Judd Apatow dings 'daughters' response to Weinstein scandal

Judd Apatow took aim at Harvey Weinstein on Friday at the Variety Power of Women luncheon in Los Angeles on Friday — calling out the disgraced Hollywood mogul for his alleged sexual misconduct and criticizing those who cited their daughters in statements of condemnation.

“I run sets, movies and television, it’s just something that’s not tolerated,” Apatow said of Weinstein’s alleged behavior. “It’s easy not to be a creep. It literally takes effort to be a creep; it takes no effort not to be a creep. I have never been a creep, I’m proud of that. I’ve never pushed Seth Rogen to give me a back massage or tried to get Paul Rudd in the tub.”

Apatow added, “People say what will become of Harvey Weinstein’s company? To which I reply, Who gives a sh–? Shut it down. Shut it down! We have enough Project Runway.” (Weinstein’s company produces Project Runway; his name was stripped from the show’s credits in the wake of the scandal.)

This week, in the wake of numerous sexual misconduct allegations, many of Weinstein’s longtime collaborators came out and denounced the producer. Included among those names was Matt Damon, who was criticized for citing his daughters while condemning Weinstein.

“Look, even before I was famous I didn’t abide this kind of behavior. But now, as the father of four daughters, this is the kind of sexual predation that keeps me up at night,” Damon told Deadline. “This is the great fear for all of us.”

Said Apatow on Friday after mentioning that kind of commentary (though not explicitly calling out Damon), “As if you have to be a father of daughters to know this is awful, right? You shouldn’t need daughters to get this.” He then joked, “As an owner of a bird, I think this is awful.”

—Reporting by Melody Chiu