Harvey Weinstein Gives Candace Owens First Interview in 8 Years From Prison: ‘I'm Angry at the System'
Harvey Weinstein gave his first interview in eight years to conservative podcaster Candace Owens on Tuesday, defending himself over a videoconference link from Rikers Island prison where the disgraced movie mogul is being held as he undergoes retrial for rape and sexual assault.
Wearing a dark suit and crisp white dress shirt, Weinstein reiterated his innocence to Owens, who has recently supported the 'Pulp Fiction' producer as he fights multiple charges in a Manhattan courtroom for a second time.
'I just wanted to say that I'm not angry, but I'm angry at the system,' Weinstein said to kick off the 20-minute interview, an unusual move for an inmate in the middle of a criminal trial. 'You know, my situation was transactional, you know, looking back at it.'
He thanked the right-wing Owens (exited from Daily Wire for what the ADL has called 'antisemitic vitriol'), who has said Weinstein (a major Democratic supporter in the past) is being railroaded in a cultural battle, for granting him the chance to speak – then launched into his defense. Weinstein admitted to rampant infidelity and trading his influence for sex, but maintained, as he has since the beginning of the #MeToo movement, that he never assaulted or raped anyone.
'I just want to say something very clearly: I believe women should be heard,' he said. 'But I'm wrongfully convicted, you know what I mean? … Justice demands a clear, honest look at each case. And I am here for fairness and the truth.'
Weinstein said he made mistakes that hurt his family and friends, 'but I did not commit these crimes. I swear that before God and the people watching now and on my family, I'm wrongfully accused. But justice has to know the difference between what is immoral and what is illegal.'
He also thanked Joe Rogan, who has recently begun to agree with Owens that Weinstein's accusers all had something to gain by sleeping with him, then jumping onboard when he was accused publicly.
'Evidence has to matter. I've lost everything, you know what I mean. I've lost everything a man can lose, but still the truth matters. I've been condemned of crimes I did not commit. I understand why people want someone to blame, but I am telling the truth.'
Weinstein says while Hollywood has fully abandoned him, 'the friends that stayed with me were my friends that I grew up with. The people that I knew before I was famous, before I had power. The people in my life who were steadfast all through my life were the ones who remain loyal.'
Harvey bemoaned that the media has been 'obsessed' with his relationship to Gwyneth Paltrow, admitting that he 'made a pass' at her, but swearing he never touched her.
'It's a complete fabrication, you know, about my relationship with Gwyneth,' Weinstein said. 'You know, I'm going to talk about it and just say that I had a meeting with her. … At the end of the meeting we had a glass of champagne. As I was walking out the door, I said to her, 'I'd love you to give me a massage.' And she went [dismissively], 'Yeah.' And, you know, that was it. I didn't put my hand on her. I didn't touch her. I definitely made a pass, I guess. You know, you could call it that. But that was the sum total of that situation.'
Weinstein recounted the oft-told story of how Brad Pitt, her boyfriend at the time, called him: 'Brad, very manly, very cool, just said, 'Don't do that again.' And that was that.' Paltrow and Weinstein went on to make 11 movies together and turned into 'total friends.'
'And now I heard, you know, that she thought the relationship was abusive,' Weinstein said. 'There's pictures of her hugging me when I was sick, when I was sick and in the hospital and didn't think I was going to make it in 1999. … In her Academy Awards speech, she thanks me.'
Watch the entire interview in the video above.
The post Harvey Weinstein Gives Candace Owens First Interview in 8 Years From Prison: 'I'm Angry at the System' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
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