After a whirlwind week for the Weinsteins, which saw accusers come out of the woodwork with horrific allegations of sexual harassment and assault by Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein has had to put out some major fires.
Not only has the scandal forced Harvey out of, The Weinstein Company, the company he founded with his younger brother, it has also cast serious doubts on whether or not members of the company's staff knew what was going on and did nothing about it.
But on Saturday, Bob Weinstein attempted to set the record straight during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. While he admits that he knew his older brother was a liar and a cheater, he claims that he never knew that the affairs were anything other than consensual until the story broke.
"I find myself in a waking nightmare," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I actually was quite aware that Harvey was philandering with every woman he could meet. I was sick and disgusted by his actions. But that's the extent of what [I knew]. I said, 'Harvey, you're just cheating. Why do you constantly cheat?' I could see it. But I wasn't in the room with him."
Bob, who heads up the Dimension Films division of The Weinstein Company, says he barely talks to Harvey, admitting: "For the last five years, I've probably talked to my brother ten times on any personal level. That's the fracture that's gone on. Since Dimension started, we ran two separate companies. So many of the people that he does business with — actors, actresses — I've never even met and they know it. I wanted to lead a separate existence. So we were leading two separate divisions."
He added: "I divorced my brother five years ago. Literally. And those that know me personally in this company understood how I could not take being around him on any level. And certainly my daughters and my family knew it. I could not take his cheating, his lying and also his attitude toward everyone. I had to divorce myself to survive."
Not everyone is buying what Bob is selling, however.
Actress Rose McGowan, who recently confessed that she was raped by Harvey, has been very vocal about the fact that the harassment was Hollywood's worst-kept secret.
Early last week, McGowan even tweeted out her alleged knowledge of a "slush fund" to keep victims silent:
On Saturday, it was also revealed that Harvey was being kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The news has curious timing, since it came after the interview, in which Bob said: "I was gonna actually write [to the Academy]. And I will do it. I am gonna write a note to them saying he definitely should be kicked out of the Academy."
But despite the incredible backlash, Bob is still hopeful for the company. "I know they're saying 'Shut this company down.' Well, they didn't shut Fox News down, they didn't shut NBC down. My brother is the one that should pay with everything. And I mean literally — whether it's criminal or otherwise — I will be supportive of all of that. But I don't think the people that are the employees of this company or the company itself should pay."
"All I can say is that there is a plan to come out on the other side," he reassured. "And also the other side that makes the public rightfully feel happy that what Harvey stood for exists no longer. The public deserves that. The victims deserve that. Everybody deserves that."
As for Harvey's future in Hollywood, however, Bob's prediction was a little bleaker: "[Harvey] should never be allowed back, ever. Ever. He lost his rights. He didn't lose his rights to be rehabilitated as a human being. But as far as being in this town again? I mean, give me a break.
But if Twitter has any say, the Weinstein brand will fade away for good:
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