Bob Weinstein, right, has lashed out at his brother Harvey, left. Photo / AP
Bob Weinstein, right, has lashed out at his brother Harvey, left. Photo / AP
Bob Weinstein, the younger brother of the embattled movie mogul who has lived in his shadow for years, has found his voice amid the abhorrent sexual abuse scandal his sibling now faces.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter which was published on Saturday (US time), Bob, 62 spoke mercilessly of his 'liar' brother who he said he had not spoken to in five years and said that despite his promises to seek help for sex addiction, he feels no shame over what he has done, the Daily Mail reported.
"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 don't feel he feels anything to this day. I don't," Bob said.
The quieter of the two, he said he stopped trusting his larger-than-life brother years ago when he became tired of his dishonest character, saying he "divorced" him because he "could not take the lying, cheating and attitude toward everyone".
While he says he knew Harvey had a behavioural problem, he insists he was unaware of his brother's sexual predatoriness but refused to answer if he knew about cash settlements he gave some accusers in the past.
His remarks on Saturday are the most in-depth and emotional since the scandal broke. In other statements, Bob has spoken optimistically of the future of The Weinstein Company.
During the 45-minute phone interview, Bob refused to discuss claims he and other Weinstein Company board members were aware of his brother's financial settlements with women who accused him of harassing them in the past.
He did however speak in depth and passionately about Harvey's character, saying that he always knew he had a behavioural problem and that he himself had been the victim of it at times.
He emphatically denied his brother's claim that it was him who leaked information to The New York Times, describing the accusation as proof of Harvey's sickness.
"I didn't and, you know, Harvey is suspicious of everybody. People that are liars - lying to his wife, to his children, to everyone - well, they have to turn around and say, 'Who stabbed me?' It's unbelievable that even to this moment he is more concerned with who sold him out," he said.
Bob also admitted knowing Harvey was unfaithful to his wife Georgina Chapman but said he believed all his brother's extra-marital sexual encounters were consensual.
"I actually was quite aware that Harvey was philandering with every woman he could meet.
"I was sick and disgusted by his actions but that's the extent of what [I knew]. I said, 'Harvey, you're just cheating. Why do you constantly cheat?' I could see it. But I wasn't in the room with him.
"I thought he was literally just going out there cheating in a pervasive way. It wasn't like he even had a mistress. It was one after another and that I was aware of. But as far as being in a room and hearing the description in The New York Times?
"No way. No f***ing way was I aware that that was the type of predator that he was. And the way he convinced people to do things? I thought they were all consensual situations," Bob said.
Lambasting his brother as a "bully", he said he often had to deal with employees coming to him in tears because of the way he had treated them and that he had to "clean up" the mess.
Bob claimed he even encouraged some staff to quit their jobs just to spare them his abuse.
Despite the fact that there are now only three remaining board members on The Weinstein Company, Bob is optimistic he will be able to salvage the scandal-hit company and refuses to quit.
"I will not quit and leave the business that I built, rightfully so, and leave the films and filmmakers that I was involved in.
"I know they're saying 'Shut this company down'. Well, they didn't shut Fox News down, they didn't shut NBC down. My brother is the one that should pay with everything. And I mean literally - whether it's criminal or otherwise - I will be supportive of all of that.
"But I don't think the people that are the employees of this company or the company itself should pay."
Describing the scandal as a "living nightmare", he the board members had no idea of the extent of his brother's "inexcusable sickness".
"My brother has caused unconscionable suffering. As a father of three girls I say this with every bone in my body - I am heartbroken for the women that he has harmed.
Bob Weinstein with Rose McGowan, one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers. Photo / Getty Images
"For my entire adult life, I fought for the films I want to see the light of day. I have fought for my employees, who have dedicated their lives to achieving the vision of this company that me and my brother founded.
"But I cannot fight what is indefensible.I have a brother that's indefensible and crazy. I want him to get the justice that he deserves," he said.
He promised to write to the Academy and ask for his brother to be thrown out, Bob's remarks are the latest in a landslide of bombshell revelations from Hollywood stars and industry insiders since the scandal erupted a week ago.
Harvey has been seen just twice - once in New York the day after the first claims were made on October 6. He had already given a statement to The New York Times apologising for his behaviour but insisting through his former attorney Lisa Bloom that he had never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity.
Since then, dozens of women including some of the biggest names in Hollywood have come forward to share individual stories of how he abused them.
Several, including Asia Argento, go as far as to accuse him of raping or sexually assaulting them. Others tell of shudder-inducing meetings in hotel rooms and offices where Weinstein confronted them in a bathrobe, pleading for massages and to watch him masturbate.
The women all say that he offered them career rewards in exchange and that they were given the impression their professional lives would be destroyed if he refused.
Women shout slogans outside the Manhattan District Attorney's office protesting the decision not to prosecute Harvey Weinstein in connection with a 2015 incident involving a model. Photo / AP
On October 11, a week after his first remarks, Harvey appeared again in Los Angeles in a considerably more fragile state.
He had run out of his daughter's home and tried to flag down a passing motorist in a stunt which prompted her to call police and describe him as "suicidal".
He has since gone under the radar again and is expected to be receiving treatment at a rehab facility though his enrollment at any center has not been confirmed.
Harvey said he had taken a leave of absence after the scandal emerged on October 5. As the accusations multiplied, he was fired by the board.
He plans to fight it but, according to his brother, will not be successful in his appeal.
"[Harvey] should never be allowed back, ever. Ever. He lost his rights. He didn't lose his rights to be rehabilitated as a human being. But as far as being in this town again? I mean, give me a break," he said.
On a final note, he said: "I'm mortified and disgusted by my brother's actions. And I am sick for the victims. And I feel for them. I feel for them."
Bob has faced scrutiny since the scandal erupted last week. Many say he was aware of his brother's tendencies and that in 2015, when he negotiated his employment contract with
The Weinstein Company, he knew Harvey had already settled some accusations with cash. Rose McGowan, one of the actress's who says Weinstein abused her, insists Bob knew of the abuse.
