Harvey Weinstein defended
Harvey Weinstein has been defended by Today host Kathie Lee Gifford in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against him.
The 65-year-old disgraced producer has been accused of sexually harassing a number of female employees over a 30-year period, and while many i n Hollywood have condemned him for his alleged actions, television host Kathie has revealed that she reached out to him when the scandal broke in October.
Kathie – who also got in touch with Bill Cosby when he, too, was accused of sexual misconduct – said: “I don’t want to throw everybody on the same manure pile. Being a jerk is not the same as being a rapist. It just isn’t. I’ve been friends with Bill for a long, long time ... .
Harvey Weinstein was a friend of mine for 30 years. I called him and left a message.
“I just want people to know I don’t judge them. I don’t like what they do, but God knows their hearts, and there’s hope for them. You can’t call yourself a friend, if the first minute there’s trouble, you run.
That’s called a fair-weather friend and that’s not a friend at all.”
However, the 64-year-old show host insists she isn’t defending the alleged actions of the stars in any way as she claims she has been a victim of sexual harassment herself and found it “awful”.
She instead hopes that people can be “merciful” toward those who are “sorry” for their alleged behaviour.