Content warning: This story discusses rape.
Harvey Weinsteinis giving an update on his time behind bars.
The former Hollywood producer—who was found guilty of one of the three sex crimes chargesin his New York retrial in June—spoke out in an on-camera interview about his current relationship with his five children, saying thatif he got out of prison, he would choose to spendmore time with them.
“I’d move as close to my kids as humanely possible,” Weinstein told Candace Owens in an interview posted to YouTube July 30. “My kids is number one now, my family is number one, because they’re the important thing.”
The 73-year-old—who was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in a Los Angeles rape case—explainedthat he will no longer take for granted the family he has: namely, his children Remy, Emma and Ruth with his first wife Eve Chilton and kids India, 14 and Dashiell, 12, with ex-wife Georgina Chapman.
“I learned my lesson the hardest way possible,” he said. “I was a good father throughout. The one thing I can say that people do say about me was that I was a good father. But I would be a better father—a lot better father.”
While serving time, Weinstein has foundthat films have been one way for him to connect with his children, despite the distance between them.
“We have a tablet, we get movies, normally six months later,” Weinstein explained. “And my son said to me, ‘Hey dad, I don’t believe that Captain America [Brave New World] is gonna be a good movie.’ And I say, ‘No. no, it looks good, I’ve heard it’s good go see it.’”
Much to his son’s chagrin, the movie didn’t live up to his expectations.
“He went and saw it and he said, ‘Dad, it was terrible,’” Weinstein recalled. “And then I finally saw and I had to call him on the phone and said, ‘You know what, you’re right, it was terrible.’”
And although he did manage to see the new Marvel film, he was less successful in getting his hands on some of the biggest Oscar movies of this year, like Best Picture winner Anora and nominee The Brutalist—which stars ex Chapman’s boyfriend, Adrien Brody, who even gave a shoutout to Weinstein’s kids India and Dashiell when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in March.
Despite access to entertainment content, Weinstein detailed what he sees as the harsh realities of life in prison at Rikers Island.
“This is a very rough place. This is an unhygienic place,” he said. “You don’t get your shirts, you don’t get your socks, you don’t get your underwear. The food is rancid. I mean it is really awful.”
According to the producer, it took him “five days” to get a pillow when he got back to the prison after his recent trial.
For now, Weinstein—who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in October—said he is leaning on the support from his friends and children as he appeals his charges.
“I have the strength of my friends,” he said. “And they’re not the friends of Hollywood, they’re the friends that I grew up with and the friends that I made along the way that were just genuine and nothing to do with my career.”
He added, “As a result of my friends and my family and my kids, I’m able to just live for hearing their stories, getting a kick out of their stories.”
