In her latest interview, Judi Dench spoke out about Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.
And, well … a lot of her fans probably wish she hadn’t.
You see, Dame Judi made the unfortunate decision to defend both Weinstein and Spacey, despite the fact that one of them is a convicted rapist, and the other has been credibly accused of sexual assault on multiple occasions.
Speaking with The Radio Times, Dench expressed sympathy for Weinstein, who has been experiencing health issues behind bars.
“I saw a bit of film of Harvey walking with two sticks and you think, ‘Well…’ ‘I knew Harvey and I knew him well and worked with him, and I had none of that experience — very fortunately for me,” she explained.
Weinstein was a producer on Mrs. Brown, the 1997 film in which Dench had her first lead role.
The “two sticks” remark seems to refer to his recent court appearances, during which he was unable to walk under his own power (or so he claimed).
Dench added that she has sympathy for Weinstein’s victims, but she says, “I imagine he’s done his time… I don’t know, to me it’s personal — forgiveness.”
She also advocated forgiveness for Spacey, and explained that she doesn’t believe his alleged crimes should prevent future generations from enjoying his work.
“Are we going to negate 10 years at the Old Vic and everything that he did, how wonderful he’s been in all those films?” Dench said of Spacey.
“Are we just not going to see all those films that Harvey produced? You cannot deny somebody a talent. You might as well never look at a Caravaggio painting. You might as well never have gone to see Noel Coward.”
Spacey recently revealed that he’s “homeless” due to being blacklisted by Hollywood in response to the allegations.
On social media, most people seemed to feel little sympathy, noting that he brought most of his problems on himself.
But apparently, Judi Dench sees things differently.
It’s important to note that she’s 90, and she might, therefore, take a bit of an old school view of these matters.
But hopefully, she’ll avoid doing any irreparable damage to her legacy in her final years.