Christina Applegate's blistering takedown of 'gross' Harvey Weinstein elicits shock response from the disgraced film producer

Christina Applegate's blistering critique of Harvey Weinstein elicited a surprise response from the disgraced film producer.

The Dead to Me actress, 54, claimed she once confronted the Miramax co-founder, who is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for rape, at a Hollywood party.

In her new memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, she recalled telling Weinstein he was 'gross' for making a 'lascivious' comment about a woman, and wrote that he 'was definitely afraid' of her.

The former movie mogul took an unexpected high road in his response, describing Applegate as both a 'gifted actress' and a 'powerful voice in Hollywood' in a statement to TMZ.

'It's good to see her sharing her story and her perspective in her own words,' a spokesperson for Weinstein told the publication.

However, Weinstein added that he had no recollection of the encounter, stating: 'I do not remember running into Christina Applegate or having that conversation.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to Applegate's representative for comment. 

Applegate gave a brief account of the alleged encounter in her book, writing, 'Once, at a Miramax party, I heard him being lascivious about a woman as she passed by, and before I could even think, I said, "Oh, come on, man. That's just gross."'

'Weinstein just kind of looked at me, and I could tell he was thinking, "Don't talk to me like that,"' she went on. 

'But at the same time, I could sense a different kind of appraisal, as though he was also thinking, "This chick doesn't f**k around." And he was right to be afraid of me. I did not f**k around.'

Once a Hollywood heavy-hitter, Weinstein became a symbol of sexual misconduct after media reports revealed allegations against him in 2017.

In total, some 60 women came forward with harrowing allegations against the producer and he was convicted of various sex crimes in both New York and California.

Weinstein is currently serving a 16-year sentence for his California rape conviction while awaiting a third Manhattan trial later this year to resolve a remaining rape charge from his 2025 New York retrial.

Weinstein is scheduled to appear in court on March 4 for a status hearing on that third trial. 

He is currently battling a litany of health woes including cancer, diabetes, spinal stenosis and a possible immune system problem. 

Elsewhere in her memoir Applegate detailed a lengthy relationship with an unnamed man, who she claims put her through years of physical and emotional abuse, and controlled what she wore and ate.

Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, recalled how her mother begged her to 'get the f**k away from him.'

Meanwhile her onscreen father, Ed O'Neill, who played Al on Married With Children, 'hated' the boyfriend to such an extent that she thought he might punch him.

The star had an abortion after becoming pregnant by the unnamed boyfriend in April 1991.

She finally split from him after a fight during which he threw a cigarette lighter at her and poured a bottle of tequila down her throat.

She went on to marry actor Johnathon Schaech in 2001, but they divorced in 2007.

Applegate then wed Dutch bassist Martyn LeNoble in 2013. They are parents to daughter Sadie, 15.

Applegate also opened up about her struggle with body dysmorphia and anorexia in her book, writing that she barely ate while starring on her hit 1980s TV show Married With Children. She played Kelly Bundy in all 11 seasons of the classic sitcom. 

The TV star said her problems worsened by the time she played the promiscuous and rebellious teenager.

In an extract from her memoir shared by Vulture, she wrote: 'I dug myself into a hole with that character, though, because I had to be skinny.'

'I had a vision of the specific clothes I wanted her to wear, and to wear those clothes - clothes that would show if you ate something as tiny as a single grape - I had to lean even deeper into my eating disorder.'

The show aired from 1987 until 1997, when Applegate was in her teens and early twenties.

The star insisted she doesn't blame the cast or crew for what occurred, and she doesn't blame anyone for the ways the role impacted her mental health issues.

She said: 'Sure, it was always part of the show that I would be an object for men to leer at, but I wanted to wear those Kelly Bundy dresses.'