Judi Dench Says Harvey Weinstein Has 'Done His Time,' HW Praises Her

Dame Judi Dench is all about forgiveness when it comes to her friend Harvey Weinstein ... and she thinks we should cut the disgraced producer some slack. He completely agrees!

Here's the deal ... the Oscar-winning actress raised eyebrows in a recent interview, saying HW has done his time after sex crime convictions during the #MeToo movement.

Harvey, through his rep, tells TMZ ... he has profound respect for Dench, adding ... "She is an extraordinary person who played an important role in my career."

Judi has known Harvey for years, and he was apparently a very good friend to her. He had a hand in shaping her career, and she says she had none of the experience his accusers have alleged.

While she was outspoken against him when the reports of sexual assault first came out, now his apparent declining health seems to have really appealed to Judi's sympathetic heart in an interview with Radio Times.

She told the publication, "I saw a bit of film of Harvey walking with two sticks, and you think, 'Well...'"

She continued ... "I imagine he's done his time ... I don't know, to me it's personal -- forgiveness."

Harvey told us, following Dench's remarks ... "I’ve now spent more than six and a half years incarcerated, including a year and a half in Rikers, which could be considered double time. I am here for something I did not do, and many of the claims that have been written about me are gradually being shown to be untrue or unsupported. I am grateful for the kind words that have been expressed, and all I want is the chance to return to my family and children."

The actress also seemed to add Kevin Spacey's name to the list of those in need of public forgiveness.

"Kevin has been exonerated, and I hear from Kevin, we text," Judi said.

The Oscar-winning actor reportedly provided comfort to Judi when her husband passed in 2001.