Harvey Weinstein’s brother and former business partner Bob Weinstein – rumored to be the mastermind behind the twin exposes that helped topple his brother – has finally spoken out: he says he knew his brother Harvey was a cheater, but was unaware when it came to the extent of his “sick and depraved” ways, the New York Post reported.
He also denied a WSJ report that the Weinstein Company’s board is exploring a sale or shutdown in the wake of the scandal, saying only that he and his remaining partners have a plan for the business – adding that they would probably change the company’s name to something not so “familial.”
“I thought he was literally just going out there cheating in a pervasive way,” Weinstein company co-founder Bob Weinstein told The Hollywood Reporter.
“But as far as being in a room and hearing the description in The New York Times? No way. No f—in’ way was I aware that that was the type of predator he was… I thought they were all consensual situations.”
Bob, 62, said he was “ashamed” and “disgusted” by the dozens of sexual assault and harassment allegations against his brother spanning thee decades.
“I’m mortified and disgusted by my brother’s actions. And I am sick for the victims. And I feel for them. I feel for them,” the father of three said.
Weinstein, who described his brother as a bully, said he’s spoken with Harvey only around 10 times in the past five years, adding that he himself has been the subject of a lot of his brother’s verbal and physical abuse.
“I asked him to get help for many years. And that’s the truth. He avoided getting the help. We begged him,” Weinstein said.
Weinstein says he’s spoken to his brother twice since the allegations surfaced, and that he hasn’t expressed an ounce of remorse.
“Harvey has no remorse whatsoever. I have spoken to him… hoping to hear “Oh my God, what have I done?” I didn’t hear that,” he said. “I heard a guy who still was fighting to get back and I was disgusted by it. Do you know how disgusted I am?”
Bob Weinstein co-founded the Weinstein Company with his brother in 2005 and confirmed that he’s not putting it up for sale.
He also rebutted claims that the company could be facing financial ruin because of the scandal, saying the studio is in good financial health.
And he hopes – now that his brother is out of the picture for good – that the company will be able to move on from the scandal.
However, given the timespan during which Weinstein was actively abusing and harassing women, making settlements and offering NDAs to cover his tracks, it’s difficult to imagine that his colleagues at Weinstein Co. were totally in the dark about Harvey’s behavior.
via http://ift.tt/2ymCHXQ Tyler Durden