Zelda Perkins

Zelda Perkins was the first woman to break an NDA in 2017, signed decades earlier, with Harvey Weinstein. She brought the systematic abuse of NDAs to the attention of the British Government and international press, giving evidence at two parliamentary inquiries, which uncovered an epidemic of misuse, and pushed the Solicitors Regulatory Authority to take disciplinary action against the lawyer who created the NDA for Weinstein. Her actions have inspired others to come forward by her example.

She has been campaigning for legislative and regulatory reform in the UK since 2017 and launched the campaign Can’t Buy My Silence UK (cantbuymysilence.co.uk) in September 2021. The campaign has worked with governments in the UK, Ireland and across Canada and Australia, achieving successful legislative reforms in three countries. The most significant reforms being in the UK with amendments to the Employment Rights Act 2025, Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, Victims and Prisoners Act and the Victims and Courts Bill, which will together make NDAs void if used to silence victims or witnesses of harassment, discrimination, or crime. Her work  has also helped implement significant re-evaluation by the legal sector around ethical practice and confidentiality. 
Zelda was named a Person of the Year by Time magazine in 2018, by The Guardian in 2020, and in 2023 was awarded for her Outstanding Contribution to Gender Equality by UN Women UK. Her character was portrayed by Samantha Morton in the Universal Pictures feature She Said, documenting her part in the downfall of Weinstein. In December 2025, Zelda was awarded a CBE in the New Years Honours list, for her services to social justice.