She did not defend the allegations against either the producer or actor
Judi Dench has expressed her disappointment at the way Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Dench are being shunned from cinema.
Judi Dench was one of the first celebrities to publicly denounce Weinstein after claims against him. She said she was horrified by his alleged behaviour.
Dench credits the Hollywood mogul with much of her success. Kevin Spacey meanwhile has been a longtime friend who supported her following the death of her husband, Michael Williams, in 2001.
The Oscar winning actress did not defend Spacey and Weinstein against allegations over their misconduct. However she expressed fears their work would be forgotten. She rued the treatment of Spacey in particular.
“What kind of agony is that?” she told Radio Times [via The Guardian].
“Are we going to negate 10 years at the Old Vic and everything that he did [as artistic director] – how wonderful he’s been in all those films? 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 [he was a murderer]. You might as well never have gone to see Noël Coward [accused of predatory behaviour].”
Following an allegation from actor Anthony Rapp in 2018, Spacey has since faced numerous other allegations about sexual misconduct. Weinstein was removed from the board of his company after dozens of women came forward to allege that they were sexually assaulted or raped by him. He was indicted on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act in 2018 but pleads not guilty to the claims against him. He has denied any non-consensual sex.