Harvey Weinstein: four more women come forward claiming Hollywood producer sexually assaulted them

'This has haunted me my entire life'

Harvey Weinstein speaks at the ceremony for the unveiling of the star for Italian composer Ennio Morricone on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California February 26, 2016 (Reuters)

Four more women have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, adding to a long list of claims against the embattled producer.

The New York Times, which initially reported allegations of unwanted sexual advances by Mr Weinstein stretching back decades, has published the accounts of a fresh round of accusers.

One woman told the Times Mr Weinstein raped her in the 1970s, the earliest alleged instance so far of sexual assault or harassment.

“This has haunted me my entire life,” Hope Exiner d’Amore told the Times.

Others recounted assaults after being invited to Mr Weinstein’s hotel room, matching a pattern in other women's stories.

Mr Weinstein and his legal team have said he never engaged in non-consensual sex.

The long trail of allegations against Mr Weinstein has had far-reaching consequences, costing him his position with the Weinstein Company and forcing a national reckoning with the prevalence of sexual harassment.

Other entertainment and media executives have also lost powerful positions amid allegations of unsolicited sexual advances, among them Fox News star Bill O’Reilly, journalist Mark Halperin and former Amazon Studios head Roy Price.

The scandal has sparked global debate on sexual harassment, seeing women share their experiences with the #MeToo hashtag and proposals for reform in Westminster.