Bob Weinstein says Academy should expel his 'sick and depraved' brother Harvey
Bob Weinstein has called on the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Science to expel his "sick and depraved" brother Harvey from its ranks, describing his sibling as physically violent and thuggish, and saying he hopes he is made to pay for his actions.
"I find myself in a waking nightmare," he said. "My brother has caused unconscionable suffering."
Speaking hours before the 54-member board of governors of the Academy meets in Los Angeles to decide whether to take the unprecedented step of expelling Harvey, Bob said he hoped they decide to censure him.
"I was gonna actually write [to the Academy]," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "And I will do it. I am gonna write a note to them saying he definitely should be kicked out of the Academy.
“I have a brother that’s indefensible and crazy.
"I want him to get the justice that he deserves.”
Bob, 62, said his older brother once physically assaulted him in a meeting, and he now wishes he went to the police.
He said he had spoken to Harvey "on a personal level" only around ten times in the past five years. Bob is based in Los Angeles and Harvey in New York, and the two run different divisions of the company.
The film producer said he had spoken to Harvey twice since the bombshell exploded - first with a story in The New York Times, and with then a separate story in The New Yorker.
"I don't hear concern or contrition for the victims. And I want them to hear that.
"Harvey has no remorse whatsoever. I have spoken to him two times [since news broke], hoping to hear “Oh my God, what have I done?” I didn't hear that.
"I heard a guy who still was fighting to get back and I was disgusted by it. Do you know how disgusted I am? 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."
He said he knew Harvey, 65, was serially unfaithful to his first wife, Eve Chilton, and to his second, British fashion designer Georgina Chapman. But he insisted he had no idea Harvey was "predatory".
He said of his brother: "Harvey was a bully, Harvey was arrogant, he treated people like ---- all the time," adding that he had to "clean up for so many of his employee messes" and cope with frequently tearful staff members.
Bob insisted that The Weinstein Company, which employs around 150 people, would survive - but that they would change its name.
Harvey is reported to be preparing to contest his firing at a board meeting on Tuesday, but Bob said Harvey would lose the battle.
"[Harvey] should never be allowed back, ever. Ever," he said.
He said he welcomed reports that Jay-Z was interested in buying Harvey's stake, but said they had not received any formal notification and extricating Harvey from the business would take time.
