Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein says feels like a “forgotten man,” arguing that the more than 80 allegations of sexual assault have blemished his record of promoting women in the entertainment industry.
Despite being accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, with the allegations ranging from harassment to rape, the 67-year-old moaned in an interview with the New York Post that people are forgetting his record of helping women.
“I feel like the forgotten man,” Harvey Weinstein complained. “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!”
“It all got eviscerated because of what happened,” he continued. “My work has all been forgotten.”
Weinstein gave the interview as he was recuperating at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center on Friday, having undergone a three-hour spinal operation aimed at giving him back his balance after a car accident in August.
According to the Post, “remained the characteristic bully throughout The Post interview, threatening to terminate the sit-down each time a question was posed that he didn’t like.”
However, he did make sure to mention one of the lucrative contracts he gave to Gwyneth Paltrow.
“Gwyneth Paltrow in 2003 got $10 million to make a movie called ‘View from the Top,’ ” he explained. “She was the highest-paid female actor in an independent film. Higher-paid than all the men.”
“This was a company that took social issues and tackled them,” Weinstein said after reportedly listing the various films with social justice agendas produced by Miramax and The Weinstein Company.
He also touted his charitable successes, including raising $100 million for first responders through a charity concert in the aftermath of 9/11.
Weinstein’s rant drew an angry reaction from some of his alleged victims. In a joint statement, 23 of the women accused him of trying to “gaslight society.”
“He says in a new interview he doesn’t want to be forgotten,” the statement read. “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,” they continued. We refuse to let this predator rewrite his legacy of abuse.”
Harvey Weinstein will stand trial next month on accusations of rape and other sexual offenses. He intends to plead not guilty, having already reached a tentative $25 million financial settlement with dozens of his accusers.
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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