New York Times: Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades
Update: The Weinstein Company’s board is planning to investigate sexual harassment complaints against Harvey Weinstein as he takes a leave of absence. Find more coverage here.
Two decades ago, the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein invited Ashley Judd to the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel for what the young actress expected to be a business breakfast meeting. Instead, he had her sent up to his room, where he appeared in a bathrobe and asked if he could give her a massage or she could watch him shower, she recalled in an interview.
“How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?” Ms. Judd said she remembers thinking.
In 2014, Mr. Weinstein invited Emily Nestor, who had worked just one day as a temporary employee, to the same hotel and made another offer: If she accepted his sexual advances, he would boost her career, according to accounts she provided to colleagues who sent them to Weinstein Company executives. The following year, once again at the Peninsula, a female assistant said Mr. Weinstein badgered her into giving him a massage while he was naked, leaving her “crying and very distraught,” wrote a colleague, Lauren O’Connor, in a searing memo asserting sexual harassment and other misconduct by their boss.
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WNU Editor: To begin .... I have enjoyed Havey Weinstein's movies over the years, and I am posting on this subject now because this story will have an impact on U.S. politics and culture. If he was just a Hollywood producer with a few critical movie hits who has a serious problem on how to behave in the company of women .... this would be a non-story. But this story is important because he has used his fame, wealth, and position to influence U.S. politics via through his money and contacts, and in turn these same U.S. politicians (essentially a who's who in the Democrat Party) embraced him as one of their own. President Obama himself permitted his own daughter to intern in Weinstein's company .... and you cannot get more closer than that to the pinnacles of power .... Malia Obama to Intern for Harvey Weinstein (Hollywood Reporter). Since the above New York Times story broke out .... I have noticed that everyone is now in defensive mode. Democrat
politicians. Media personalities. Cultural icons. And of course .... most people in the entertainment business .... Hollywood included. Apparently many people knew what he was doing .... but choose to ignore it. But those days are now gone, the truth is out and the reactions are a sight to see. What has also not helped is the behaviour of Harvey Weinstein himself. His apology is one of the most insincere apologies that I have ever read .... and I thought it was a joke (but it is not). The apology is here .... Statement From Harvey Weinstein (New York Times). For those who have integrity and are smart enough to know where this is all heading they are bailing out from him .... 'I can't go forward: Mika Brzezinski says she's pulling out of her Weinstein book deal unless Harvey resigns (Daily Mail). Even a good part of the Board is resigning .... Company Scrambles as Weinstein Takes Leave and a Third of the Board Resigns (New York Times). And as for his lawyer, she has just resigned .... Lisa Bloom, Lawyer Advising Harvey Weinstein, Says She Has Resigned (New York Times). But aside from those who are condemning him .... it is shocking to see how many in the media and entertainment world are not .... Three board members of Harvey Weinstein's company QUIT ahead of internal inquiry over sexual harassment scandal while stars like Meryl and Nicole stay silent and offer no support to accuser Ashley Judd (Daily Mail). This silence also includes many within the Democrat party .... a silence that is clearly not going over well with the New York Times .... Harvey Weinstein’s Money Shouldn’t Buy Democrats’ Silence (New York Times Editorial). As to what is my take on the politics of this mess ... one of the reasons why President Trump was elected was a perception among many that Washington was out of control, and it's culture did not reflect what many outside of the major cities believed in. And while President Trump himself does not exactly have a glowing resume when it comes to women, he was seen by many to still be a better alternative than what the Democrats and the Republican establishment were trying to push. The Harvey Weinsten exposes are only a confirmation to these voters that they chose the right person in November last year .... and that the "swamp" is indeed a swamp.
