Harvey Weinstein is speaking on his own behalf following the New York Times story detailing sexual harassment claims against him from a number of women, including Ashley Judd. In an interview with the New York Post, Weinstein gives another round of self-effacement (“I have got to change, I’ve got to grow, I’ve got to deal with my personality, I’ve got to work on my temper, I have got to dig deep.”) while justifying his lawsuit against the newspaper for its “reckless reporting.”
“I am suing is because of the Times’ inability to be honest with me, and their reckless reporting. They told me lies. They made assumptions,” Weinstein said. “The Times editors were so fearful they were going to be scooped by New York Magazine and they would lose the story, that they went ahead and posted the story filled with reckless reporting, and without checking all they had with me and my team.”
Additionally, Weinstein said that the Times has a “vendetta” against him, which is why the paper never covered his good works, like the money he raised for charity or a documentary he produced with Jay Z about Rikers Island. As for the allegations, Weinstein says he “never laid a glove” on Ashley Judd, who went on the record for the Times article. He also said the damning memo the Times cited from former employee Lauren O’Connor amounted to nothing because she withdrew it shortly after it was submitted to executives at his company. Weinstein did not mention that it was withdrawn after a settlement was reached with O’Connor.
Meanwhile, the Times stands by its story. “We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting,” a spokesperson for The New York Times told THR. “Mr. Weinstein was aware and able to respond to specific allegations in our story before publication. In fact, we published his response in full.”