You would think a person out on bail amid rape charges would take this time to reflect quietly on his life and choices, but if there were ever a shining example of grotesquely shitty judgment, it would be Harvey Weinstein.
Twenty years after her Best Actress Oscar win for Shakespeare In Love, Gwyneth Paltrow sat down with Variety to chat about how the moment impacted her life forever. She mentioned in passing that Weinstein originally wanted Ben Affleck to step in as the role of Shakespeare but reconsidered after Paltrow insisted that the role remain with a British actor.
After two decades, such a detail would be relegated to a throwaway trivia point mere minutes after reading it. Yet, Weinstein took such umbrage with Paltrow pointing out one of his least egregious missteps to deny something that very few people cared about.
“The only other contenders for the role of Will Shakespeare were Russell Crowe and Ethan Hawke, no one else,” Weinstein’s rep noted in an official statement. “Ben Affleck did a terrific job as Ned Alleyn, which is the role he was considered for.”
Rather than leaving it there, Weinstein’s rep Juda Engelmayer decided to throw just a little more gas onto the dumpster fire by sending a follow-up message to Variety.
“Just to ask—why wouldn’t you ask us anything here,” he asked. “If someone is a box-office draw, a good agency and good actor will get chosen for a role—blacklisting someone is just a bullshit idea convenient to beat the drum against Weinstein with.”
Now that they’ve managed to get that out of their systems, maybe Weinstein and his team can focus on more important matters, like his sexual assault trial in June.
[Via Vulture]