Dame Judi Dench has ignited fierce backlash after suggesting that disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has “done his time” and deserves “forgiveness.”
In a new interview, the 90-year-old Oscar winner reflected on her past collaborations with Weinstein and cited her Quaker belief in extending forgiveness, despite his convictions and the more than 100 allegations of inappropriate behavior against him.
Her remarks stunned fans and quickly stirred controversy online, with most reactions expressing outrage.
One user wrote, “She was already pretty much post-menopausal when she worked with Harvey so I would say she wasn’t exactly his ‘target audience.’”
Harvey Weinstein and Dame Judi Dench first connected professionally in 1997 after his production company, Miramax, acquired her first lead film
Image credits: Sony Pictures
Judi and Harvey’s history dates back nearly three decades, when the 1997 film Mrs. Brown, originally intended for television, was picked up by Miramax, which released it as a feature film.
The project went on to earn Dench her first Oscar nomination.
Following that initial collaboration, the two went on to work together on several major projects that helped solidify Dench’s standing in Hollywood.
Some of their notable collaborations include the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, for which Judi even won her first Academy Award, Mrs. Henderson Presents in 2005, and Philomena in 2013, among others.
Image credits: Scott Wintrow/Getty Images
Beyond their professional relationship, the two reportedly shared a close platonic bond until allegations about Weinstein’s inappropriate behavior toward women surfaced in 2017.
At the time, Dench had told media outlets that Weinstein’s alleged behavior was “horrifying,” adding that she had been “completely unaware” of it during their years of collaboration.
In a recent interview with Radio Times magazine, published on Sunday, December 7, Judi spoke about forgiveness while discussing the 73-year-old former producer.
Harvey Weinstein is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence following his 2023 conviction in Los Angeles for r*pe and s**ual a**ault
Image credits: NBC News
As a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, Dench emphasized that forgiveness is one of the core principles of her faith.
She also shared that she had recently seen footage of Weinstein using walking sticks in prison due to multiple serious health conditions.
Judi said, “I saw a bit of film of Harvey walking with two sticks and you think, ‘Well…” I knew Harvey and I knew him well and worked with him, and I had none of that experience, very fortunately for me.”
Image credits: 20th Century Studios
Dench expressed sympathy and solidarity for all of those affected by Weinstein’s behavior; however, she also admitted that, despite the severity of his actions, she has extended a degree of personal forgiveness.
She told the outlet, “I imagine he’s done his time. I don’t know, to me it’s personal – forgiveness.”
Her comments were immediately met with backlash online, with many criticizing the idea of offering forgiveness to Weinstein.
Several argued that Dench’s experience with him was vastly different from that of the women who have since come forward.
One disappointed fan wrote, “The overwhelming majority of people that came in contact with Weinstein probably didn’t have a problem with him… But it doesn’t change the realities for those that did.”
Another critic added harshly, “I wonder if her daughter had been one of his prey she’d feel the same.”
A third noted, “Forgiveness is easy when there’s nothing to forgive. If you haven’t been harmed by them then you have no voice in forgiveness.”
“I imagine he’s done his time,” the Victoria & Abdul star said in a recent interview while speaking about Harvey
Image credits: David M. Benett/Getty Images
Elsewhere in the interview, Dench spoke about her co-star Kevin Spacey, with whom she starred in the 2001 film The Shipping News.
Referring to the 2023 charges against Spacey in the United Kingdom, she said, “Kevin has been exonerated, and I hear from Kevin, we text.”
While that 2023 case concluded in his favor, the American Beauty star is set to face three s**ual a**ualt claims in a London civil court next year.
Allegations against the former Hollywood mogul first surfaced in 2017 and quickly multiplied, with women of all ages coming forward to share their experiences.
The wave of accusations ultimately helped ignite the global Me Too movement, which brought widespread attention to misconduct across the entertainment industry, and later, to everyday workplaces and social environments around the world.
Earlier, in a January 2021 interview with The Guardian, Dench described Weinstein as a “charming” man.
Judi has previously referred to the 73-year-old disgraced producer as “horrifying” in light of the extent of his crimes against women
Image credits: Netflix
“I worked a lot for Harvey, a huge amount, and he was always completely charming. Perhaps I was lucky, but that’s all I know. I feel very acutely for the people who weren’t so lucky.”
She added, “He was a friend. He was a perfectly polite and funny, and friendly person. I never experienced Harvey in any other way than that. I knew nothing untoward about him at all. And nor was I warned.”
Weinstein is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence following his 2023 conviction in Los Angeles, where he was found guilty of three counts of a**ault-related charges.
Before this, he was convicted in New York City in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Image credits: Netflix
However, the New York Court of Appeals overturned that conviction in April 2024, ruling that the judge had improperly allowed testimony from women whose allegations were not part of the case.
In June this year, a retrial took place in New York to address the overturned conviction.
During the proceedings, a jury found him guilty of one count of a criminal s**ual act, while a mistrial was declared on the remaining charges.
“You can’t forgive on behalf of someone… If it didn’t happen to you, the forgiveness doesn’t belong to you,” wrote one netizen
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