It's so odd a combination of stories in one week that I almost suspect that Harvey Weinstein's minions planted them for him.

First, some very silly person at the Village Voice goes through Harvey's garbage. Then, someone claims to be writing a Weinstein tell-all from the inside, apparently from the assistant's desk. And though Page Six parrots the claim that the author did not sign a non-disclosure, he or she also says, "Our database of Miramax files is huge...," which quite assuredly means those files were illegally obtained, including the "proof" tape sent to Page Six... a tape which actually puts Harvey in a very positive light, unless you think he is shy about being seen as brash.

Thing is... neither of these stories, printed in mainstream papers first, rises above the cesspool level of gossip. Do we really need or want to know who Harvey called back and when? Do we really need some non-entity telling us how Harvey's accounting didn't jibe with Disney's or when he got laid? (One major reporter working for a major outlet had Harvey's extracurriculars nailed down... and got shut down. There is a big leap from Page Six boasting to a publishing deal that doesn't have you spending a lifetime and a fortune in court for writing a gossip rag book about a fairly minor public figure outside of NY and LA.)

Harvey is a big target and doesn't need me defending him... and much of his behavior has been beyond defense. But stabbing your dueling partner in the neck from behind while he picks a foil is weak.

Standards... lower... lower...