Oprah Winfrey wants Harvey Weinstein interview
Oprah Winfrey wants to interview Harvey Weinstein.
Disgraced movie producer Harvey – who stands accused of sexually harassing a number of female employees and actresses over a period of almost three decades – reached out to Oprah this week but she told him she would only speak to him if it was for a ’60 Minutes’ style interview.
Oprah’s representative told TMZ: “Oprah has not spoken to Harvey Weinstein directly. Someone from his team reached out to her to see if she would talk to him, and she said she would if it was for an interview. There are no plans for an interview at this time.
“She was only interested if he’d look in the mirror and give her the honest, bone marrow truth.”
Following the bombshell revelations about Harvey, Oprah posted a statement, which read: “I’ve been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein’s behaviour and haven’t been able to find the words to articulate the magnitude of the situation.”
She then quoted filmmaker James Schamus, who said, “This is the story of one predator and his many victims; but it is also a story about an overwhelming systemic enabling, and until that story is fully told we will fall far short of stopping future depredations on a similar scale.”
Meanwhile, Harvey is reportedly set to challenge his firing from The Weinstein Company.
The 65-year-old film producer was fired by the board of his firm, which he co-founded with his brother Bob Weinstein in 2005, “in light of new information about misconduct” after he was accused of sexual harassment.
The statement issued at the time read: “In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company – Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar – have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately.”
It has now been claimed that Harvey will phone in to the board meeting on October 17, where he will speak to the board from the rehab facility he is attending.
His civil lawyer Patty Glaser is said to be planning to be at the meeting in person to make his case.
TMZ previously reported that Harvey did not violate his current contract, which he signed in October 2015, and that he insists that no sexual harassment complaints were made about incidents after he signed the contract.
It is believed the company had every right to fire Harvey immediately but he is able to challenge the decision and ask for mediation and arbitration.