Jeffrey Katzenberg has made his email to Harvey Weinstein public following the multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault made against the former Miramax executive.
“I cannot in any way say this is OK with me … It’s not at all, and I am sickened by it, angry with you and incredibly disappointed in you,” Katzenberg wrote in an email obtained by TheWrap. “There appear to be two Harvey Weinsteins … one that I have known well, appreciated and admired and another that I have not known at all.”
Katzenberg told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday that he and other executives received a “desperate” email from Weinstein in the wake of the New York Times’ bombshell report asking them to publicly oppose his firing.
“I was paralyzed,” he told THR. “I didn’t know whether I should not respond, or respond and express the way I truly felt.”
Katzenberg, who currently runs the digital media and tech company WndrCo, previously served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios, a position he held when the company acquired Miramax in 1993. In his email, Katzenberg denied having any knowledge of Weinstein’s actions.
“There appear to be two Harvey Weinsteins,” he wrote. “One that I have known well, appreciated and admired and another that I have not known at all.”
Last week, The New York Times published a report detailing three decades of sexual misconduct, including accusations that Weinstein propositioned actresses and harassed female employees.
A number of other women have since come forward to accuse Weinstein of harassment or assault, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. A New Yorker report on Tuesday featured the accounts of 13 women, three of whom said they were raped by Weinstein.
Katzenberg is not the first Disney executive to speak out against Weinstein. Earlier on Tuesday, former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner called Weinstein “an incorrigible bully” on Twitter. Eisner famously clashed with Weinstein and his brother Bob while the duo was running Miramax under the Disney umbrella, leading to their eventual departure and the founding of The Weinstein Company.
“Fired Weinsteins because they were irresponsible, and Harvey was an incorrigible bully,” Eisner wrote. “Had no idea he was capable of these horrible actions.”
Read Katzenberg’s full response below:
Hey Harvey, Here is the bottom line. You stated in your email below that “A lot of the allegations are false as you know.” Well actually I don’t “know” and given the timing of the circumstances, I have no way of knowing.
However, you yourself, in your quotes, have acknowledged that you have behaved inappropriately…so it seems to me we are now down to degrees of horrible.
You have done terrible things to a number of women over a period of years.
I cannot in any way say this is OK with me…It’s not at all, and I am sickened by it, angry with you and incredibly disappointed in you.
There appear to be two Harvey Weinsteins…one that I have known well, appreciated and admired and another that I have not known at all.
As someone who has been a friend of yours for 30 years, I’m available to give you advice on how to at least try to make amends, if possible address those that you’ve wronged, and just possibly find a path to heal and redeem yourself. Having watched your reactions, seen the actions you have taken and read your statement, I will tell you, in my opinion, you have gone about this all wrong and you are continuing to make a horrible set of circumstances even worse.
I doubt this is what you want to hear from me and most likely you aren’t interested in my advice but this is the way I see it. I remain available. JK.