‘Weinstein was always completely charming with me!’ Dame Judi Dench says she feels ‘lucky’ to have never seen ‘other side’ of disgraced director but ‘feels acutely’ for those that did
- Weinstein, 68, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for third-degree rape and first-degree sexual assault
- Dame Judi, 68, spoke recently about her own experience of Weinstein, which she admitted was nothing but ‘charming’
- Weinstein was the director of Judi’s first big Hollywood film, Shakespeare In Love, which earned her the best supporting actress Oscar in 1998
- When quizzed on whether Weinstein’s crimes ‘tainted’ her feelings about the film she told the publication they haven’t, because the ‘film is still the film’
Dame Judi Dench has spoken of how she feels ‘lucky’ to have never seen the ‘other side’ of disgraced director Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein, 68, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for third-degree rape and first-degree sexual assault following a high-profile court case last year.
Following his dramatic fall from grace, Judi, 68, spoke to the Guardian about her own experience of Weinstein, which she admitted was nothing but ‘charming’.
Opinion: Dame Judi Dench has spoken of how she feels ‘lucky’ to have never seen the ‘other side’ of disgraced director Harvey Weinstein (pictured together in 2005)
Discussing her relationship with Weinstein, she said: ‘I worked a lot for Harvey, a huge amount. And he was always completely charming. Perhaps I was lucky, but that’s all I know. I feel very acutely for the people who weren’t so lucky.’
Weinstein was the director of Judi’s first big Hollywood film, Shakespeare In Love, which earned her the best supporting actress Oscar in 1998 for her role as Elizabeth I, despite spending a total of just eight minutes on screen.
When quizzed on whether Weinstein’s crimes ‘tainted’ her feelings about the film she told the publication they haven’t, because the ‘film is still the film’.
Experience: Following his dramatic fall from grace, Judi, 68, spoke to the Guardian recently about her own experience of Weinstein, which she admitted was nothing but ‘charming’
Judi also confessed she ‘doesn’t know’ if she misjudged him, and said: ‘He was a friend. He was a perfectly polite and funny and friendly person.
‘I never experienced Harvey in any other way than that. I knew nothing untoward about him at all. And nor was I warned. So of course I can judge him. But I never experienced that other side of him at all.’
The star previously discussed her close friendship the shamed entertainment figure during an interview in June 2019, almost a year before his sentencing.
Breakout: Weinstein was the director of Judi’s first big Hollywood film, Shakespeare In Love, which earned her the best supporting actress Oscar in 1998 for her role as Elizabeth I, despite spending a total of just eight minutes on screen
Candid: When quizzed on whether Weinstein’s crimes ‘tainted’ her feelings about the film she told the publication they haven’t, because the ‘film is still the film’ (pictured in 2001)
Judi, who was also discussing Kevin Spacey, said she believes their art should be considered separately from their alleged crimes, but said she was ‘horrified’ by the allegations against Weinstein.
‘Are we going to negate ten years at the Old Vic and everything that he did [Spacey as artistic director] – how wonderful he’s been in all those films?
‘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 Noël Coward [accused of predatory behaviour].’
She called it a ‘moral maze’ and said she was worried about Spacey’s films being airbrushed out history, ‘while he’s on hold all the time. What kind of agony is that?’
A series of sexual assault accusations against Spacey led to his firing from House of Cards and his removal from the completed movie All the Money in the World, which was reshot with actor Christopher Plummer.
Allegations: A series of sexual assault accusations against Spacey led to his firing from House of Cards and his removal from the completed movie All the Money in the World, which was reshot with actor Christopher Plummer
One accuser passed away in October 2019, leading to Los Angeles prosecutors rejecting a sexual battery case against the actor.
The case stemmed from a masseur’s allegations that Spacey inappropriately touched him during a massage session at a home in Malibu, California, in October 2016.
The decision stated that the allegations against Spacey could not be proven without the masseur’s participation.
The groping allegation was first brought in 2017, days after Spacey’s first accuser, actor Anthony Rapp, said Spacey climbed on top of him on a bed when Rapp was 14 and Spacey 26.
Spacey said he did not remember such an encounter with Rapp but apologised if the allegations were true. Spacey also used the statement to disclose he is gay.
Accusations: One accuser passed away in October 2019, leading to Los Angeles prosecutors rejecting a sexual battery case against the actor
Meanwhile, on July 17, 2019 prosecutors announced they were dropping an indecent assault and battery charge brought against the star last year.
Spacey was accused of groping an 18-year-old man at a bar on the resort island of Nantucket in 2016.
William Little, 18, accused Spacey of reaching his hand down his pants at The Club Car, a claim he said could be corroborated by text messages he exchanged with an group of friends and his then-girlfriend.
Little, who worked at the establishment where the alleged incident took place, told Spacey he was 23 at the time.
It was revealed however the texts on the accuser’s phone had been deleted by his mother prior to handing it over to authorities – and the phone had been lost at some point in the past year.
The case unraveled after the accuser invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify about text messages from the night of the alleged groping that the defence claimed were deleted.
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