Actor Paul Sorvino Defends Daughter Mira, Saying Weinstein Deserves Jail -- Or Worse
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Actor Paul Sorvino is defending Oscar-winning daughter Mira Sorvino by boldly taking on disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein, accused by a myriad of women of sexual assault and rape.
Weinstein has said that all of his sexual encounters were consensual.
But some women, like Sorvino, said their careers were also ruined or held back because they rebuffed Weinstein's advances.
"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson says he was told by Weinstein not to work with the actress because she was difficult.
Paul Sorvino made headlines Thursday when asked by a photographer what should happen to Weinstein. The actor first said he deserved jail time but then said he deserved a beatdown.
He told TMZ, "If I meet [Weinstein] on the street — he oughta hope that he goes to jail, because if we come across, I think he'll be lying on the floor, somehow, magically."
He then said, "And I will kill the motherf---er." Sorvino said had he known about the allegations his daughter made about Weinstein years ago, "He'd be in a wheelchair."
CBS2's Entertainment Reporter Suzanne Marquez caught up with Paul Sorvino Friday evening at a Golden Globes gifting suite at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.
At first, Marques reports, Sorvino did not want to talk about his famous daughter. But once he got on the subject, he didn't hold back.
He said he didn't agree with actors wearing black on the red carpet to make a political statement.
"I'm an old-timer," he said, "I don't think that these [awards] shows should be turned into platforms for political statements. It is reprehensible beyond description that women have been treated in this manner. I mean, when you've had a phenomenal mother like I had, you are automatically a feminist."
He added, "This is why I have this wonderful wife. The reality is, anyone who takes advantage of a woman should be publicly strangled, and I'll volunteer."
When he learned that his daughter was allegedly blackballed in the industry by Weinstein, he was enraged.
Mira tweeted her love for her father and thanked him for his support.
She's received an outpouring of support from many saying she should get more roles.
"What's wrong with that?" Paul asked. "It's wonderful. She's a great actress -- one of the greatest actresses in the world. Mira deserves every opportunity she should have. She's been denied. We know that. A terrible thing. She deserves all the new looks and chances she may not have had because she has it all. She's got the whole package. And she's a great human being."
The Los Angeles DA's office is reportedly considering two cases against Weinstein.
