The Hollywood Reporter published the first issue Great interview Harvey Weinstein from prison. In it, the former film producer admits he behaved horribly, but categorically denies his guilt in the rape crimes – and insists he will prove his innocence in court.
Weinstein has been convicted twice of rape: in New York and California. In these two cases, he received prison sentences of 23 and 16 years respectively, and must serve each term separately. Both cases are still on appeal.
Weinstein is in solitary confinement at Rikers prison in New York. His social circle is limited to prison guards and medical staff. He also regularly speaks on the phone with his children and several friends – but he does not reveal their exact identity. The rest of the time he mostly reads books and watches movies on his tablet.
Due to spinal stenosis (pathological narrowing of the spinal canal), Weinstein is never able to leave his wheelchair. He was also diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, which is cancer of the bone marrow.
Here are some quotes from the Weinstein interview.
About the accusations and your behavior
[Многие женщины обвиняли меня] For various reasons. But mostly because of the money. You know, one woman received half a million dollars. The other is also $500,000. The third is three million. All they had to do to leave with the check was fill out a form saying I raped them. They filled it out, and the insurance company ended up paying tens of millions of dollars. And Disney too – Disney didn’t want a public scandal, so they paid people to disappear. A snowball effect occurs. People can say whatever they want about me and it becomes public. But very few of these stories have been brought to trial.
Have you made failed attempts to flirt with some of these women? Have you gone too far? Yes, it all happened. See, I shouldn’t have had relationships with the people I did in the first place. I married an amazing woman who had no idea what I was doing. I lied the whole time. He used his staff to hide all this. But have I ever committed sexual violence? No. I’ve never done this.
I’ll say this: When a guy invites you to his hotel room in the middle of the night, you know what’s on his agenda.
There were women who completely understood what was expected of them. Maybe they later felt uncomfortable or regretted it. Maybe they saw an opportunity for compensation. But not all of them were as naive as they later tried to present themselves.
Yes, there was an imbalance of power. I know I can be a scary and difficult person. But this is still a long way from sexual violence. Excessive flirting, ridiculous situations. Bad and stupid behavior – yes. But I did not force anyone physically. Polygraph tests were conducted to prove this.
For mistakes and apologies
I think endlessly about what I would do differently if I had another chance.
I would respect women more. I will never be with them. I will be faithful in marriage. I was telling myself: “I have a family. I will protect it.” I was a fool. I admit it.
I apologized to everyone at once. You cannot contact people when you are with them in court. [чтобы извиниться лично]. But I will say now: I apologize to these women. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten into a relationship with them in the first place. You misled them. <…> I cheated on my wife. This is unethical.
But I didn’t rape them. This is the main lie of this whole story. I will not apologize for what I did not do. My innocence will be proven. I promise you.
About the reaction of people from close circles
Most people I know have turned their backs on me. Close friends. Family members. People who owe their entire careers to me. They just disappeared in an instant. I’m afraid to call people because I don’t want them to cancel for talking to me. This is a crazy culture. this . I wish I could pick up the phone. . Bradley Cooper. I miss those people – not just the work relationship, there was more to it. But because of me it will be cancelled. I am toxic. Answer my call and you’ll be canceled too. I understand. I don’t expect anyone to ruin their career for me. Although some still take risks. Of course I won’t say who.
About the #MeToo movement
I think it was useful.
When she said “me too” she didn’t mean me. She said “me too” and then everyone started saying #MeToo about me. Every woman I’ve been with. Everyone I know. Everyone communicated for money.
About the role of cinema in Weinstein’s life in prison
they [люди в тюрьме] Mostly they want to talk about Quentin Tarantino. Let us assume that the audience here is not one of those discussing “Shakespeare in Love.” They still send me scripts, but mostly from students by mail. They want to know my opinion on their films. <…> It’s usually not well written, but I try to support it. I tell them they need to work a little harder.
About the fear of death in prison
This scares the hell out of me. It is unbelievable that I could live such a life, do what I did for society, and not get at least a little leniency to be treated humanely. No matter how bad they thought I was, I was not sentenced to death. I will be 74 in March. I don’t want to die here.