Harvey Weinstein Inserts Himself Into Blake Lively Drama From Behind Bars
In a development that's already raising eyebrows across Hollywood, has entered the conversation around 's high-profile legal battle with .
From behind bars, Harvey Weinstein is offering his support to the embattled actor-director while likening Baldoni's situation to his own.
The convicted rapist, currently serving over a decade in prison for multiple sex crimes, told TMZ on Wednesday that he believes Baldoni has been unfairly targeted by The New York Times.
The outlet's December 2024 exposé, ''We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,' included partial messages from Baldoni's PR team that appeared to suggest they could 'bury anyone," including Lively, in what was portrayed as a calculated smear campaign.
Baldoni and his team fired back with a $250 million libel lawsuit against the Times, accusing the publication of misrepresenting private messages, which they allege were 'cherry-picked' and manipulated to fit a false narrative.
'Watching Justin Baldoni take legal action against the New York Times and its reporters, accusing them of manipulating communications and ignoring evidence that countered Ms. Lively's claims, hit me hard,' Weinstein said. 'It brought back everything I experienced when the Times reported on me in 2017. They did the same thing: cherry-picked what fit their story and ignored critical context and facts that could have challenged the narrative.'
Weinstein's reference points directly to the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation that exposed decades of sexual abuse allegations against him, reporting that helped ignite the #MeToo movement.
In response to Weinstein's latest statements, The New York Times defended the integrity of its reporting.
'Our comprehensive investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Mr. Weinstein was rigorously reported over many months and based on on-the-record interviews, legal settlements paid to accusers and other documents,' spokesperson Danielle Rhoades said.
'None of the facts in our coverage are in dispute. Mr. Weinstein acknowledged his misconduct in a statement that was published in full in The Times," Rhoades added. "He's since been criminally convicted of rape and sexual assault.'
Weinstein's 2020 New York conviction was overturned in 2024, but a retrial is set for April 15.
He is also appealing a separate 16-year sentence from his 2023 California conviction for forcible rape and other charges.
'I should have stood up and fought back then. I should have had the courage to speak out against the way the truth was twisted. That failure still haunts me,' Weinstein said on Wednesday.
He also added that he will be 'watching Baldoni and Lively's case closely,' suggesting that the outcome 'matters to anyone who's ever been on the receiving end of a media takedown.'
Weinstein's public endorsement of Baldoni comes as a surprise to many, considering his past connection to both Lively and her inner circle. The two were once photographed together at public events, and in 2014, Page Six reported that Weinstein shared the same publicist as Lively, Leslie Sloane.
Sources at the time claimed Weinstein and MSG executive Jim Dolan financially backed Sloane's transition into founding her own publicity firm, Vision PR. Weinstein was even quoted saying, 'Leslie's next move is going to rock the industry.'
But a rep for Sloane now disputes any suggestion of a working relationship with the disgraced producer. 'Leslie Sloane never represented Harvey Weinstein,' the spokesperson told Page Six. 'In 2014, after Sloane left BWR, she and Weinstein engaged in preliminary discussions concerning a potential working relationship with their companies but that never came to fruition.'
The rep also dismissed ongoing online speculation, stating, 'Contrary to false rumors being spread online, Sloane has never worked to silence victims of sexual abuse in any way and indeed has actively supported victims of sexual abuse.'
Sloane, along with clients Lively and , is currently named as a co-defendant in Baldoni's $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit, which stems from accusations that the "Gossip Girl" actress made against Baldoni. The publicist has filed a motion to be dismissed from the suit, calling it a retaliatory attempt 'to discredit and blame his victims and punish anyone who speaks out against him.'
Lively has remained firm in her stance, asserting that her statements about Baldoni's conduct both on and off set are truthful, including claims that he frequently made women feel uncomfortable and discussed inappropriate topics of a sexual nature in front of colleagues.
Baldoni has denied all wrongdoing. The case is expected to go to trial in March 2026.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein Accuser Kaja Sokola: ‘The Devastating Part Was Not the Trial Itself — It Was the Betrayal of My Sister'
Kaja Sokola spent five intense days testifying in Harvey Weinstein's New York retrial. Her testimony covered two alleged instances of sexual assault: one in 2002, when she was 16, and another at a Tribeca hotel in 2006. On June 11, a New York jury acquitted Weinstein of sexually assaulting Sokola. But for the former Polish model–turned–psychotherapist, neither the testimony nor the verdict was the hardest part of Weinstein's months-long retrial in New York. More from Variety Harvey Weinstein Judge Declares Mistrial on Rape Charge Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Sexual Assault After Tensions Explode on New York Jury Amanda Seyfried Grossed Out She Invited 'Dictator' Harvey Weinstein to Past Sundance Premiere: 'It's Just the Way It Was - We All Needed Him' 'The devastating part was not the trial itself — it was the betrayal of my sister,' Sokola told Variety. 'I truly don't understand how she could — how anyone could do something like that.' On her fourth day on the stand, the defense confronted her with a private journal in which she documented people who had sexually assaulted her — but did not include Weinstein. The journal, which Sokola said was part of a 'workbook for addiction treatment,' was provided to the defense by her older sister, Ewa. 'Please don't read that,' she said on the witness stand. 'This is my personal things.' The former producer was mentioned in an entry referring to 'Harvey W,' where Sokola wrote that he was 'promising help' but 'nothing came of it.' The defense used the journal to argue that Sokola had fabricated her assault allegation. Sokola told Variety that she had written about Weinstein's abuse in other diaries, but those were not read for the jury. 'My sister chose to bring this one thing from Poland that said what it said,' she said. 'This felt very unjust and very hurtful… These kinds of tactics are just showing how dirty of a game it is for them.' Sokola said her relationship with her sister has been strained over the years. 'My sister was trying to do a lot of harmful things to me in the past,' she said. 'A lot of this was correlated with money, so we didn't have — let's say — the best relationship ever.' Michael Cibella, Weinstein's attorney who questioned Sokola, told Variety that he is 'not aware of any other journals that have any allegations of abuse against Weinstein.' 'We had this journal which had allegations of sexual abuse against four other people, and in that same writing, talked about Harvey Weinstein having made promises that he didn't keep,' Cibella said. 'Nothing about sexual abuse whatsoever against Harvey Weinstein.' Ewa Sokola testified for the prosecution in the case. She corroborated that she and Kaja had a lunch meeting with Weinstein at a Tribeca hotel in 2006. At one point during the meal, Kaja and Weinstein took an elevator upstairs together while Ewa remained at the table. When Kaja returned by herself, the sisters left the hotel. Ewa recalled that Kaja appeared to be under 'extreme tension' after her time alone with Weinstein, though the two went on as if it were a 'regular day.' During cross-examination, when the defense asked whether Kaja had ever said anything negative about Weinstein before 2017, Ewa said no. 'She was proud of knowing him,' she told the courtroom. In the defense's closing argument, Arthur Aidala — another one of Weinstein's attorneys — mentioned Ewa to the jury again, arguing that she ultimately became a defense witness after her testimony. 'She was supporting our theory of the case,' Aidala said. 'That everything was fine with her sister.' Over the phone, Cibella commended Ewa for her testimony. 'She told the whole story — not just one part of the story that helped the prosecutor.' Kaja Sokola, meanwhile, has a theory about how her sister connected with the defense. She said that her sister's friend — an attorney Ewa's known for roughly 20 years — works for Aidala's firm, which she believes 'speaks a lot.' 'It's very sad and unfortunate when you see families being broken up because of these kinds of reasons,' she said. Sokola also said that her sister's lawyer friend had visited her at the New York apartment she lived in back in 2006. 'He knew that I had known Harvey for a long time, and that I was scared of him for a very long time.' 'I'm familiar with the attorney that she is referring to, and he does not work at Arthur Aidala's firm,' Cibella replied when asked about Kaja's claims. 'But we are familiar with that attorney, and it is someone that [Ewa's] had a friendship with for quite some time.' Kaja Sokola did not testify at Weinstein's 2020 trial. However, after an appeals court overturned his rape and sexual assault convictions — sending the case back for retrial — prosecutors added a new sexual assault charge in September 2024 based on the allegations by a then-anonymous Kaja. Her identity was revealed to the public months later, during opening statements of Weinstein's retrial in late April. 'He looked miserable, and he looked like a sick, old man,' Sokola told Variety of seeing Weinstein in the courtroom. 'Part of me felt sorry for him, because this man has messed up his life. He has done things that are crimes and, right now, he's paying the price for it. It didn't feel like seeing the Harvey that I knew from years ago.' In her testimony, Sokola described two alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein in 2002 and 2006. The defense, however, repeatedly argued during the trial that Kaja never met Weinstein in 2002, pointing to a lack of evidence — such as writings or photographs — showing the two together that year. 'Harvey did not meet this woman when she was 16 years old,' Cibella reasserted to Variety. 'He did not know her in 2002 and adamantly has denied that. And the jury, by their verdict, they didn't believe her — and she was not credible.' Sokola's attorney, Lindsay Goldbrum, said that an individual who was friends with her before the 2006 incident could have testified that Kaja had known Weinstein prior to that time as well. 'Unfortunately, because of criminal procedure laws and rules regarding hearsay, they were not able to call her as a witness, even though she was willing to testify on Kaja's behalf. And so that's one of the unfortunate pieces of the criminal justice system, is that juries don't ever get to hear the entire story,' Goldbrum said. 'The fact that there may not have been physical written evidence of the fact that Harvey Weinstein assaulted Kaja in 2002 doesn't mean it didn't happen. This event was an in-person interaction between two individuals from 23 years ago. Do we really expect there to be a mountain of written and photographic evidence? No, I think that many of us have interactions on a daily basis that there would be no written record of, and so I don't think it's indicative of anything.' Although Weinstein was acquitted of the charge related to Sokola, he was convicted of one count of committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, based on allegations by former TV production assistant Miriam Haley. The judge declared a mistrial in the rape case involving Jessica Mann. 'I was hoping for something else, but it still didn't change the whole scenario for me — because the whole point is to put this man in jail,' Sokola said. 'It's not my story. I'm not on trial. It's not about me. It's about him and him being accountable for what he did.' Outside the courthouse, following the declaration of a mistrial on Weinstein's remaining count, Aidala referenced Sokola, who had made a statement the previous day about the initial partial verdict. He criticized her response, saying she 'took some kind of a victory lap after 12 jurors said, 'We don't believe you.'' Aidala also claimed that Sokola's case had received the jury's 'fastest and quickest verdict,' citing conversations with several jurors. 'It just shows you how really bastardized the whole MeToo movement has become now,' Aidala said. 'She comes here and says, 'It's a great victory,' when 12 people told her, 'You lied.'' Goldbrum described Aidala's comments as 'interesting,' noting that they were 'not consistent' with what their team had heard about the jury's deliberations regarding Kaja. 'I think that he has an incentive to say what he has to say about Kaja, as Harvey Weinstein's attorney,' Goldbrum said. 'I also think that he is distorting what is truly the jury's verdict, which is not that they don't believe her. It's not that they think she lied. The standard is truth beyond a reasonable doubt. It's not she's lying or she's telling the truth. It is whether or not there is reasonable that is the hardest standard to meet — the hardest threshold to cross — and that is the way it is for a reason, right?' Weinstein now faces up to 25 years in prison following his conviction in Haley's case. Prosecutors have said they are prepared to retry him on the rape charge, which carries a potential sentence of up to four years. Sokola had a message for Weinstein and his legal team: 'I want to tell them that we won. We won. Don't try to split women apart and tear them down individually, because that's what they were trying to do in the courthouse throughout the trial — and it did not succeed.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
David Beckham, Gary Oldman, Elaine Paige and others honored by King Charles III
LONDON (AP) — Arise Sir David, Sir Gary and Sir Roger. And Dame Elaine, Dame Pat and Dame Penny. Former England soccer captain David Beckham, Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman and The Who's frontman Roger Daltrey were knighted in King Charles III's birthday honors list released late Friday. Elaine Paige, the renowned musicals singer, Booker Prize-winning novelist Pat Barker and former Conservative government minister Penny Mordaunt were given damehoods, the female equivalent of a knighthood. The honors, which aim to reward individuals for their contributions to British life, are awarded twice a year to celebrities and public figures as well as ordinary people: Once at New Year's, and then in June to mark the king's birthday. The winners are chosen by civil servants' committees based on nominations from the government and the public. The awards are usually given out by the king or a senior royal acting in his place at Buckingham Palace. The Sirs Beckham, 50, was widely expected to be knighted following speculation last week that appeared to be based on a conversation he had with the monarch at the Chelsea Flower Show last month. As well as representing England 115 times, including 59 times as captain, Beckham played for some of Europe's most venerable clubs, most notably Manchester United and Real Madrid. He has been knighted for his services to sport and to charity, having partnered with UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's fund, for two decades and campaigned with a charity working to eradicate malaria. Beckham also played a pivotal role in London being awarded the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. 'Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honor," he said. Oldman, 67, was recognized for his services to drama both on screen and on stage. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the 2017 film 'Darkest Hour," and recently dazzled audiences in the Apple TV spy thriller series ' Slow Horses.' Daltrey, who co-founded The Who in 1964, has been recognized for services to charity as well as music, having been a patron of 'Teenage Cancer Trust' since 2000. The 81-year-old, who led the charity's concert series at Royal Albert Hall for more than two decades, said he was humbled by the award. 'It's a dream come true for me, but it's especially a dream because the charity means so much," he said. The Dames Paige, 77, was honoured for her services to charity as well as music. She has held senior roles at a charity supporting young people with acquired brain injury and another one that supports disabled tennis players. 'I've got all these different emotions coming at me all at once," she said. "I'm proud and I feel grateful and I'm thrilled and surprised, and so it's been quite a lot to take in.' Barker, 82, known for 'The Regeneration Trilogy," said she thought the letter announcing her damehood was from 'really angry' tax authorities. 'Nobody else does that kind of quality of paper," she said. 'I still sort of had to read the first paragraph several times before it sank in.' A year on from losing her seat at the general election when her Conservative Party lost office, Mordaunt said it was 'lovely to be appreciated in this way.' Mordaunt, 52, saw her profile boosted during the king's coronation ceremony in 2023. The former lawmaker made a memorable appearance bearing the 'sword of state," the first time the duty had been carried out by a woman. The 'Companion' Antony Gormley, the sculptor who was knighted in 2014, was made a 'Companion of Honour' for his services to art. The award is one of the most prestigious that the monarch can bestow to citizens in Britain and across the Commonwealth, as there are only 65 companions at any one time. Introduced in 1917 by King George V, the award recognizes people who have made 'a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time.' Current members include British environmentalist David Attenborough, Canadian author Margaret Atwood and one of Britain's greatest-ever athletes Sebastian Coe. Hundreds more are awarded The honors don't just reward people in the public eye. More than 1,200 people received honours in the latest list. Women made up 48% of those honored, with 11% of recipients from ethnic minority backgrounds. The oldest recipient was 106-year-old World War II veteran William Irwin, who was awarded a British Empire Medal, for his services to the community. The youngest was 11-year-old disability campaigner Carmela Chillery-Watson, who was made a 'Member of the Most Excellent Order British Empire," or MBE. Chillery-Watson, who has LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy, has become the youngest ever recipient of the award for helping raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Muscular Dystrophy UK. In what is thought to be a first, three members of the same family were named in the same list. Jenna Speirs, her mother Caroline and father Duncan were each awarded a British Empire Medal for founding a children's cancer charity called Calum's Cabin after Jenna's twin brother died of an inoperable brain tumour aged 12. Campaigners who have fought to tackle the rise of knife crime were also recognized. Pooja Kanda, whose 16-year-old son was murdered with a ninja sword near his home, was awarded the Order of the British Empire, or OBE. Alison Madgin, the mother of 18-year-old Samantha Madgin, who was knifed to death, was made an MBE alongside her daughter Carly Barrett.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pro-Trump Christian artist issues ‘Confession' after several men accuse him of sexual assault
In a statement released to social media, Grammy Award-winning singer Michael Tait admits to abusing drugs and touching men without their consent. Grammy-winning contemporary Christian recording artist Michael Tait is coming clean after being accused of sexually assaulting several men, including young, male musicians. Tait, a former member of the Christian music groups DC Talk and Newsboys, released 'My Confession' in a statement posted to social media. 'Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity, are sadly, largely true,' said Tait, who has supported both presidential campaigns of President Donald Trump. 'I am ashamed of my life choices and actions. I will simply call it what God calls it–sin.' Tait, a 59-year-old native of Washington, D.C., is wildly successful in the Christian music industry, having sold 18 million albums and won four Grammy Awards. Much of his music has encouraged young Christian listeners to resist liberalism and live a life of sobriety, abstinence, and heterosexuality, reports The Guardian, which published an in-depth investigation of his alleged sexual misconduct and drug abuse. Tait's music was also part of the soundtrack to Trump's right-wing Make America Great Again, or MAGA, political movement. His song with Newsboys, 'God's Not Dead,' became a MAGA fixture. The 2011 song's popularity emerged during the conservative evangelical resistance to Barack Obama's presidency. Tait is credited with helping to connect Trump to white evangelical voters, who played a significant role in his 2016 election. During the 2016 election cycle, Tait, invited by Trump's friend Pastor Paula White, was among a group of Christians who prayed over Trump before a Florida campaign stop. Newsboys also notably performed for Trump at the White House in 2019. 'I love you, I support you, and I'm one of the growing number of African Americans who love you,' Tait once told Trump during a 2019 video expressing his support for Trump's prison reform policies. According to The Guardian, Tait is accused of engaging in a pattern of manipulative and abusive behavior with young male musicians in the early 2000s. Some of the alleged victims claim Tait offered the 'possibility of career or artistic opportunities.' When some men rebuffed him, Tait allegedly cut off all contact with them. The singer is accused of hosting parties at his home in Nashville, where he would encourage the men to drink alcohol and use drugs before he allegedly made sexual advances. At least two men said they were secretly drugged and were left in and out of consciousness, and were unable to consent to sexual acts. The alleged male victims claim Tait touched them without their permission. In his 'Confession,' Tait admits to once drinking 'far too much alcohol' and touching men in 'an unwanted sensual way.' He revealed that in early January, he spent six weeks in a Utah treatment center for his cocaine abuse and has been sober for six months. The Christian artist said he was 'ashamed' for living a double life and lying to his family, friends and fans. 'I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality for the rest of my life,' he wrote. 'I accept the consequences of my sin and am committed to continuing the hard work of repentance and healing work.' More must-reads: Owner of Dominican club whose roof collapsed and killed 236 is arrested along with his sister Israeli strikes on Iran lead to new test of Trump's ability to deliver on 'America first' agenda As legal fight over Guard deployment plays out, Noem vows to continue Trump's immigration crackdown
