Lisa Read Bloom ( née Bray; born September 20, 1961) is an American attorney known for advising

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...

amid various sexual abuse allegations, and for representing women whose sexual harassment claims precipitated the

firing Dismissal (also called firing) is the termination of employment by an employer against the will of the employee. Though such a decision can be made by an employer for a variety of reasons, ranging from an economic downturn to performance-related ...

of Bill O'Reilly from

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

. Bloom founded and owns the Bloom Firm, a law firm that has represented clients including

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

and Mischa Barton. Bloom was also the anchor of ''Lisa Bloom: Open Court'' (formerly ''Bloom and Politan: Open Court''), a two-hour live legal news program on

truTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that fo ...

's ''In Session'', from 2006 to 2009. Bloom is the only child of civil rights attorney

Gloria Allred Gloria Rachel Allred ( Bloom; born July 3, 1941) is an American attorney known for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particularly those involving the protection of women's rights. She has been inducted into the National Women's ...

and Peyton Huddleston Bray Jr.

Early life and education

Bloom was born Lisa Read Bray, the daughter of Gloria Bloom (later Allred) and father Peyton Huddleston Bray Jr. Her mother is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Her parents' marriage was short-lived—they had married and divorced while in college. Peyton Bray, who suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, later killed himself, and Bloom subsequently took her mother's

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also use ...

. When Bloom was seven, her mother married William C. Allred. Bloom received a bachelor's degree from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, where she graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

and was National College Debate Champion. She received her J.D. degree from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 1986.

Career

Early career

After graduating from law school, Bloom began her career in New York and by 1991 worked at her mother’s law firm, Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, assisting in unsuccessfully suing the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

for sex discrimination on behalf of Katrina Yeaw, a girl who wanted to join the organization. While at her mother’s firm, Bloom also filed a child sexual abuse suit against the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and sued the LAPD.

Later career

In 2001, Bloom left her mother’s firm, having developed a career in cable news punditry, eventually serving as a legal analyst on CBS News,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, HLN, and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

, and appearing on ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...

'', '' The Insider'', '' Dr. Phil'', ''

Dr. Drew David Drew Pinsky (born September 4, 1958), commonly known as Dr. Drew, is an American media personality, internist, and addiction medicine specialist. He hosted the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''Loveline'' from the show's incepti ...

'', '' The Situation Room'', '' Reliable Sources'', '' The Joy Behar Show'', ''

Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell ''Jane Velez-Mitchell'' was a current affairs gossip TV show on HLN hosted by Jane Velez-Mitchell. It aired weeknights at 7 pm ET. It debuted as ''Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell'' in October 2008 before rebranding as simply ''Jane Velez Mitchel ...

'', and ''

The Stephanie Miller Show ''The Stephanie Miller Show'' is a syndicated progressive talk radio program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu, comedic style. The three-hour show is hosted by Stephanie Miller and is syndicat ...

''. Bloom returned to practicing law in 2010 when she founded the Bloom Firm, a small, general-practice law firm that handles family, civil and criminal matters. She is licensed to practice law in both New York and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. At the Bloom Firm, Bloom has represented several notable clients, including model and actress

Janice Dickinson Janice Doreen Dickinson (born February 16, 1955)As per Dickinson in NNDB aJanice Dickinson profilegives February 15, 1955, noting, "Although Dickinson has maintained in several interviews and her autobiography ''No Lifeguard on Duty'' that she ...

in her defamation case against comedian

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

, as well as model and actress Mischa Barton in her revenge porn case. Model

Blac Chyna Angela Renée White (born May 11, 1988), known professionally as Blac Chyna, is an American model and socialite. She originally rose to prominence in 2010 as the stunt double for Nicki Minaj in the music video for the song "Monster" by Kanye ...

later hired Bloom to obtain a temporary restraining order against socialite

Rob Kardashian Robert Arthur Kardashian (born March 17, 1987) is an American television personality. He is known for appearing on ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'', a reality television series that centers on his family, as well as its spin-offs. In 20 ...

, with whom Chyna shares a daughter, Dream. Amid a series of sexual abuse allegations against powerful men in entertainment and media, and following a BuzzFeed report detailing a sexual harassment settlement paid out of Representative John Conyers’ office budget, Bloom represented Marion Brown, who spoke to BuzzFeed off the record and later came forward publicly to allege harassment by Conyers.

Bill O'Reilly sexual harassment allegations

In 2017 Bloom represented three women accusing then-

anchor Bill O’Reilly of sexual harassment. Jehmu Greene, a television commentator who had appeared on Fox News, also approached Bloom with sexual harassment allegations against O'Reilly, although she ultimately declined Bloom's services. One of Bloom's clients,

Wendy Walsh Wendy Lee Walsh (born April 30, 1962) is a Canadian author, lecturer, radio host and television commentator. Walsh's family is from Prince Edward Island;21st Century Fox, to initiate an investigation that resulted in O'Reilly's dismissal and the end of his eponymous program.

Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations

During the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, Bloom offered to represent four women who alleged sexual misconduct by then-presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. Two of these women came forward publicly with their allegations, including Jill Harth and Lisa Boyne, and two who did not, including a woman from Virginia and another woman who claimed Trump had raped her when she was thirteen years old. On November 2, 2016, Bloom canceled a press conference with the unnamed client, saying the client was scared because of death threats. According to Bloom, after this press conference, multiple donors contacted her with offers to cover accusers' relocation and security. Bloom felt an obligation to relay the offers to her clients. The Virginia woman said that donors had offered her as much as $750,000, but that she declined the offer. In a 2017 report, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' identified the donors who contacted Bloom as

David Brock David Brock (born July 23, 1962) is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by ''Time'' as "one of the most influential operatives ...

American Bridge 21st Century American Bridge 21st Century or AB PAC is a liberal American Super PAC that supports Democratic candidates and opposes Republican candidates. It was founded by David Brock in 2010 and is associated with Media Matters for America. It is an opp ...

, which offered $200,000, and Susie Tompkins Buell, who offered $500,000.

Harvey Weinstein and Roy Price sexual misconduct allegations

Bloom received significant media attention after film producer

was accused of sexual misconduct in October 2017. While noting that Weinstein "denies many of the accusations as patently false," Bloom acknowledged advising Weinstein on power dynamics and harassment, calling him "an old dinosaur learning new ways." Bloom's advisory role, which she assumed in late 2016, was pilloried for its dissonance with her prior representation of sexual assault victims, with some in the media calling her book adaptation deal with

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

, signed during Weinstein's tenure as co-chairman, a conflict of interest. On October 7, 2017, two days after the initial article on sexual misconduct in ''The New York Times'', Bloom stepped down from her advisory role amid mounting public criticism and friction with The Weinstein Company's board. According to emails obtained by ''The New York Times'', Bloom had weighed responding to allegations against Weinstein with "photos of several of the accusers in very friendly poses with Harvey after his alleged misconduct." Bloom denied plotting to undermine the accusers. ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' later reported that Bloom had offered journalist

Ronan Farrow Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow (born December 19, 1987) is an American journalist. The son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen, he is best known for his investigative reporting of allegations of sexual abuse against film producer H ...

opposition research on one of Weinstein's accusers,

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna "Rose" McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy '' Encino Man'' (1992), McGowan achieved wider recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generat ...

, during his own reporting on Weinstein. In Farrow's 2019 book, he further claims that Bloom would report any information gleaned about his investigation back to Weinstein, and that she admitted to being "his people". A 2019 book by reporters

Jodi Kantor Jodi Kantor (born April 21, 1975) is an American journalist. She is a ''New York Times'' correspondent whose work has covered the workplace, technology, and gender. She has been the paper's Arts & Leisure editor and covered two presidential campa ...

and

Megan Twohey Megan Twohey () is an American journalist with ''The New York Times''. She has written investigative reports for Reuters, the ''Chicago Tribune,'' and the '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''. Twohey's investigative reports have exposed exploitativ ...

contains a 2016 memo from Bloom, as well as 2017 billing statements for services rendered on Weinstein's behalf. These documents show how Bloom would proactively assist Weinstein in undermining his accusers. Shortly after resigning from Weinstein's team, Bloom fell victim to "email prankster" James Linton masquerading as Weinstein. In reply to the prankster, Bloom wrote that " e new round of far more serious allegations were not made known to me". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' later reported that Bloom "was only aware of accusations of verbal remarks, behaviors, and temper tantrums" when she began advising Weinstein, and was unaware of more serious allegations of rape and sexual assault. Within weeks of the initial report in ''The New York Times'', Bloom publicly apologized for her role advising Weinstein. Bloom also represented former

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

president

Roy Price Roy F. Price (born July 21, 1967) is a former Amazon.com executive who in 2017 resigned over sexual harassment claims. He worked for over 13 years at Amazon, founded Amazon Video and Amazon Studios; is a former Disney executive; and is a former ...

amid sexual harassment allegations, but said her representation of Price concluded before Price's accuser Isa Hackett "went public". ''The Daily Beast'' reported that Bloom, while representing Price, had attempted to disparage Kim Masters, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

s Editor-at-Large, to media outlets considering publishing Masters' report on the allegations against Price. Bloom had allegedly accused Masters of a conflict of interest for badgering Price to advertise on her

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...

show, a charge Masters denied.

Kathy Griffin controversy and fallout

Following a controversial 2017 photo shoot in which comedienne

clenched a severed and bloodied mask that resembled the face of President

, Bloom held a joint press conference with Griffin, then her client, to address the controversy. Their appearance was widely panned in the media for its self-victimization and lack of focus. Amid fallout over Bloom's role advising Harvey Weinstein, Griffin posted a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

video denouncing Bloom and her husband, Braden Pollock, for "exacerbat ngmy personal situation". Griffin later publicly asked Bloom to stop calling her and denounced Bloom for "fame-whoring," a criticism of Bloom's proposal for a joint media tour following their joint press conference. According to Griffin, Bloom also charged exorbitant legal fees, which Griffin estimated were $40,000 for two days' representation, including by defense attorney Dmitry Gorin, whom Bloom allegedly hired without Griffin's consent. In response to Griffin's comments, Bloom claimed she "had no idea there was a problem" and released a statement criticizing Griffin for speaking extemporaneously at their press conference. Bloom nevertheless wished Griffin well. Following Griffin's own comments on Bloom, Tamara Holder, a former Bloom client, and Jehmu Greene, who had considered hiring Bloom, came forward with their own criticisms. Holder had retained Bloom after accusing

Fox News Latino The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative cable television, cable List of news televisi ...

Vice President Francisco Cortes of sexual assault. According to Holder, Bloom proposed an initial retainer agreement granting herself 40% of any settlement, as well as a $10,000 retainer fee and reimbursement for any relevant hotel and travel expenses. Although Holder ultimately negotiated a more favorable contract, she criticized Bloom for charging thousands of dollars in extraneous fees, as well as pushing Holder to accept a gag order in her settlement with Fox News. For her part, Greene called Bloom "deceptive" for presenting her with a contract for media representation after a meeting focused primarily on legal services. Bloom responded to both allegations by claiming that "the vast majority of he Bloom Firm'sclients are delighted with our work".

Martin Chitwood case

In October 2014, Carol Swanson Chitwood (n/k/a Carol Swanson Smith) retained Lisa Bloom and the Bloom Firm to pursue domestic violence claims against her then-husband, Martin Chitwood, a prominent Atlanta attorney, who had sued her for divorce in Atlanta two months earlier. While the divorce was still pending, Bloom filed suit against Martin Chitwood in California asserting domestic violence claims on Carol Chitwood’s behalf. Martin Chitwood denied the allegations, claiming they were a tactic to prevent the enforcement of the parties' prenuptial agreement and force a settlement. Martin Chitwood refused to settle, and on August 31, 2017, after a five-week

civil trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

, a twelve-person jury found him not liable for the claim Bloom brought against him. Bloom did not appeal.

Other

Bloom and her firm are representing male model Jason Boyce in his lawsuit against fashion photographer Bruce Weber among other people in

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

in December 2017. On May 1, 2020, Bloom posted on Twitter that although she believed Tara Reade was assaulted by the former vice president Joe Biden, she would still support Biden.

Personal life

Bloom married her current husband, Braden Pollock, on December 5, 2014. Pollock is the founder of Legal Brand Marketing and works as the Bloom Firm's manager. He was formerly on the board of the web services company

Epik Epik is a right-wing American domain registrar and web hosting company known for providing services to alt-tech websites that host far-right, neo-Nazi, and other extremist materials. It has been described as a haven for the far-right because of i ...

. Bloom lives with her husband and a foster son in Los Angeles. Bloom has two adult children, daughter Sarah Wong Bloom and son Samuel "Sam/Sammy" Wong, with her former husband Jim Wong, a

LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

teacher. A vegetarian since 16, Bloom has been

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

since 2009. Bloom is Jewish.

Books

Bloom has written three books, including ''Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World'', from 2011, and ''Swagger: 10 Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness, and Thug Culture'', from 2012. In early 2017,

and Jay-Z announced plans to adapt Bloom's 2014 book, ''Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It'', into a six-part documentary series. The status of the project is unknown following turmoil at the Weinstein Company.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Lisa 1961 births Activists from California American feminists American television news anchors American women lawyers American women television journalists American entertainment lawyers California lawyers Jewish American attorneys Jewish American journalists Jewish feminists American LGBT rights activists Living people New York (state) lawyers Place of birth missing (living people) Sexual abuse cover-ups University of California, Los Angeles alumni Yale Law School alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women