Monday morning saw a familiar name pop up in email inboxes across Hollywood: Harvey Weinstein. The disgraced producer, who is currently facing charges in New York for sexual misconduct, sent a now widely circulated email from his personal account on Monday. “I’ve had one hell of a year. The worst nightmare of my life,†he wrote according to the New York Times. His lawyer Benjamin Brafman explained that the email was initially sent to several of Weinstein’s close friends. And while his lawyers insisted to the Times they weren’t even aware Weinstein had sent the email until after the fact — and that it was not a legal strategy — the email itself outlined many of the same arguments being used in his legal defense. Namely, that investigators have treated Weinstein unfairly. “[T]he police have played a very difficult role in my investigation,†the former producer wrote, before imploring the recipients to read a number of selected articles and speak with him on the phone.
“[H]e knows how to run a marketing campaign, that’s for sure,†one of his accusers, Katherine Kendall, told the Times. “[T]here are people who are afraid that he’s been planning his comeback for a while.†She added, “I think there are so many people who see him as a master manipulator, that nothing will surprise them. And that they’re afraid of him.â€