In 2017, many women in Hollywood gathered the courage to speak out against the then most powerful producer Harvey Weinstein. At that time, The New York Times and The New Yorker reported over a dozen women who accused Harvey on misconduct and after they published, many more women started speaking about their scarring experiences with the producer, and by the end, more than 80 women accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment. This started the global #MeToo movement which enabled women to speak against power and gave them the tools to raise their voice against harassment. Harvey, who was the linchpin to this movement, has been serving his multiple prison sentences for a few years, and now in his first interview since his incarceration, the film producer claimed that he never sexually assaulted anyone. Harvey was initially sentenced 23 years by a New York court but that sentence was overturned in 2024 on procedural grounds. He was later convicted in another case in 2025. Following this he will be serving a 16 years sentence, ordered by a Los Angeles court.
In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Harvey spoke about his time in Hollywood, his idea that Gwyneth Paltrow betrayed him by speaking against him, sexual assault allegations, being beaten up in prison, and fear of death.
Harvey Weinstein claims women made sexual assault allegations against him for monetary benefits
Harvey was asked about the many women who basically retold the same story as to how Harvey used his power to intimidate them, assault them and even retaliate against them if they did not accept his advances. He blatantly said that they had all been lying about him because of monetary compensation. He claimed that the women who spoke up against him were paid by the insurance company, which probably prompted them to lie. “All anyone had to do to walk off with a check was fill out a form that said I sexually assaulted them. So they filled it out, and the insurance company eventually paid out tens of millions of dollars,” he claimed.
When asked about women like Gwyneth Paltrow and other named actresses who did not take a penny but asserted their claims against Harvey, he said that while he made a pass at them, was “overly seductive” but claimed that he never sexually assaulted anyone. “I lied all the time. I improperly used my staff to hide these things. But did I ever sexually assault a woman? No. I never did that,” he said.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s only Oscar win is for Shakespeare in Love, produced by Harvey Weinstein.
Harvey Weinstein admits he asked Gwyneth Paltrow for a massage, still believes that she shouldn’t be offended
When specifically asked about popular actresses like Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, Harvey said that they “exaggerated” their claims as they “wanted to be part of the club.” Talking about Gwyneth specifically, he said that he did ask her to give him a massage but backed off when she said no, which in his interpretation gives him a clean chit. He claimed that she made a “big deal over nothing” and recounted the incident.
“I walked out of a nice meeting with her and said, ‘How about a massage?’ And she just went, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ I got the message. I never put my hands on her. She told Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt came to me and said, ‘Don’t do anything like that with my girl.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, Brad. I got it.’ But then Gwyneth goes on Howard Stern and The New York Times and makes a big deal about it all,” he said and added that Gwyneth stabbed him in the back as she “wanted to be part of the crowd.” He also claimed that she owed her career to him.
Harvey believes women who walked into hotel rooms with him knew what was expected
In another part of the interview, Harvey was asked about his assistants and staff members at his company who all lied to cover his actions but he said that it was all on him, and none of those people should be blamed. He then added that women who came to meet him in the middle of the night in a hotel room knew what they were walking into. Multiple women accused Harvey of assaulting them, chasing them and groping them in hotel rooms. “I will say, though, when a guy invites you to his hotel room in the middle of the night, you know what’s on the agenda,” he said.
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But when questioned about the insinuation of his statement, he said that he had lots of meetings in hotel rooms, some above board as well but said that “there were some women who knew exactly what was expected.” He then started blaming the victims as he said, “Maybe they felt bad later or they regretted it. Maybe they saw an opportunity for a payout. But not all of them were as naive as they liked to pretend.”
Harvey Weinstein once called himself the “sheriff” of Hollywood. (Photo: AP)
Harvey Weinstein refuses to apologise
When asked if he had apologised to anyone, he gave an insincere blanket apology and when called out on the same, he said, “But I did not assault them. That is the big lie of all of this. I won’t apologise for something I didn’t do. I will be proven innocent. That I promise you.” Throughout the entire conversation, Harvey was only apologetic for cheating on both his wives.
Harvey Weinstein was punched in jail
In his current state, Harvey spends 23 hours inside his cell, and is only allowed to go out for half an hour in his wheelchair to get some air. Describing Rikers Island as “hell”, he said that being a celebrity “hurts” him as he finds it “too dangerous for me to be around anyone else.” He claimed that other inmates intimidate him and he is “constantly threatened and derided.”
He also claimed that he was once punched in the face while in jail and fell on the floor as he bled. “One time while I was waiting to use the phone, I asked the guy in front of me if he was done. He got off and punched me hard in the face. I fell on the floor, bleeding everywhere. I was hurt really badly,” he said. At 73, Harvey is well aware that he could die in jail and said that the idea “scares the sh*t out of me” and added, “Whatever they think I did bad in my life, I didn’t get the death penalty. I’m going to be 74 in March. I don’t want to die in here.”
