Harvey Weinstein has apologized for using Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence’s names as part of his attempt to get a sexual misconduct lawsuit against him dismissed in court.
“Mr. Weinstein has been informed that his civil counsel responded in court to a class action lawsuit which improperly sought to include all actresses who had previously worked with Mr. Weinstein, even where those actresses have made no claim of wrongdoing,” a spokesperson for Weinstein said in a statement to Us Weekly on Thursday, February 22. “Even though Mr. Weinstein has worked with hundreds of actresses and actors who had only professional and mutually respectful experiences with him, Mr. Weinstein has directed in the future that no specific names be used by his counsel, even where those actors have made previous public statements about him.”
“Mr. Weinstein acknowledges the valuable input both Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence have contributed to this conversation and apologizes,” the statement continued. “Once again, moving forward, Mr. Weinstein has advised his counsel to not include specific names of former associates; and to avoid whenever possible, even if they are in the public record.”
As previously reported, Lawrence spoke out against the disgraced movie producer on Thursday after he attempted to use her name in court on Wednesday, February 21, as evidence of his professional relationships with women. Weinstein was looking to have the suit, which was filed against him and The Weinstein Company on behalf of all women who worked with him, dropped.
“Harvey Weinstein and his company are continuing to do what they have always done which is to take things out of context and use them for their own benefit,” Lawrence said in a statement to Us. “This is what predators do, and it must stop. For the record, while I was not victimized personally by Harvey Weinstein, I stand behind the women who have survived his terrible abuse and I applaud them in using all means necessary to bring him to justice whether through criminal or civil actions. Time’s up.”
Streep also released a statement about Weinstein’s claims and stood by his alleged sexual misconduct victims. “Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys use of my (true) statement — that he was not sexually transgressive or physically abusive in our business relationship — as evidence that he was not abusive with many OTHER women is pathetic and exploitive,” she told Deadline on Wednesday. “The criminal actions he is accused of conducting on the bodies of these women are his responsibility, and if there is any justice left in the system he will pay for them — regardless of how many good movies, made by many good people, Harvey was lucky enough to have acquired or financed.”
After the New York Times published a story detailing more than three decades of sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein in October 2017, more than 60 women have come forward with their own stories about him. Weinstein continues to deny all allegations made against him.
