Harvey Weinstein Says He’s a Pioneer for Women in Self-Pitying Interview: ‘I’m the Forgotten Man’
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is not backing down from whatever version of a comeback he’s attempting to mount, as evidenced by a recent interview featured in Page Six. In the conversation, playing up his supposed ailing health — walker and blood-draining tube in tow — Weinstein said, “I feel like the forgotten man…I made more movies directed by women and about women than any filmmaker, and I’m talking about 30 years ago. I’m not talking about now when it’s vogue. I did it first! I pioneered it!”
Last week, Weinstein along with board members from his bankrupt namesake studio, reached a tentative $25 million settlement with dozens of the victims of his alleged sexual misconduct. While the particulars of the settlement remain hush-hush, the deal affords him immunity from admitting wrongdoing to the claimants involved. However, Weinstein still stands to be tried in January on criminal charges of sexual assault involving two women.
Bemoaning his foundered legacy, Weinstein added that “it all got eviscerated because of what happened. … My work has been forgotten,” referring to his tenure as head of Miramax and The Weinstein Company.
The Post interview took place out of the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center on Thursday, December 12, following a spinal surgery that he said stems from a car accident that occurred in August. Weinstein said he agreed to the interview because “I want this city to recognize who I was instead of what I’ve become.”
Weinstein has been accused of exaggerating his condition, as the alleged rapist has been seen on the town sans walker — a crutch he hammed up when arriving for his December 11 court appearance. Back in October, he was seen at a bar, where an event celebrating young performers was held, igniting fractious protests and drag-outs.
According to the piece, Weinstein was being treated “in an elite wing of the hospital that features marble bathrooms, Italian linens and original framed artwork, all designed to look like a plush hotel. A private chef and concierge cater to the patients while visitors can sip cucumber-infused water.”
Weinstein cited Gwyneth Paltrow — who claimed to have her own sordid experiences with the producer — as an example of a woman whose profile he boosted. “She was the highest-paid female actor in an independent film. Higher paid than all the men,” he said. Paltrow worked with Weinstein on “Shakespeare in Love,” which won her a Best Actress Academy Award in 1999. Her Weinstein film “View From the Top” earned her a $10 million paycheck, touted the producer. But the film was a flop, and roasted by critics in 2003.
Finally, Weinstein leaned on the narrative of being a self-made man despite a supposedly modest upbringing in Queens. “I made a success out of myself. I had no money, and I built quite an empire with Miramax and decided to give back,” he said. “If you remember who I was then, you might want to question some of this.”
