New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy canceled a potential fundraiser with Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, planned during a meeting six weeks before sexual harassment allegations against the Hollywood film mogul came to light.

According to Page Six of the New York Post, Murphy met with both Weinstein and Academy Award winner Robert DeNiro at the duo's offices in New York on Aug. 24. Both were planning on financially backing and publicly endorsing Murphy, according to the report.

Murphy, a Middletown resident, was also set to co-host a fundraiser with Weinstein later this month, according to NBC News. “There will be one less co-host," an event organizer told NBC.

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A campaign official said the meeting was scheduled with DeNiro, but Weinstein sat in on it. Despite serving as finance chair for the Democratic National Committee for four years, Murphy had never met Weinstein — a major Democratic donor — before, the official said.

The fundraiser has already been canceled, the campaign official said.

"I have not received any contributions from Harvey Weinstein, and I call on all Democratic groups to immediately return any contributions they've received from him," Murphy said in a statement. "There is no place in Democratic politics for this type of behavior and attitude towards women."

On Oct. 5, The New York Times detailed nearly 30 years of sexual harassment complaints lodged against Weinstein by various women, including actresses and employees.

Days later, The Weinstein Co. — the film studio bearing the alleged harasser's name — formally fired him.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Weinstein's attorney, Charles J. Harder, said the Times story "relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses."

Murphy, 60, is a 14-point favorite in the New Jersey gubernatorial election to replace Gov. Chris Christie, who is term-limited and leaves office in January.

His opponent, Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, pointed to the Weinstein-Murphy connection on Tuesday.

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"Phil Murphy’s silence on Weinstein is deafening. But w/ Murphy, former top DNC fundraiser, it’s all about the $$$," tweeted Guadagno, a Monmouth Beach resident.

"Murphy claims to have the backs of women in New Jersey, but his silence in the face of sexual harassment allegations against his friend Weinstein shows that with Phil Murphy, it’s all about the money," said Dave Huguenel, Guadagno's campaign manager, in a statement.

Murphy and Guadagno, 58, are set to meet in the first gubernatorial debate on Tuesday night.

MORE: Gubernatorial debate scheduled for Oct. 10, follow along here

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com