Harvey Weinstein told Ronan Farrow ‘you think you can save everyone’ when journalist confronted him over sexual misconduct allegations
Farrow spoke with the disgraced producer a number of times before his investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations was published
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Harvey Weinstein tried to undermine women’s claims of sexual assault against him by telling journalist Ronan Farrow there was “no retaliation in Hollywood”, according to an excerpt from his new book Catch and Kill.
The extract, which was published in The Guardian ahead of the book’s release on 15 October, explains how Farrow approached Weinstein for comment as his investigation into the disgraced producer’s alleged sexual misconduct in autumn 2017. (Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.)
Farrow, who by this point had taken his story to the New Yorker, says he had multiple conversations with Weinstein and his lawyers before the story was published.
“Weinstein hung up on me several times that fall, including on that first day,” Farrow writes. “I told him I wanted to be fair, to include anything he had to say, then asked if he was comfortable with me recording. He seemed to panic, and was gone with a click. The pattern repeated that afternoon. But when I got him to talk for a sustained time, he abandoned his initial caution and got sharply combative.”
At one point, Weinstein reportedly told Farrow: “You couldn’t save someone you love, and now you think you can save everyone.”
However, in the final moments before the investigation was published, Weinstein sounded “resigned”, Farrow writes. “Several times, he conceded we’d been fair and that he 'deserved' a lot of it.”
Yet he was dismissed the idea that women had not come forward with allegations out of fear that he would retaliate.
“There’s no retaliating in Hollywood,” Weinstein reportedly said, calling the concept of powerful men intimidating women in the film industry a “myth”.
A number of women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including rape, assault and harassment, have said it was fear of his possible influence over their careers that prevented them from speaking up at the time.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
The actor Katherine Kendall revealed how the fear of being “blackballed” by Hollywood stopped her from making claims of sexual harassment, after publicly alleging in 2017 that Weinstein harassed her in his apartment in 1993.
“You make yourself a target in a way – I was awful scared that I would be judged, even blackballed. They could make it so you don’t work,” she said.
She decided to come forward after Ashley Judd, the first leading actor to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct, came forward with her story in the New York Times.
Catch And Kill by Ronan Farrow is published by Fleet, an imprint of Little, Brown, on 15 October.