Before he was handed 23 years in prison, Harvey Weinstein begged for a light sentence on Wednesday, telling the court he was going through “hell on earth” and was “really trying to be a better person.”
The 67-year-old played down his power and influence in Hollywood — while also bragging about the millions he has raised for New York following the likes of Hurricane Sandy and Sept. 11.
Admitting he was the spark for the whole #MeToo movement, Weinstein said he was just one of many men “totally confused” by the complaints against them — saying he even wanted to open a specialist clinic for men who had been accused.
“I really feel remorse for this situation. I feel it deeply in my heart,” he said in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Weinstein said he’s “really trying to be a better person.”
But ultimately, the convicted rapist relied on self-pity as he pleaded for a light term before he was sentenced to 23 years.
“The thing for me is I have not seen my three older children since the newspaper, since the New Yorker article came out,” he said of the original reports of his widespread abuse. “So I have not seen them. I just have no idea what they are doing, and I’m in no communication with them.”
“That for me is hell on earth,” he whined, saying again later, “I may never see my children again.”
He admitted, “If I had to do it over again, I would not do it that way. If I had to do a lot of things over, I would care less about the movies and care more about my children, family, and other people and friends.”
As well as remorse for his accusers, Weinstein also apologized to his two wives — Eve Chilton Weinstein, and Georgina Chapman, who was with him when the scandal broke — who he said “knew nothing about this.”
“I went through extraordinary lengths to hide my extramarital affairs,” he admitted.
“They had nothing to do with anything. I was unfaithful to both and I just cannot tell you how bad I feel about that.”
Even there, though, he insisted he was a victim, punished for being a cheating rat just like other men.
“I’m totally confused, and I think men are confused,” he complained, insisting that he “had a wonderful time” with his two accusers.
“We are going through this crisis right now in our country,” he said.
“The movement basically started with me … now there are thousands of men who are being accused.”
Amazingly, he even denied the obvious power and influence he had in Hollywood.
“I had no great powers in this industry. Miramax, at the height of its fame, was a small company,” he insisted.
“That’s what it was, but it became blown up — like power, power, power. I was not about power, I was about making great movies,” he insisted.
“I’m not going to also run away from what the District Attorney said about some of the things I did say.”
“I had a fight with my brother, yes, people said I said bad things to people, but there are so many people, thousands of people who would say great things about me.”
Comparing his attitude toward staff as being like a test for the Marine Corps, he complained, “There never was in our industry a book that says this is how it should be.”
He even suggested that his despicable behavior could have been a result of the pressure he was under. “I worked too hard. As a result of working too hard, I felt too much pressure on myself.”