(Bloomberg) -- Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones can't seem to get things right these days.
The billionaire is losing money this year at his macro firm and investors are fleeing. Now it's come to light that Jones gave support to Harvey Weinstein as sexual harassment allegations engulfed the movie mogul. Jones also advised him on how he could revive his reputation.
“I love you,” Jones, 63, said in an Oct. 7 email to Weinstein reported by the New York Times on Tuesday. “The good news is, this will go away sooner than you think and it will be forgotten!”
“Focus on the future as America loves a great comeback story,” he wrote.
Some employees said Wednesday they were stunned and dismayed by the comments made by the founder of Tudor Investment Corp. One client, who asked not to be named, said the email made him question Jones' character.
By midday Wednesday, Jones sent an email to his staff asking them to consider the context in which he knew Weinstein -- as a person who helped raise money for victims of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. Jones said he first learned about the allegations as they began to be reported in the media.
“Harvey's actions were horribly wrong, and in the wake of these disclosures I told him that,” Jones said in the email to staff. “I deeply believe in redemption, but what I know now is that Harvey was a friend I believed too long and defended too long.”
Several harassment allegations have ensnared prominent figures in media, government and corporate America in recent months also drawing attention to those who may have supported them. Jones was a director of Weinstein Co. and quit the board on Oct. 7, the same day he sent the email to Weinstein. Other board members resigned the day before.
Read more about a Weinstein case here
Four years ago, Jones faced his own public-relations challenge after making sexist comments about the abilities of female traders. During an April 2013 round table at the University of Virginia, Jones said that female traders having babies takes away their focus on markets and endangers their trading acumen.
“As soon as that baby's lips touch that girl's bosom, forget it,” he said.
Jones later apologized, saying his remarks were “off-the-cuff” and that all skilled, dedicated men and women can succeed in the industry. Later that year, Jones, who rarely speaks to the press, gave at least two interviews highlighting his philanthropic efforts with Robin Hood Foundation, the charity he founded. Weinstein was on the board of Robin Hood until he resigned in October.
--With assistance from Charles Stein and Hema Parmar
To contact the reporters on this story: Saijel Kishan in New York at skishan@bloomberg.net, Katherine Burton in New York at kburton@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Alan Mirabella
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