firm that includes business litigation, defamation, revenge porn cases, entertainment matters, family law, and much more. … I believe that we can do good by suing, but also working behind the scenes to encourage accused people to respond with dignity and respect. … I would never take a case where either my lawyer mother or my lawyer daughter is opposing counsel. That’s another area where we differ. I believe in family before business.”
Aside from advising Weinstein through his sexual harassment scandal, Bloom’s book about Trayvon Martin is also being developed for television at Weinstein’s company, with Jay-Z attached as a producer. At press time, it was unclear if Bloom is still developing the project with the Weinstein Company.
Variety has reached out to Bloom for further comment regarding her resignation.
