Dame Judi Dench says she believes disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has done enough prison time for his sexual assault convictions, and still keeps in touch with Kevin Spacey.
“I knew Harvey, and I knew him well and worked with him, and I had none of that experience – very fortunately for me,” Dench told Radio Times in an interview published Sunday. “I imagine he’s done his time … “I don’t know, to me it’s personal – forgiveness.”
Weinstein is currently serving a 16-year sentence after a judge found him guilty of committing sex crimes in Los Angeles in December 2022. Back in June, Weinstein was convicted on one charge of first-degree sexual assault in his New York retrial, and was acquitted on a second.
At the time, the panel found Weinstein guilty of forcibly subjecting former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam Haley to a sex act in 2006, and acquitted him of a second charge of sexually assaulting former model Kaja Sokola, also in 2006. It could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third-degree rape involving Jessica Mann in 2013, and was sent back for more debate.
The third-degree rape charge carries a lesser penalty than the first-degree criminal sex act offenses under New York state law. The convicted charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years, though Weinstein’s sentence will ultimately be dependent on the outcome of the charge involving Mann.
Dench went on to say that she’s giving grace to Kevin Spacey as well, who has been accused of sexual assault and battery; the “Usual Suspects” actor has been cleared of criminal charges, but still faces civil lawsuits in the U.K.
Dench shared that she and the actor still keep in touch.
“Kevin has been exonerated and I hear from Kevin, we text,” she told Radio Times.
“Are we going to negate 10 years at the Old Vic and everything that [Spacey] did, how wonderful he’s been in all those films?” Dench said. “Are we just not going to see all those films that Harvey produced? You cannot deny somebody a talent. You might as well never look at a Caravaggio painting [he was a murderer]. You might as well never have gone to see Noel Coward [accused of predatory behavior].”
The post Judi Dench Says She Feels Harvey Weinstein Has ‘Done His Time,’ Still Texts Kevin Spacey: ‘It’s Personal – Forgiveness’ appeared first on TheWrap.
