ABC/Randy Holmes(NEW YORK) — Channing Tatum will no longer develop his current project — or any others — with The Weinstein Company, he announced Wednesday.
The producer and Kingsman 2 actor, along with his producing partner Reid Carolin had been developing a film adaptation of the book Forgive Me Leonard Peacock — which, incidentally, deals with the theme of sexual abuse — with the now-embattled studio.
In the wake of the Weinstein sex scandal that has shaken Hollywood, the pair say all that has changed.
“The brave women who had the courage to stand up and speak their truth about Harvey Weinstein are true heroes to us. They are lifting the heavy bricks to build the equitable world we all deserve to live in,” the two said in a joint statement. “While we will no longer develop it or anything else that is property of TWC, we are reminded of its powerful message of healing in the wake of tragedy. This is a giant opportunity for real positive change that we proudly commit ourselves to. The truth is out — let’s finish what our incredible colleagues started and eliminate abuse from our creative culture once and for all.”
Last week, Lin-Manuel Miranda and playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes tweeted that they wanted the Weinstein Co. to surrender the rights to their musical In the Heights in light of the allegations made against Weinstein. In addition, Amazon has abandoned plans to develop a series involving David O. Russell, Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro in conjunction with the studio.
Over the past two weeks, Weinstein has been accused by numerous women of sexual misconduct, including harassment and abuse. Though he apologized immediately for his inappropriate behavior, he “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual sex in a statement provided to The New Yorker magazine by his spokeswoman.
Still, Weinstein was terminated by the board of his studio, only later to resign. He is still pursuing a claim that he was wrongfully fired, ABC News confirmed Tuesday.
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