After a bombshell New York Times investigation in October 2017 revealed decades of sexual-misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, he hatched several unsuccessful plans to save himself — from claiming “I’m suicidal†in a draft PR statement to hitting up billionaires for business assistance, newly unsealed Manhattan court papers in his criminal case revealed.
The documents, which might give the deepest look into Weinstein’s post-accusation unraveling to date, also revealed that his brother called him a “sexual predator and abusive person.â€
“Three months ago I could never say the following words, nor even think them to myself: I’m an addict. I’m a sex addict. I’m an anger addict. To medicate, I comfort myself with bad food. My mind sees despair. My body has trauma. Vets tell me I have PTSD,†said one of Weinstein’s draft public statements, dated December 21, 2017. “Doctors tell me I’m lucky to be alive … but lucky is not how I feel. I have only despair. I have lost my family. I have daughters that will not talk to me. I have lost my wife. I have lost the respect of my ex-wife and generally almost all of my friends. I have no company. I’m alone.â€
“And I will be honest with you: I’m suicidal,†this missive said.
The draft statement was tucked among more than 1,000 pages of case files that were unsealed Monday afternoon. Weinstein, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault on February 24, is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. He faces anywhere from five years to 29 years in a New York State prison.
This statement, which was not released by his PR team, is heavy with self-pity.
“The #MeToo movement is powerful. Hurtful, but deserved. I read what Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Ashley Judd, and so many others have written. While there are two sides to these stories, truthfully, I don’t know how to tell it without being crucified,†the statement said. “There’s a difference between assault and womanizing. There’s a difference between assault and cheating.â€
Weinstein lamented that he couldn’t forgive himself, but believed he could help other addicts, comparing his idea for a treatment center to St. Jude, a no-cost cancer hospital for children.
“When I was a boy, there was a TV series with Danny Thomas called Make Room for Daddy. Danny Thomas built a hospital called St. Jude. It’s a place where kids from all around the world go and get care for free,†Weinstein’s statement said. “I thought to myself, Why don’t I build a St. Jude’s for Addicts? For alcoholics. For sex addicts. For those struggling with opioids, drugs, food, etc. Why don’t I build a St. Jude’s run by women?â€
“I’ll finance it with my connections and turn it over to the women. They will have the best physicians from all over the world. It will be a place where women can talk, have groups, explain their experiences and talk to men directly,†the statement said. “It wouldn’t be just men having group therapies, but women confronting them, talking to them, understanding why they acted out.â€
“I asked some female opioid addicts for a name for this version of St. Jude’s for addicts. One lonely young heroin addict looked up at me. ‘Athena,’ she said. ‘Who?’ ‘Athena, the Goddess of War,’†Weinstein’s missive also said.
The court documents also revealed that he tried mining his rich and powerful connections days after the Times investigation ran.
“Dear Michael, My board is thinking of firing me,†Weinstein wrote to former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg on October 8, 2017. “All I’m asking for is, let me take a leave of absence and get into heavy therapy and counseling whether it be in a facility or somewhere else, and allow me to resurrect myself with a second chance. A lot of the allegations are false, and given therapy and counseling, as other people have done, I think I’d be able to get there. I could really use your support or just your honesty if you can’t support me.â€
“But if you can, I need you to send a letter to me at my private gmail address … The letter would only go to the board and no one else. We believe what the board is trying to do is not only wrong, but it might be illegal and would destroy the company,†Weinstein also wrote. “If you could write this letter backing me getting the help and time away I need and also stating your opposition to the board firing me, it would help me a lot. With all due respect, I need the letter today if you can — I so appreciate it.â€
Weinstein wrote similar emails to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and other power brokers.
Within a month of the Times story, Weinstein’s notorious anger was also directed toward Jennifer Aniston. An October 31, 2017, exchange between Weinstein and his rep revealed that a reporter was seeking comment on an allegation that he groped Aniston. “Jen Aniston should be killed,†Weinstein said in a reply email. Aniston’s rep vehemently denied that the actress had been groped by Weinstein in an email to Vulture. “I just spoke to Jennifer and confirmed that none of those claims that were stated in the email from the National Enquirer are true. There were no such interactions with Harvey Weinstein,†her rep, Stephen Huvane, said in an email to Vulture. “She was never in a room alone with him. He never touched her in anyway and she never caught him staring at her breast. She never had to reject his advances because he never made any. I hope this is clear,†Huvane said.
The documents also revealed that Weinstein’s brother and former business partner, Bob, wasn’t buying his addiction claims.
“U deserve a lifetime achievement award for the sheer savagery and immorality and inhumanness, for the acts u have perpetrated. Oh I forgot. They were all consensual. Then what are u in rehab for? Sex addiction. Don’t think so,†Bob Weinstein wrote in a November 2, 2017 email. “You wouldn’t have harassment, assault and rape charges u have now received, from 82 women for active consensual sex. U must be being treated for something. I guess sexual predator comes to mind.â€
“U have been a sexual predator and abusive person for over fourty [sic] years,†Bob also wrote. “Fuck u Harvey Weinstein. I pray there is a real hell. That’s where u belong. I suppose being you, is its own hell, if u could feel it, but no chance. OJ, didn’t kill Nicole Simpson and u had consensual sex with all those poor victimized women.â€