Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein was fired from his eponymous film studio in part because he allegedly tried to intimidate staffers into not cooperating with an independent investigation of sexual-harassment allegations against him, Variety reported Monday. Weinstein also desperately tried to appeal to Hollywood CEOs for help hours before the board of The Weinstein Company fired him for breaching the company’s code of ethics. “All I’m asking, is let me take a leave of absence and get into heavy therapy and counseling,” he wrote in a letter. “Whether it be in a facility or somewhere else, allow me to resurrect myself with a second change. A lot of the allegations are false as you know but given therapy and counseling as other people have done, I think I’d be able to get there.” Last week The New York Times reported that Weinstein had settled at least eight sexual harassment lawsuits, prompting more women to come forward with allegations.