KARL Stefanovic butted heads with one of Harvey Weinstein's defence lawyers on the Today show this morning after the disgraced movie mogul was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Stefanovic accused Arthur Aidala of "having a whine because you lost" after the defence lawyer claimed Weinstein's sentence was "beyond the pale".

"The mean sentence of what someone gets sentenced to for this exact crime is eight years and two months, and that includes people who have already been convicted of other crimes," Mr Aidala said on Today. "And today, without the judge saying why, Mr Weinstein deserves triple that sentence."

The defence lawyer suggested Weinstein received a harsh sentence due to the media interest in the case.

"There is probably, in the United States of America, no more hated man (than Harvey Weinstein)," Mr Aidala said. "America, more or less, has been unified in vilifying Harvey Weinstein.

"The judge feels the pressure of acquiescing to the media and he has to be reappointed as judge in 24 months and he wants to impress that committee as well.

"The system actually failed all of us today because justice should be blind, and it shouldn't be individual person who's part of a movement or part of a Me Too thing specific, and that's just disappointing."

In response to Mr Aidala's comments, Stefanovic said: "Arthur, it sounds like you're having a whine because you lost."

"No, not at all," the lawyer replied. "If I was here telling you he got eight years or nine years or 10 years, I wouldn't have had a whine. I would say, 'Look the judge sentenced him, the jury's verdict is what it is, we respect the jury's verdict, we're going to appeal it but we respect it.'"

Mr Aidala said that according to New York State statistics, people facing a similar charge often get eight years in prison.

"The judge did not articulate why Harvey Weinstein is getting three times that," he said. "Not double, he didn't go from eight to 16, he basically went from eight to 24.

"Why? Why? Why? We'll never know," Mr Aidala said.

But Stefanovic wasn't convinced.

"Oh come on, it's a whine, you know it's a whine" the Today host said.

"It's not a whine," the defence lawyer maintained. "If I was not Harvey's lawyer and you just asked me to come on, I would say the same exact thing. The judge went beyond the pale.

"If he gave him 12, 13 years, I'd say, 'OK, he sent a message.' But 24, it's a life sentence."

Stefanovic ended the interview with a quip about Weinstein, saying, "The one guarantee is that he won't be having any wine anytime soon."

A number of celebrities have reacted to Weinstein's sentencing on social media. Here's what they've had to say.