Harvey Weinstein, whose extended downfall from Hollywood glory began with numerous sexual assault and misconduct allegations nearly a decade ago, says he was once punched in the face while behind bars but declined to tell on the perpetrator of said decking.
In an interview with Maer Roshan for the Hollywood Reporter, conducted at Rikers Island in January, Weinstein detailed his assessment of what jail life is like for him, at one point being asked whether he’d ever been physically hurt by a fellow inmate.
“One time while I was waiting to use the phone, I asked the guy in front of me if he was done,” Weinstein, who last month enlisted lawyers known for their work in defense of Luigi Mangione and Diddy to defend him in an upcoming New York trial, said. “He got off and punched me hard in the face. I fell on the floor, bleeding everywhere. I was hurt really badly.”
Weinstein, however, declined to name the individual responsible for the punch when given the chance to do so by jail officials.
“The cops asked me who had done it, but I couldn’t say,” he explained to THR. “You can’t be a rat. That’s the law of the jungle.”
Complex has reached out to a Weinstep rep for comment. This story may be updated.
For now, it’s not clear whether this alleged incident occurred at Rikers or during Weinstein’s time at a separate upstate New York facility. What’s clear from the THR interview, no doubt a rarity given Weinstein’s legal situation, is that the once-ubiquitous film producer still believes—against all perceived odds—that he’s due some sort of reappraisal despite his criminal convictions and subsequent excommunication from the larger Hollywood infrastructure.