Tucker Carlson has spoken about his experience of working for Harvey Weinstein more than two decades ago, branding the disgraced movie producer "a pig."
In February 2020, Weinstein was found guilty in New York of rape in the third degree and a criminal sexual act in the first degree and sentenced to 23 years in prison. In December 2022, he was also convicted of rape and other sexual-assault charges in a separate Los Angeles case and sentenced to an additional 16 years of imprisonment. He is appealing both verdicts.
With the allegations against Weinstein and his subsequent convictions marking a dramatic fall from grace, a number of public figures have stepped forward to discuss their experiences with the Miramax co-founder.
Former Fox News host Carlson found himself among them last week, when he spoke about working on the now-defunct Talk magazine some 25 years ago during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
"I worked for Harvey Weinstein for a year," Carlson said as he spoke with Joe Rogan on his podcast.
Carlson went on to explain that he started working at the publication back in 1999, adding: "I was the head political writer for it, and they had an office at Carnegie Towers in New York right below [Central] Park."
Sharing that he wasn't impressed with Weinstein at the time, Carlson told Rogan: "I remember thinking he was a pig. I was not, like, an intimate friend of his, or whatever, but I certainly dealt with him.
"The big controversy [at the time] was he was smoking in elevators. And I kind of supported that, if I'm being honest. But he was considered incredibly insensitive and vulgar, just like a pig."
"Well he looks vulgar," Rogan opined as he listened to his guest.
"Yeah well that's certainly what everyone thought of him where I worked," Carlson went on. "People knew that he was a bad guy."
"But he made awesome movies," Rogan interjected.
"Yeah, and also but he was just powerful," Carlson responded. "He's Harvey Weinstein. You don't want to f*** with Harvey Weinstein. I mean, I didn't really think about it too much, to be completely honest. He was just a guy I worked for."
Newsweek has contacted a representative of Weinstein via email for comment.
Weinstein has been seeking to overturn his New York conviction, saying the case was prejudiced against him due to the judge's Sandoval ruling. This ruling meant that if Weinstein had personally testified in person, prosecutors could have raised 28 other cases of alleged inappropriate behavior in court.
The ruling is named after the 1974 trial of accused murderer Augustin Sandoval, who sought to put restrictions on what other claims about him could be brought up in court to avoid prejudicing the case.
It was announced in June 2022 that Weinstein will be charged in the U.K. with two further counts of indecent assault dating back to the 1990s. The charges relate to an incident with a woman in London that allegedly took place in August 1996, said the U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service.
Accusations of Weinstein's sexual abuse became a leading trigger of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, which sought to end sexual harassment not only in Hollywood but by all people in positions of power.
Specialists from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) sexual assault hotline are available 24/7 via phone (1 (800) 656-4673) and online chat. Additional support from the group is also accessible via the mobile app.
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About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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