LOS ANGELES: Harvey Weinstein is apologizing to Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence after his lawyers cited them in asking a court to dismiss a sexual misconduct lawsuit.

A spokeswoman for the disgraced movie mogul said Thursday that Weinstein has also directed his legal representatives not to use specific names of actors and former associates in the future.

Lawyers for Weinstein quoted previous remarks made by Streep and Lawrence as they argued that a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by six women should be rejected.

The actresses immediately snapped back, with Streep calling the citation of her remarks “pathetic and exploitive.” She had previously said Weinstein wasn’t inappropriate with her.

His statement Thursday said he “acknowledges the valuable input both Streep and Lawrence have contributed to this conversation and apologizes.”