Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.

(NewsNation) — Dame Judi Dench is defending Harvey Weinstein, after the disgraced movie producer was convicted of rape and sexual assault.

In an interview with the Radio Times, the actress detailed her working relationship with Weinstein.

“I saw a bit of film of Harvey walking with two sticks, and you think, ‘Well… I knew Harvey and I knew him well and worked with him, and I had none of that experience — very fortunately for me,’” Dench stated.

Dench added that she has empathy for Weinstein’s victims, but says, “I imagine he’s done his time.”

“I don’t know, to me it’s personal — forgiveness,” the “Notes on a Scandal” actress said.  

The Oscar winner also spoke about Kevin Spacey, saying that he was a very good friend to her, who comforted her when her husband, actor Michael Williams, died in 2001.

 “Kevin has been exonerated, and I hear from Kevin, we text,” the “Shakespeare in Love” star said.

Harvey Weinstein convicted

The former movie mogul was ousted from Hollywood in 2017 after he was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment, in what is seen as the start of the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein is serving a 16-year prison term after he was convicted of rape in 2022.

He was convicted in June of sexual assault in his second New York trial after an earlier conviction was overturned on appeal.

He has yet to be sentenced for the June conviction.