Harvey Weinstein Says He’s the Real Victim Here
Credit to Author: Tim Marcin| Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:10:30 +0000
Harvey Weinstein isn’t apologetic ― not even close.
In his first interview in more than a year, the Hollywood producer accused of sexually assaulting or harassing more than 80 women insisted he is the real victim in all of this.
Weinstein whined that people thought of him as a serial predator and no longer talked about his work, and even claimed he'd done more for women in Hollywood than just about anyone.
“I feel like the forgotten man,’’ Weinstein told the New York Post, despite being one of the most infamous men on earth. “I made more movies directed by women and about women than any filmmaker — and I’m talking about 30 years ago. I’m not talking about now, when it’s vogue. I did it first! I pioneered it!”
Weinstein agreed to an exclusive interview with the Post while recovering from a surgery in a New York hospital Friday. He lamented that being accused of decades’ worth of sexual predation has really damaged his filmmaking legacy.
“It all got eviscerated because of what happened,’’ Weinstein told the Post. “My work has been forgotten.’’
Weinstein, 67, faces trial in January centering on his alleged rape of a woman in 2013 and alleged assault of another woman in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty. Weinstein’s bail was increased last week after prosecutors accused him of mishandling his ankle monitor and leaving his whereabouts unrecorded for hours at a time.
READ: Harvey Weinstein's ankle monitor keeps mysteriously falling off the radar
Weinstein also just last week came to a tentative multimillion-dollar agreement to pay alleged victims, the New York Times reported. Under the agreement, dozens of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, many of them actresses or former employees, would receive $25 million, largely paid out by insurance companies. Under the settlement terms, Weinstein reportedly does not have to admit to any wrongdoing.
In the interview with the Post, Weinstein bragged not just about helping women but also about his charity work and the important topics his films had tackled.
“I made a success out of myself. I had no money, and I built quite an empire with Miramax and decided to give back,” Weinstein said. “If you remember who I was then, you might want to question some of this.”
The women who’ve accused Weinstein of assault didn’t let his latest attempt to spin a new narrative for himself go unchallenged. Nearly two dozen women put out a statement in response to the new interview from the disgraced producer.
"Harvey Weinstein is trying to gaslight society again,” the statement read. “He says in a new interview he doesn't want to be forgotten. Well, he won't be. He will be remembered as a sexual predator and an unrepentant abuser who took everything and deserves nothing. He will be remembered by the collective will of countless women who stood up and said enough. We refuse to let this predator rewrite his legacy of abuse."
Cover: File Photo by zz/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx Harvey Weinstein at The 2016 amfAR New York Gala. (NYC)
This article originally appeared on VICE US.