Harvey Weinstein Claims Innocence on Candace Owens’ Show: “Women Should Be Heard, But I’m Wrongfully Convicted”

Harvey Weinstein continued to proclaim his innocence on Candace Owens’ show amid his retrial on a rape charge and two criminal sexual acts.  

The interview, which Owens, a far-right political commentator, claims is the first on-camera interview Weinstein has done in eight years, came out Tuesday on the same day that the third and final accuser, Jessica Mann, testified as part of Weinstein’s trial related to an alleged rape in 2013. He also faces criminal sexual charges related to Miriam Haley, who alleges he forced oral sex on her at his Tribeca apartment in 2006, and from Kaja Sokola, who alleges that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in a Manhattan hotel in 2006.

It’s rare for a defendant in a criminal trial to release an interview during the course of the trial, and a source close to the situation says that Weinstein’s attorneys were not aware of the project until after it was set up.

Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said the legal team is “still in active discussions” with Weinstein about whether he will testify as part of the trial. The prosecution is expected to rest their case by May 28.

Weinstein began the interview with Owens by reading from a written statement in which he acknowledged “mistakes” he made but said he “did not commit these crimes.” 

“I believe women should be heard, but I’m wrongfully convicted. And right now, I’m not convicted, and I’m on a retrial. An appeal overturned my conviction. But justice demands a clear, honest look at each case, and I am here for fairness and the truth,” Weinstein said. 

“I mean, I made mistakes. There’s no question about it. I hurt my family. I hurt my friends. I cheated on my wife, and that was a mistake, a terrible mistake. And I apologize to friends, family, all the innocent people who inadvertently I hurt, and especially to the Messick family, Jill Messick and her family. But I did not commit these crimes. I swear that before God and the people watching now and on my family. I’m wrongfully accused. But justice has to know the difference between what is immoral and what is illegal,” Weinstein added, with the last part echoing a statement his attorney made in opening arguments for the retrial.

While he then said there was not much he could say about the case, as it is ongoing, Weinstein spoke about the fact that his former friends have backed away from him. 

“They are frightened to death. They are frightened that they’re going to be canceled, that they’re not going to be able to work. I tried to get my people to stand up and even testify in the trial. And nothing,” he said. 

Asked about Gwyneth Paltrow, who has spoken about Weinstein and said he made a pass at her in a hotel room and that Brad Pitt, her boyfriend at time, had warned him to back off. Weinstein called that a “fabrication” but said he did make a move on her in a meeting. 

“At the end of the meeting, we had a glass of Champagne. As I was walking out the door, I said to her, ‘I’d love you to give me a massage’. And she went, ‘Yeah’ [said dismissively], and that was it. I didn’t put my hand on her. I didn’t touch her. I definitely made a pass. I guess, you know, you could call it that, but that was the sum total of that situation,” Weinstein said, adding that Pitt did call him and say “Don’t do that again.” 

Weinstein also spent a portion of the interview bemoaning his fate as the poster child of the #MeToo movement, saying  “They wanted me, and they wanted me in jail forever.” He went on to bash the quality of the New York Times’ reporting about the claims against him from alleged victims including Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan. And he noted the She Said movie, which had Pitt attached as a producer. 

“When it came out, obviously I was concerned, but it bombed so badly,” he said. “The movie grossed $2.5 million dollars on its opening weekend, which is a disaster. I think it went on to gross $4 or $5 million. So maybe it showed there’s no interest in me but there certainly was no interest in the case,” he said. 

While Weinstein been a longtime supporter of the Democratic party, and a friend to the Clintons, he also praised Owens, who has said her project is meant to exonerate him, and Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump in the recent election, for their support, after both have said they believe Weinstein is innocent.

This also comes as Owens has a history of “vicious antisemitism,” according to the Anti-Defamation League, which led to her departure from Ben Shapiro’s conservative media outfit The Daily Wire last year. She previously said on her livestream that Weinstein had questioned her about her support of Kanye West, who has made many antisemitic statements, while noting that he himself had given money to the ADL.

In a statement from Engelmayer, however, Weinstein’s team praised Owens’ approach to the interview.

“Candace approached this with the objectivity that has been sorely missing in the media coverage. She took the time to examine the evidence, review the transcripts and understand the full context. In doing so, she offered a rare and much-needed voice of balance, cutting through the noise and presenting a side of the story few have dared to explore,” Engelmayer said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We believe it was long overdue for Harvey’s voice to be heard. His perspective, his experiences and the flaws in how his case has been portrayed needed to come out. While we had hoped this would have happened much sooner, we are encouraged that he’s finally speaking publicly,” Engelmayer said.