Harvey Weinstein Speaks Out as Retrial Nears End: My Actions Were ‘Immoral,' ‘Never ‘Criminal'

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Harvey Weinstein gave a rare interview to New York's local Fox station on Friday as his retrial for charges of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape nears its end. 'I regret [that] I put my family through this, that I put my wife through this, that I acted immorally, that I put so many friends through this,' he said. 'I hurt people that were close to me by actions that were stupid but never illegal, never criminal, never anything.'
The former producer also said that his attorney, Arthur Aidala, advised him not to take the stand in his own defense during the trial. 'I desperately wanted to,' he said. 'Arthur said to me that the jury … understood our case and would be sympathetic to our case, and that the D.A. would try to rip me apart if I took the stand. I'm not afraid of the D.A., but this is the best advice, and this is the advice you often hear: Don't take the stand if you don't have to.'
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Weinstein spoke by phone from Bellevue Hospital, where he has been held for the duration of the proceeding due to his multiple health issues. ('I have spinal stenosis. I have bone marrow cancer. I have a thing called burning mouth disease. I have a list of ailments longer than an encyclopedia,' he said of his health.)
The New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction last year. He had previously been found guilty of a felony sex crime and third-degree rape, two out of five charges he faced at the time. But the appeals court decided that prosecutors should not have been allowed to present testimony from accusers whose allegations did not specifically relate to the charges against him.
The retrial, which began in April, focused on the claims of three women, two of whom were part of the 2020 case. Weinstein pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor and Weinstein's legal team presented their closing arguments this week. Jury deliberations began Thursday.
When asked what he thought of the women who'd levied accusations against him in this trial, Weinstein told Fox, 'I think Arthur says they have four million reasons to testify, as in dollars.'
Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a separate sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles. In December 2022, a jury there found Weinstein guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault. He has filed an appeal.
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