Rosanna Arquette is pushing back against comments that Harvey Weinstein made in a recent jailhouse interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
In a hard-hitting interview conducted last January at Riker’s Island, THR editor-in-chief Maer Roshan pressed the 73-year-old disgraced mogul on claims that he had professionally blackballed women who resisted his advances. “You fancy yourself such a tough guy,” ” Roshan noted. “If any of these women had refused you, wouldn’t you have sought to punish them?”
The twice-convicted rapist, who faces a retrial on a remaining assault charge next month in New York, firmly denied the charges. “I may be a tough guy, but I’m not deranged. Just the threat of Harvey was enough — maybe more than enough. But it didn’t go to the point of blackballing anybody. If the camera’s on, I’m just going to say Rosanna Arquette, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie — they just exaggerated. They wanted to be part of the club. And they destroyed me.” The interview, the first sit-down since the disgraced mogul’s arrest, was published in the March 11 Oscar issue of the magazine, sparking global headlines and drawing both praise and condemnation.
Arquette had first accused the mogul of assault in The New Yorker in October 2017, in one of two articles that helped kick off the global #MeToo movement. Now, in a letter shared with THR, the actress weighs in on Weinstein’s lengthy comments, firmly denies that she ever exaggerated anything and reiterates that her account of what happened has never wavered.
Arquette also spoke to the conditions at Rikers Island, where Weinstein is imprisoned pending his next trial, calling the conditions “horrible” and asserting she believes the prison should be shut down. She wished Weinstein success in getting transferred to a more “humane prison” as she feels the human rights of all prisoners should be upheld.
Her full letter is published here.
A Statement in Response to Harvey Weinstein’s Interview from Prison
When it comes to the events that led to Harvey Weinstein’s convictions, plural, by juries of his peers, here are the facts:
The assaults happened. The rapes happened.
Prior to his convictions, the rapes and assaults were substantiated by investigative journalists at different legacy news outlets, passing the meticulous scrutiny of teams of lawyers and editors through a rigorous pre-publication process.
Criminal investigations were conducted by law enforcement agencies in Manhattan and Los Angeles. The facts and evidence of these crimes were brought to courtrooms, where Harvey Weinstein was given the full benefits of due process and was represented by the best attorneys his ample wealth could provide. He was tried and convicted for these crimes. While his New York conviction was overturned due to procedural reasons, the jury did find him guilty; a re-trial found him guilty of one count of sexual assault. His California conviction stands, and he remains in prison.
There are allegations of rape and assault from survivors who were minors at the time.
These are the facts. It’s important to remember them and put them first, especially when a highly skilled storyteller, like Weinstein, is seeking to upend them (with a publicist by his side in prison, no less!). Because let’s also be real about this:
Harvey Weinstein was a giant in our industry. His taste in material was exquisite, and his ability to get artistically significant films made is unparalleled. He had a keen eye for finding great filmmakers, and we, as artists in the industry, benefitted from his gifts.
Further, Rikers Island prison complex is a horrific place. Its existence is a condemnation of our justice system, and I firmly believe it should be shut down. I wish Harvey Weinstein success in getting transferred to a more humane prison. His human rights, and the rights of every prisoner, are as important as every other human being’s and deserve to be upheld.
I feel compassion for his children and ex-wives for the pain this is causing them.
On Harvey’s claims from prison about me
“But it didn’t go to the point of blackballing anybody… I’m just going to say Rosanna Arquette, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie — they just exaggerated. They wanted to be part of the club.” – Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood Reporter
I have never exaggerated my assault. Ever. My account of what happened has never changed. A simple Google search makes this clear. If, by saying “exaggerated, ” he means the retribution I endured, Ronan Farrow’s investigation into those claims (made by others as well) substantiated the “blackballing” with respect to me. Ronan’s work speaks for itself.
There was/is no “club” to belong to as a Harvey Weinstein assault survivor. Being a survivor of assault or rape is not a club. I can’t believe that has to be said.
On Harvey’s claim that survivors told stories to profit financially
Let me be clear: I never profited, nor was I ever compensated in any way, via lawsuit or settlement, by Harvey Weinstein or Disney or any other party with respect to my assault.
The only film produced by Harvey Weinstein in which I was cast is Pulp Fiction. Despite my quote, I was paid scale and did not receive back-end participation. I was told at the time that scale was all the production could afford, as it was an independent film with a fairly unknown but “hot and up-and-coming” director. I’ve often made this concession to work in independent film, where the project is exciting, and the part speaks to me (however big or small). Years later, I learned that other cast members were offered back-end participation in exchange for lowering their quote or working for scale. It was a great deal for them. Pulp Fiction grossed over $213 million against a roughly $8 million budget. As producer/financier, Weinstein is fully aware of who was given this deal, and who was not.
The choice was his company’s to make — just as the choice to use an entertainment industry outlet to spread falsehoods and denials was his to make. I do not know what motivated Harvey Weinstein to accuse me of exaggerating sexual assault for an imaginary personal gain. But, I do know this:
When the manipulation (or outright denial) of facts concerning rape and sexual assault is coming from an unrepentant abuser, survivors are victimized again in the re-telling. It’s trauma, re-inflicted. So, it is my hope that we — members of our industry and greater society — keep survivors at the forefront of our hearts and minds, as we continue to navigate the aftermath of adjudicated crimes perpetrated by the most powerful among us.
I believe in forgiveness, and I forgave Harvey Weinstein long ago. Not because he asked for it (a necessary first step in redemption, which he has failed to take), but because I didn’t want to carry the resentment. I didn’t, and still don’t, want my life defined by assault or retribution. I wish I didn’t have to write this, but the interview happened. And I felt that both the false accusations made against me, and the fog he attempts to weave by denying facts, called for a response.
Rosanna Arquette
