Despite Harvey Weinstein owning up to most of the claims in The New York Times bombshell report that exposed him for decades-long sexual harassment, he’s still suing the newspaper for $50 million.
The report details countless allegations against the Hollywood studio head from current and former employees, including actress Ashley Judd. The Times uncovered at least eight cases in which Weinstein paid the women a settlement to keep quiet about his behavior.
“I bear responsibility for my actions, but the reason 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 told the New York Post in an exclusive interview.
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“The Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didn’t live up to the bargain,” Weinstein explained.
“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.”
Weinstein also believes that the The Times has a “vendetta” against him and refuses to focus on the positive things he does, dedicating all of its time to a massive negative report on his alleged failings. (RELATED: Top Hollywood Producer Accused Of Decades-Long Sexual Harassment)
“They never wrote about the documentary I did with Jay-Z about Rikers Island, they never write that I raised $50 million for amfAR, nor my work with Robin Hood — instead they focus on trying to bring me down. This is a vendetta, and the next time I see [Times executive editor] Dean Baquet, it will be across a courtroom.”
Despite his anger about how the report turned out in The Times he also apologized for his actions when speaking to The Post.
“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,” he said.
“I know a lot of people would like me to go into a facility, and I may well just do that — I will go anywhere I can learn more about myself. I want to be able to look at the people I have hurt and say, ‘I am sorry, I have changed and I’ve progressed.’ I am terribly embarrassed for my company, my staff and the only person who could fix this is me. I am going to fix myself, I am going to fix how I deal with women and how I deal with my temper and power.”
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Weinstein is being advised by celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom, who has been counseling him on his treatment of women for a year now. Another one of Weinstein’s attorney’s announced on Thursday that the studio head would be suing The Times for $50 million.
“The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein,” attorney Charles Harder wrote in an email to The Hollywood Reporter. “It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by 9 different eyewitnesses. We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women’s organizations.”