--- title: Joe Biden: Harvey Weinstein 'Disgusting, Immoral' Misconduct description: Former Vice President Joe Biden condemned Harvey Weinstein during a speech Wednesday, calling his behavior "disgusting" and "immoral" canonical: https://time.com/4979052/joe-biden-harvey-weinstein-allegations/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-12T04:31:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:03.780Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Condemns Harvey Weinstein's 'Disgusting' Misconduct og:description: "It's long past time for the powerful men in Hollywood to speak up," Biden said og:url: https://time.com/4979052/joe-biden-harvey-weinstein-allegations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f430c96033b1e85/6988e19f929fad37d2bee0d7/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Milken Institute Global Conference 2017 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Condemns Harvey Weinstein's 'Disgusting' Misconduct twitter:description: "It's long past time for the powerful men in Hollywood to speak up," Biden said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f430c96033b1e85/6988e19f929fad37d2bee0d7/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Condemns Harvey Weinstein For 'Disgusting, Immoral' Misconduct ## Video: An Actress Is Suing Harvey Weinstein Under a Sex Trafficking Statute [Watch (HLS stream): An Actress Is Suing Harvey Weinstein Under a Sex Trafficking Statute](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zfrHpjdT.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2017-10-10. An Actress Is Suing Harvey Weinstein Under a Sex Trafficking Statute_ by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Oct 12, 2017 4:31 AM UTC  Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speak during the Milken Institute Global Conference 201 on May 3, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speak during the Milken Institute Global Conference 201 on May 3, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.Frederick M. Brown—Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Oct 12, 2017 4:31 AM UTC Former Vice President Joe Biden [condemned](http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/joe-biden-finally-speaks-out-harvey-weinstein-showed-disgusting-immoral-abuse-of-power/article/2637252) Harvey Weinstein during a speech Wednesday, calling his behavior “disgusting” and “immoral” following a string of sexual harassment allegations against the Hollywood mogul. “My father taught me that the greatest sin that could be committed was the abuse of power, whether it was mental, physical, or economic,” Biden said at the Anti-Violence Project Courage Awards in New York, the Washington _Examiner_ reports. “The cardinal sin was for a man to use his power, physical or economic, to abuse a woman or her child,” Biden said. “It’s disgusting.” Weinstein was [fired](http://time.com/4974058/harvey-weinstein-sexual-abuse-allegations-fired/) last week by his own production company following claims by multiple women in [_The New Yorker_](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories?mbid=social%5Ftwitter) and [the New York ](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/us/gwyneth-paltrow-angelina-jolie-harvey-weinstein.html)[_Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/us/gwyneth-paltrow-angelina-jolie-harvey-weinstein.html)_,_ that the Hollywood producer had sexually assaulted them. Three women accuse Weinstein of rape. Biden, who made the comments seven days after the _Times_ report was published, commended the “courageous” women who have [come forward](http://time.com/4976003/harvey-weinstein-gwyneth-paltrow-angelina-jolie/) with their stories. Actors including [Cara Delevingne](http://time.com/4978146/cara-delevingne-harvey-weinstein-sexual-harassment/), Asia Argento, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Lucia Evans, Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette have all spoken out. “This disgusting behavior, at least on the part of Harvey Weinstein, has been brought to an abrupt and justifiable end,” Biden said. “But it’s long past time for the powerful men in Hollywood to speak up, to be strong enough to say something, because silence is complicity.” Weinstein’s spokesperson [told](http://time.com/4976134/harvey-weinstein-new-yorker/) the _New Yorker_ that “any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied.” The Hollywood mogul was a longtime donor to the to the Democratic party, and contributed more than $70,000 to former President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, [according](http://time.com/4977132/barack-michelle-obama-harvey-weinstein-comment/) to FEC documents. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4979052/joe-biden-harvey-weinstein-allegations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4979052/joe-biden-harvey-weinstein-allegations/"},"headline":"Joe Biden Condemns Harvey Weinstein For 'Disgusting, Immoral' Misconduct","datePublished":"2017-10-12T04:31:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:03.780Z","description":"\"The cardinal sin was for a man to use his power, physical or economic, to abuse a woman or her child\"","url":"https://time.com/4979052/joe-biden-harvey-weinstein-allegations/","keywords":["Harvey Weinstein","Sexual Assault","Joe Biden","politics","New York","U.S.","Hollywood","sexual harassment","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f430c96033b1e85/6988e19f929fad37d2bee0d7/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f430c96033b1e85/6988e19f929fad37d2bee0d7/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Milken Institute Global Conference 2017","caption":"Milken Institute Global Conference 2017","creditText":"Frederick M. 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