[UPDATE] Lisa Bloom tweeted the following on Saturday:
Lisa Bloom, who, until Saturday, was acting as an advisor to Harvey Weinstein in the wake of the allegations of sexual harassment against the mega-producer, appeared on Good Morning America on Friday.
In a truly unusual exchange with George Stephanopoulos, Bloom appeared to admit that Weinstein had done wrong, but claimed he was remorseful, and trying to better himself.
Strap in because this is a fascinating read (the video is at the bottom of the page):
STEPHANOPOULOS: I have to say I’m surprised you’re here this morning. You’ve been here in the past; you’ve represented women who have taken on Bill Cosby, Bill O’Reilly, Donald Trump – sexual harassment cases. Why did you switch sides in this case?
BLOOM: Well, I’ve known Harvey for about a year, and these rumors have swirled around him for a long time. And I said to him: “What’s going on? This is not okay.” And Harvey and I had a lot of frank conversations about this, and when this New York Times story was about to break, and Harvey expressed to me the same remorse that you see now, I said: “We have to throw out the old playbook, okay? You’re not going to be attacking women, you are not going to be disrespecting women, you are not going to be digging up dirt on them and embarrassing them, you know? That’s the tired old way to go. If you are genuinely remorseful, say so, admit what you’ve done wrong, apologize, and let’s have your actions, you know, speak for yourself.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s get to that. Did he sexually harass women?
BLOOM: I think Harvey has acknowledged that, yes, there was misconduct over a period of years. He has certainly a very bad temper, and that’s a big part of the problem – he’s certainly well known for that. He’s a big, loud guy; people are intimidated by him. I’m not…I’ll stand up to him, but if I’m a 23-year-old in his workplace, of course they’re intimidated.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It’s not just bad behavior. The question is: Is [this] sexual harassment?…His lawyer says the New York Times story is “saturated with false and defamatory statements.” Ashley Judd says she went for a business meeting, and he proposed a massage, asked if she would watch him shower. Is she lying?
BLOOM: No, no. I have great respect for Ashley Judd, and so does Harvey. And, you know, while they have a little different perspective on what happened – what happened 20 years ago, okay – this is not about attacking any of the women. I am glad they’ve come forward, I encourage them to come forward. Harvey has authorized me to say that. I mean, this is a very different day. What do you do if you have behaved badly for 30 years? Are you going to continue, or are you going to start, you know, a different approach? And that’s what he’s doing.
…
STEPHANOPOULOS: Here’s the problem. The New York Times says that in interviews, “eight women describe the varying behavior by Mr. Weinstein, appearing nearly or fully naked in front of them; requiring them to be present while he bathed, or repeatedly asking for massage, or initiating one himself.” This is a real pattern.
BLOOM: Yeah.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Over thirty years. This is textbook sexual harassment.
BLOOM: It’s gross.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It’s illegal.
BLOOM: Yes. You know, I agree. So, but you have to understand that yes, I am here as his adviser. I am not defending him in any sexual harassment cases; there aren’t any sexual harassment cases. I’m working with a guy who has behaved badly over the years, who is genuinely remorseful, who says: “I have caused a lot of pain.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Then why is he suing the Times?
BLOOM: Well, he has a different lawyer handling that because a lot of the allegations – there are witnesses who say those things actually did not happen. And the Times did not take that into account; they did not report what some of the witnesses said. For example, some people said: “I think he was having an affair with this other woman.” When the other woman was contacted, she said “absolutely not.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, but you just acknowledged the stories where people come forward publicly – Ashley Judd’s story. You don’t think she’s lying.
BLOOM: I am not accusing Ashley Judd of lying at all. I’m glad she’s come forward and spoken out her truth. I think that’s important.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You don’t think the other women, Emily Nestor, another employee came forward…
BLOOM: I’m not accusing anyone of lying. We are not going to do that. What Harvey Weinstein has done is wrong, he has caused pain, he said that. I have said in my statement, listen, you know, I have done a lot of cases on behalf of women. I’ve often thought: “Gee, I wish I could get on the other side and smack that guy around a little bit verbally.” Here was an opportunity of a guy saying: “Lisa, what should I do? I have behaved badly.” I’m like: “Good, I’m gonna tell you what to do. Be honest. Be real.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Ok, he’s admitted to you he’s sexually harassed women?
BLOOM: Well, you’re using the term “sexual harassment,” which is a legal term. So, I’m using the term “workplace misconduct.” I don’t know if there’s a real significant difference to most people, but sexual harassment is severe and pervasive, and so, telling somebody they look nice in a dress, for example, is not sexual harassment, and that is one of the allegations against him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: [Well], but suggesting to someone, if you have sex with me, you’re going to do better in your career, that’s sexual harassment.
BLOOM: That is absolutely sexual harassment.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And that’s what’s alleged in the article.
BLOOM: And that is one of the allegations, that is true. Yes, that is true.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you are being very forthright here, but I can’t –
BLOOM: And I’m telling you that Harvey has authorized me to be very forthright because he is ashamed of his behavior.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And I appreciate that, [and] I take your word for it. On the other hand, he’s got another lawyer who is suing The New York Times, saying The New York Times is basically lying.
BLOOM: Yes, because some of the allegations, he contends, are –
STEPHANOPOULOS: You see the inconsistency there?
BLOOM: I don’t think it’s inconsistent. This was a very long article with a lot of allegations where they refused to take into account witnesses who said some of the stuff was untrue. But that doesn’t really matter to me. What matters to me, and what I say to Harvey behind the scenes is: “You’ve got a long history here; you’ve got a pattern. You say you are very sorry, and you say you want to respect women and do better. That starts right now.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say you are tutoring him. What does that mean exactly?
BLOOM: It means I explain to him things like, the way you talk to your guy friends, you know, when you’re going out for a beer, is not appropriate in the workplace. You can’t have a lot of cursing, you can’t tell sexual stories, you can’t hit on women in the workplace. Not only is it illegal, it’s wrong because it causes pain to women, and it needs to stop right now.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Shouldn’t a 65-year-old man know that?
BLOOM: Of course he should.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you believe he’s going to change now?
BLOOM: I hope so. It’s an effort. I think he has changed in the year that I’ve known him, and been talking to him in this very hard-hitting way behind the scenes – there haven’t been any allegations then. You know, it’s hard for human beings to change. His biggest problem is anger, which he says he’s been in therapy and working on for ten years – and he still has a long way to go on that. He gets very angry; he’s a big guy with a loud voice, and I think that’s a big part of the problem.
Imagine if someone came out and said the same things about Bill O’Reilly, Donald Trump, or Eric Bolling?
Here’s the full interview: