Shoe designer Kenneth Cole has resigned as the embattled leader of the world-famous AIDS research charity amfAR in the wake of controversy over a deal with scandal-scarred producer Harvey Weinstein.
In November, more than 60 activists — including former Olympic diver Greg Louganis and playwright Larry Kramer — signed an open letter asking for Cole to resign or be replaced as amfAR board chairman.
In a statement, Cole said he and four other board members are stepping down because amfAR, with his support, has adopted term limits as part of a governance reform process. He said he will be help select a new chairperson.
“Though I am stepping aside, I am not stepping away from this fight,” he said, noting that amfAR had raised hundreds of millions of dollars under his stewardship.
Former board member Peter Staley, who signed the open letter criticizing Cole, said he was impressed by the new rules.
“I know this controversy has stirred hate in people’s hearts, but I still believe Kenneth Cole is a good man who cares deeply about amfAR and finding a cure for HIV. But he, like many of his contemporaries, failed at scandal management 101 (disclose immediately, take your organizational hit early, and cut loose all offenders),” Staley said in a statement.
“He made human mistakes, not malicious ones. I look forward to working with him on finding a worthy successor to fill his shoes (pun intended).”
The non-profit has been dogged for months by questions about a deal Cole and Weinstein made to split proceeds from some charity auction items between amfAR and a theater where a show produced by Weinstein had been staged.
The agreement — which was made before a sexual misconduct scandal engulfed Weinstein and sparked the #metoo movement — is being investigated by federal authorities and caused a rift on amfAR’s board.
Cole, who has been on the amfAR board for 30 years and served as chair for 14, has denied any wrongdoing. He has said that Weinstein “has never been a friend of mine” and that the auction deal “was determined to be legal and ethical and was engaged in because it served amfAR’s mission.”
“Any suggestion that I somehow made this deal as a favor to Weinstein is ridiculous and patently false,” Cole said in November.
Weinstein, a longtime supporter of amfAR, donated several lots to amfAR’s 2015 gala auction in Cannes but wanted some of the money to go to the American Repertory Theater (ART); an insert in the auction booklet noted some of the money would go to ART.
Weinstein had staged “Finding Neverland” at ART before its Broadway run. And according to the New York Times, the theater had agreed to reimburse Weinstein and other investors money they sank into the show if they got third parties to donate those sums to the theater.
After the auction, Cole directed that $600,000 to be wired to ART at the request of Weinstein’s office, over the concerns of amfAR’s chief executive and without board approval, according to emails reviewed by NBC News.
The transaction sparked internal investigations. In 2016, Cole urged board members to sign nondisclosure agreements about Weinstein, and he told NBC News that Weinstein offered to give $1 million to amfAR if everyone signed.
After complaints from some board members, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office reviewed amfAR’s governnance structure and recommended changes. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have issued subpoenas to amfAR for records and emails related to the auction.
Since it was founded in 1985, amfAR has given half a billion dollars in grants to AIDS researchers, and its annual gala in Cannes is a magnet for A-list celebrities.