Harvey Weinstein will not go quietly

In the wake of this annihilation, one might think Weinstein would shut up — or if that’s not possible, empower his representatives to make him shut up. Yet in the month of December, the crisis PR firm Sitrick and Company has issued a number of statements on Weinstein’s behalf, beginning with a response to the Times story. It quibbled with both large points in the story (whether he had misused company funds) and small details (whether a former employee had referred to a woman as “skanky”). The response was nearly 700 words and came from both Weinstein’s criminal attorneys, Blair Berk and Ben Brafman, and from his spokesperson. It seemed to rebut the Times story point by point — a reader’s guide, perhaps. One bit from Berk and Brafman seemed especially tin-eared, regarding accusations of sexual assault (the italics are mine): “it is wrong and irresponsible to conflate claims of impolitic behavior or consensual sexual contact later regretted, with an untrue claim of criminal conduct.”

Those five words — “consensual sexual contact later regretted….” is that what Weinstein tells himself? When asked this question specifically and told about this piece, Weinstein’s spokesperson had no further comment.