Judi Dench is sharing her perspective on Harvey Weinstein.
Nearly 10 years after the Miramax founder was accused of sexual harassment or assault by over 80 women, and later found guilty of sexual assault in New York and Los Angeles, the Shakespeare in Love actress detailed her complicated feelings toward the former Hollywood executive. (Weinstein’s 2020 New York conviction was overturned in 2024 and he was found guilty of one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree in a retrial earlier this year.)
“I knew Harvey and I knew him well and worked with him, and I had none of that experience—very fortunately for me,” Dench, 91, told the Radio Times in an interview published Dec. 7. “I imagine he's done his time. I don't know, to me it's personal—forgiveness.”
The interviewer noted that Dench—who broached the subject of forgiveness for the former Hollywood executive because of her Quaker faith—found the subject of Weinstein “clearly very painful.”
E! News has attempted to reach Dench for additional comment regarding her latest statement.
For his part, Weinstein—who is currently serving a 16-year sentence after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles in 2023 as he awaits sentencing for his recent New York retrial—has maintained his innocence amid all allegations and praised Dench’s recent comments through a representative.
“She is an extraordinary person who played an important role in my career,” Weinstein, through a representative, told TMZ. “I am here for something I did not do, and many of the claims that have been written about me are gradually being shown to be untrue or unsupported.”
When allegations of Weinstein’s past sexual misconduct first came to light in 2017, Dench initially called them “horrifying.”
“Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offenses which are, of course, horrifying,” Dench told Newsweek at the time. “I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out.”
But while Dench has continued to show her support for Weinstein’s victims who have come forward, she has also continued to champion Weinstein’s work in Hollywood in the years since his allegations sparked the #MeToo movement, telling The Guardian in 2021 that her experience with the producer was not “tainted” by his crimes.
“I worked a lot for Harvey, a huge amount,” she said at the time. “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.”
In working with Weinstein on several movies like Shakespeare in Love and Philomena, she emphasized she never thought he’d been a part of any misconduct.
“I knew nothing untoward about him at all,” she added. “And nor was I warned. So of course I can judge him. But I never experienced that other side of him at all.”