Los Angeles — Harvey Weinstein has asked a judge to dismiss a federal sexual misconduct lawsuit against him and invoked the words of some A-list actresses in his defense.
Weinstein's lawyers filed a response Tuesday in federal court in New York saying the possible class-action case should be rejected because the alleged assaults took place too long ago.
His attorneys also cite comments by Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence in support of Weinstein. They say Gwyneth Paltrow worked with Weinstein and won an Oscar after he's accused of harassing her in an earlier project.
Meryl Streep releases statement
Streep says Weinstein invoking her name in his defense in a sexual misconduct lawsuit is "pathetic."
Weinstein's attorneys asked a judge to dismiss a federal sexual misconduct lawsuit against him and in their filing cited Streep comments saying Weinstein had always been respectful in their working relationship.
Streep then released a statement saying it is "pathetic and exploitative" for Weinstein to suggest that because he was not sexually inappropriate or physically abusive to her, it means he was not abusive with other women.
Streep says "the criminal actions he is accused of conducting on the bodies of these women are his responsibility."
The lawsuit was filed by six women who claim Weinstein and his former film companies conspired to conceal his widespread sexual harassment and assaults.
Representatives of the actresses named in the response did not immediately comment.
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