{"id":51289,"date":"2017-10-06T00:31:26","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T00:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=51289"},"modified":"2017-10-06T00:31:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T00:31:26","slug":"harvey-weinstein-gives-first-interview-shocking-sex-harassment-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=51289","title":{"rendered":"Harvey Weinstein gives first interview after shocking sex harassment claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harvey Weinstein told The Post he \u201cbears responsibility\u201d for his past bad behavior, but also blasted the New York Times for \u201creckless reporting\u201d in their bombshell piece alleging he subjected women to decades of sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

The movie mogul exclusively explained why he gave a statement about being a \u201cbetter person\u201d while simultaneously hiring famed lawyer Charles Harder, who won a $140 million settlement for Hulk Hogan against Gawker, to sue the Times for $50 million.<\/p>\n

Weinstein said, \u201cWhat I am saying is that I bear responsibility for my actions, but the reason I am suing is because of the Times\u2019 inability to be honest with me, and their reckless reporting. They told me lies. They made assumptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didn\u2019t live up to the bargain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Times editors were so fearful they were going to be scooped by New York Magazine and they would lose the story, that they went ahead and posted the story filled with reckless reporting, and without checking all they had with me and my team.<\/p>\n

He added that he believes the paper \u2013 which published a long negative piece about Weinstein\u2019s dealings with amfAR a week ago \u2013 has a vendetta against him.<\/p>\n

Weinstein explained, \u201cThey never wrote about the documentary I did with Jay-Z about Rikers Island, they never write that I raised $50 million for amfAR, nor my work with Robin Hood \u2013 instead they focus on trying to bring me down. This is a vendetta, and the next time I see Dean Baquet [the executive editor of the Times] it will be across a courtroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weinstein said the Times had entirely based their story on a 2014 memo written by employee Lauren O\u2019Connor, which alleged sexual harassment and other misconduct by Weinstein.<\/p>\n

He explained, \u201cThe Times used that entire memo as the basis of their story, but in reality it was withdrawn two days after it was written, O\u2019Connor withdrew her complaint, and withdrew her claims made in the memo. The document doesn\u2019t stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the accounts in the story, he declined to go into specifics about what was true or false, but continued, \u201cThey spent six months researching this article then they gave us just 24 hours to answer it. They did tell us that Ashley Judd was on record, but we thought it would be along the lines of what she told Variety.\u201d She told the trade publication in 2015 that she was sexually harassed by an unnamed studio mogul.<\/p>\n

Weinstein continued, \u201cBut she changed her story when giving it to the Times. I know Ashley Judd is going through a tough time right now, I read her book [her memoir \u201cAll That Is Bitter and Sweet\u201d], in which she talks about being the victim of sexual abuse and depression as a child. Her life story was brutal, and I have to respect her. In a year from now I am going to reach out to her.\u201d Of McGowan<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He also insisted of Judd, \u201cI never laid a glove on her.\u201d After the alleged incident, which she told the Times was while filming \u201cKiss The Girls,\u201d she appeared at an Academy Awards party where she was photographed with Weinstein.<\/p>\n

Judd also claimed to the Times she never worked with Weinstein again, but in fact she did two movies with him \u2014 \u201cFrida,\u201d which came out in 2002, and \u201cCrossing Over\u201d with Harrison Ford, released in 2009.<\/p>\n

When asked about the Times reporting that he has reached at least eight settlements with women, including a young assistant in New York in 1990, actress Rose McGowan, an assistant in London in 1998, an Italian model in 2015 and O\u2019Connor, he told The Post, \u201cNo company ever talks about settlements, and neither does the recipient, so I don\u2019t know how the Times came to this conclusion, but it is pure conjecture, the reporters have made assumptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Harvey Weinstein and Rose McGowan at the \u201cGrindhouse\u201d premiere in 2007<\/p>\n

But Weinstein does admit he needs to treat staffers and other people better. \u201cI have got to change, I\u2019ve got to grow, I\u2019ve got to deal with my personality, I\u2019ve got to work on my temper, I have got to dig deep. I know a lot of people would like me to go into a facility, and I may well just do that \u2013 I will go anywhere I can learn more about myself. I want to be able to look at the people I have hurt and say, \u2018I am sorry, I have changed and I\u2019ve progressed.\u2019 I am terribly embarrassed for my company, my staff and the only person who could fix this is me. I am going to fix myself, I am going to fix how I deal with women and how I deal with my temper and power.\u201d He is seeing a therapist and also being advised by attorney Lisa Bloom, a famed advocate for women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came of age in the \u201960s and \u201970s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. I worked at a record company that, if you were five minutes late, they\u2019d hit you with a baseball bat.<\/p>\n

Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n