Rosanna Arquette, Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan, others say Harvey Weinstein's 'forgotten man'

LOS ANGELES: More than twenty   women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault hit back at the disgraced movie mogul Monday after he complained that the world had forgotten how he "pioneered" women-led films following dozens of sex-crime allegations.

The accusers  reportedly said that  Weinstein "is trying to gaslight society", after the once powerful movie mogul told a  US  tabloid his "pioneering" work on "movies directed by women and about women" was being forgotten.

The disgraced Hollywood mogul, whose case sparked the #MeToo movement, gave an interview just three weeks before the start of a criminal trial that could see him jailed for life.

Weinstein, 67, told the New York Post tabloid, speaking in a hospital following a back operation, that he felt "like the forgotten man."

"I made more movies directed by women and about women than any filmmaker and I´m talking about 30 years ago," said the producer of "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction."

"I´m not talking about now when it´s vogue. I did it first! I pioneered it! It all got eviscerated because of what happened," he added.

Twenty-three women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, said the comments were an attempt to "gaslight society again."

"He says in a new interview he doesn´t want to be forgotten. Well, he won´t be," they said in a statement posted on the Time´s Up Twitter page.

"He will be remembered as a sexual predator and an unrepentant abuser who took everything and deserves nothing.

"He will be remembered by the collective will of countless women who stood up and said enough," they added.

Weinstein´s accusers include some of the world´s most famous actresses -- including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek - although none is part of the proceedings.

Weinstein has always insisted his sexual relationships were consensual and has pleaded not guilty to five charges of sexual assault relating to two women.

One of the women alleges Weinstein raped her in 2013, while the other claims he forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006.

His trial is scheduled to start on January 6, 2020.