Paul Tudor Jones, a billionaire hedge fund manager who had thrown his support behind Harvey Weinstein, wrote a note to employees of Tudor Investment on Wednesday trying to distance himself from the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
The note comes after a New York Times report detailing Tudor Jones' communications with Weinstein in October just as shocking sexual abuse accusations were coming out into the open. Tudor Jones, a former member of the board of Weinstein's production company, told him an an October email that "this will go away sooner than you think and it will be forgotten," the Times reported Tuesday.
"Focus on the future as America loves a great comeback story," Tudor Jones is reported to have written to Weinstein.
In the memo to employees on Wednesday, Tudor Jones asked them to understand the context in which he knew Weinstein, citing charitable events staged on behalf of families affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and the 2012 damage from Superstorm Sandy.
"I deeply believe in redemption, but what I know now is that Harvey was a friend I believed too long and defended too long," Tudor Jones wrote. "Perhaps in your own life you have faced a similar dilemma — how to react to a friend who is revealed to be someone other than the person you believed him or her to be."
Here is the text of the memo:
"I know that many of you have seen the latest reporting on Harvey Weinstein that includes statements attributed to me. Please understand the context in which I knew Harvey— as the person whose Concert for New York City helped so many 9/11 victims and whose 12/12/12 concert then helped so many victims of Superstorm Sandy.
Please also understand that I first learned about the revelations about Harvey only as they began to be reported in the media. They were 100% a surprise to me. I joined the Weinstein Company Board as an unpaid, outside member in late 2015, after the internal company debate about Harvey's contract renewal. I never knew about those discussions or any of the revelations until they began to surface publicly, and I resigned two days later.
Harvey's actions were horribly wrong, and in the wake of these disclosures I told him that. I also encouraged Harvey to get the help he truly needed and to begin to change his life. Because some of the arguments I personally made to Harvey to try and be more like the person so many of us thought he was sound excessively encouraging now, I want you to understand the context in which they were made.
I deeply believe in redemption, but what I know now is that Harvey was a friend I believed too long and defended too long. Perhaps in your own life you have faced a similar dilemma—how to react to a friend who is revealed to be someone other than the person you believed him or her to be.
All of you at Tudor should know that personal and individual respect for one another and care for each other are qualities I hope to show each of you every day. I have tried to build the firm on these simple values and hope that comes through to you here."
— CNBC's Leslie Picker contributed reporting.
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