Harvey Weinstein conducted a rare interview with the local Fox station in New York on Friday as his retrial of allegations of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape. "I'm sorry (that) that I let my family do this, let my wife go through this, I acted so immorally that I put a lot of my friends in this aspect," he said. "I hurt people close to me for being stupid but never breaking the law, never committing crimes, never having anything to do."
The former producer also said his attorney, Arthur Aidala, advised him not to stand during the trial. "I thought so desperately," he said. "Arthur said to me that the jury... understood our case, sympathized with our case, and if I took the stand, the DA would try to tear me apart. I'm not afraid of the DA, but it's the best advice, and it's the advice you often hear: If you don't have to, please don't accept the stand."
Weinstein spoke via phone from Bellevue Hospital, where he was held during the procedure due to his multiple health issues. ("I have spinal cord stenosis. I have bone marrow cancer. I have an oral disease called burning. My list of diseases is longer than the encyclopedia," he said of his health.)
The New York Court of Appeal overturned Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction last year. He had been convicted of felony sex crimes and third-degree rape, and he faced two of the five charges at the time. But the Court of Appeals ruled that prosecutors should not be allowed to produce testimony from the accuser, and the allegations had nothing to do with the allegations he had against him.
The retry began in April with a focus on the claims of three women, two of whom were part of the 2020 case. Weinstein pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors and Weinstein’s legal team presented their closing statements this week. Jury deliberations began Thursday.
Asked about his opinion on the women who charged him at this trial, Weinstein told Fox: “I think Arthur said they had four million reasons to testify, just like the dollar.”
Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a separate sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles. In December 2022, a jury there found Weinstein guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault. He appealed.