Harvey Weinstein Talks Bar Mitzvah And Quotes Jay-Z In Rambling Pseudo-Apology

Image by Getty Images
Oscar-winning movie producer Harvey Weinstein on Thursday responded to bombshell allegations of sexual harassment by mentioning his bar mitzvah, blasting the gun lobby and President Trump — and quoting rapper Jay-Z in a rambling statement.
He later threatened to sue the New York Times over the report.
“I am going to need a place to channel that anger, so I’ve decided that I’m going to give the NRA my full attention,” he said, adding that he planned to host a retirement party for National Rifle Association chief Wayne LaPierre “at the same (place) I had my Bar Mitzvah.”
He quoted Jay-Z as saying “I’m not the man I thought I was, and I better be that man for my children,” but the excerpt from Jay-Z’s “4:44” isn’t actually a Jay-Z quote.
He also apologized, vowed to step back from his business, seek therapy and take advice from high-profile lawyer Lisa Bloom.
The Times said Weinstein has reached confidential settlements with at least eight women, including actress Rose McGowan. A former Weinstein Co. employee, Lauren O’Connor, detailed some of the allegations over a two-year period in a memo cited by the Times report.
Weinstein’s attorney Charles J. Harder later put out a statement saying the newspaper’s story was defamatory because it relied on “mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report.”
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chief