Oft-accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein was missing Thursday at a Manhattan hearing where his ex-wife demanded a $5 million child support advance.
Eve Chilton, a former Weinstein assistant who divorced the Oscar-winning Hollywood hit-maker in 2004, fears her ex-spouse's fortune will disappear amid lawsuits linked to his alleged sordid sexual behavior.
"We have a weekly, almost daily, avalanche of allegations against 'Mr. Anonymous,'" said Chilton attorney Bonnie Rabin. "He's going to have very little left ... Here are lawsuits not in four to five states, but perhaps four to five countries."
Weinstein's cloudy future clearly included the future legal tabs for "many, many lawyers to defend his unending lawsuits all over the world," said Rabin.
Rabin added that one of Weinstein's attorneys contacted one of Chilton's lawyers several months ago to say the movie mogul was no longer going to make his support payments.
The $5 million sought by Chilton includes more than $1.4 million in basic child support payments; $500,000 for healthcare; $124,000 for statutory add-ons; $500,000 for college and college prep; and various other expenses, plus money still owed to Chilton from the recent sale of a Westport, Conn., property.
Weinstein failed to immediately inform Chilton about the real estate deal, her attorneys said.
Chilton has three adult children with Weinstein: Remy, Emma and Ruth. Her ex-husband was excused from the hearing, although Judge Michael Katz declined a request from both sides to hold the hearing behind closed doors.
Weinstein attorney Steven Silpe, in answer to a query from Katz, insisted the phone call about cutting off child support payments was more of a trial balloon than a threat.
"Can one ex-spouse say to another, 'I've fallen on hard times, can you pick up payments?'" the defense lawyer asked. "Even if Mr. Weinstein made the statements ... it does not constitute an anticipatory breach.
"You can make statements, it's your actions that matter ... He hasn't missed a payment (since the divorce)."
According to Silpe, Weinstein had paid $850,000 to Chilton over the last year alone.
The Weinstein legal team insisted Katz would set a dangerous precedent if he ruled for Chilton, creating the possibility of similar lawsuits against any spouse who loses their job.
Chilton attorney Harriet Cohen invoked Weinstein's tattered reputation and uncertain future in the wake of the allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him.
"We have entered a new era," she told Katz. "Your honor, you are part of that era."
Katz declined to get involved in the national tsunami of sexual harassment that swept away the careers of Matt Lauer, Louis C.K., Sen. Al Franken, Charlie Rose and Kevin Spacey.
"I'm glad you're placing me in part of a cultural movement in the country," the judge replied. "I'm simply trying to determine what discretion I have. I'm not dealing with the newspaper arguments. I'm not dealing with the #MeToo movement."
