Harvey Weinstein, "pioneer" of the promotion of women in Hollywood: this is how the deposed producer describes himself in an interview with New york post published Sunday, December 15, less than a month before the start of his sexual assault trial.
Man charged on five counts, of which he pleaded not guilty, for rape of one woman in 2013 and sexual assault on another in 2006. Along with dozens of others, who charge him sexual abuse, he is trying to reach a financial agreement.
"It was all wiped out because of what happened"
"I feel like I've been forgotten", he said in an interview on Friday, the day after a major back operation following a road accident in August. "I have made more films directed by women and on women than any producer", launched the former Hollywood tycoon, "And I'm talking about thirty years ago. "I'm not talking about now, when it's fashionable", he continues. "I was the first! I was the pioneer! "
The world of cinema has reportedly refused to do it justice, in full upheaval since the birth of the #metoo movement and the "Time’s Up" fund to combat harassment and promote equality between men and women.
For Harvey Weinstein, "It was all wiped out because of what happened", that is, the charges of harassment or sexual assault from more than 80 women. “My work has been forgotten. "
Back in court on January 6
Dozens of testimonies present him as a manipulator, darling actresses with professional opportunities in exchange for sexual favors.
Several famous actresses, like Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek or Gwyneth Paltrow, affirmed that the co-creator of the Miramax studios, then of The Weinstein Company, had made advances to each of them, without success. Many of the actresses who dismissed him claim that the ex-almighty studio boss then sought to derail their careers.
"In 2003, Gwyneth Paltrow received $ 10 million for the film View from the Top (“Hostess at all costs”) ", pointed out Harvey Weinstein in his interview, again presenting himself as a craftsman of the rebalancing between men and women in Hollywood. "She was the highest paid actress in all independent cinema (outside major studios), he said. Better paid than all men. "
Questioned by the New york post, Harvey Wenstein declined to speak on the charges against him. " (He) said he only accepted the interview, his first for over a year, only to prove that he did not exaggerate about his health concerns, " specifies the tabloid.
The 67-year-old former producer was released from the hospital on Sunday, the newspaper said. At a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, he assured his attorneys that surgery would not prevent his presence at the start of his trial scheduled for New York on January 6.
Our selection of articles on the Weinstein case
Find the reference content of the World on the Harvey Weinstein case:
- The origins of the global shock wave: how revelations from the New york times then from New yorker resulted in the end of one of the last moguls the cinema. Read our story about the fall of Harvey Weinstein.
- Over the weeks, the producer's casualty list has grown to become staggering.
- The scandal produced an unprecedented explosion in the seventh art: the film industry found itself confronted with its practices.
- The case also resulted in a vast liberation of women's speech: "There are so many of us that it is impressive", writes sociologist Irène Théry in a tribune.
- This wave affected all sectors in the United States, had repercussions in France and in Europe, but was not universal, like India.
- Dissonant voices, worried about a Puritan drift, were also heard: "We defend a freedom to intrude, essential to sexual freedom", write 100 women, including Catherine Deneuve, in a tribune.
- Several months after its debut, “The #MeToo movement is always there, at the same time liberating, disturbing, cumbersome. Criticized, too », analysis The world.
