Nothing like climbing on the bandwagon after it really gets rolling.
When Gwyneth Paltrow was 22 years old, she got a role that would take her from actress to star: The film producer Harvey Weinstein hired her for the lead in the Jane Austen adaptation “Emma.” Before shooting began, he summoned her to his suite at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel for a work meeting that began uneventfully.
It ended with Weinstein placing his hands on her and suggesting they head to the bedroom for massages, she said.
“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” she said in an interview, publicly disclosing that she was sexually harassed by the man who ignited her career and later helped her win an Academy Award.
She refused his advances, she said, and confided in Brad Pitt, her boyfriend at the time. Pitt confronted Weinstein, and soon after, the producer warned her not to tell anyone else about his come-on. “I thought he was going to fire me,” she said.
Rosanna Arquette, a star of “Pulp Fiction,” has a similar account of Weinstein’s behavior, as does Judith Godrèche, a leading French actress. So does Angelina Jolie.
A New York Times investigation last week chronicled a hidden history of sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein and settlements he paid, often involving former employees, over three decades up to 2015. By Sunday evening, his entertainment company fired him.
Hidden in plain sight!
On Tuesday, The New Yorker published a report that included multiple allegations of sexual assault, including forced oral and vaginal sex. The article also included accounts of sexual harassment going back to the 1990s, with women describing how intimidating Weinstein was.
Isn't that called rape?
Several days ago, additional actresses began sharing with the Times on-the-record stories of casting-couch abuses. Their accounts hint at the sweep of Weinstein’s alleged harassment, targeting women on the way to stardom, those who had barely acted, and others in between.
The encounters they recalled followed a similar narrative: First, they said, Weinstein lured them to a private place to discuss films, scripts, or even Oscar campaigns. Then, the women contend, he variously tried to initiate massages, touched them inappropriately, took off his clothes, or offered them explicit work-for-sex deals.
In a statement Tuesday, his spokeswoman, Sallie Hofmeister, said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. He will not be available for further comments, as he is taking the time to focus on his family, on getting counseling, and rebuilding his life.”
I saw Tina Brown on Charlie Rose last night and the interview was appalling. The initial conversation was poor Hollywood being tarred by such a scandal (the inference being this was aberrant behavior), followed by the poor journalists who were intimidated into covering up, poor Harvey (different kind of hurricane), and after that the victims! I was incredulous!
Elites talking to elites, what a waste of time.
Even in an industry in which sexual harassment has long persisted, Weinstein stands out, according to the actresses and current and former employees of the film companies he ran, Miramax and The Weinstein Co. Assistants often booked the meetings, arranged the hotel rooms, and sometimes even delivered the talent, then disappeared, the actresses and employees recounted. They described how some of Weinstein’s executives and assistants then found them agents and jobs or hushed actresses who were upset.
His alleged behavior became something of a Hollywood open secret: When comedian Seth MacFarlane announced Oscar nominees in 2013, he joked, “Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.” The audience laughed.....
That happened in 2013, huh?
I'll file that away for later.
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"Harvey Weinstein is not an aberration" by Renée Graham Globe Columnist October 10, 2017
What can’t be scrubbed is the fact that Weinstein’s transgressions were an open secret, aided by a conspiracy of silence. Now actors who worked with Weinstein are condemning him, but also claiming they were oblivious to rumors about his behavior.
As with Cosby, Ailes, and O’Reilly, it took too long for Weinstein to be brought low; meanwhile, women, whose names we’ll never know, suffered. Perhaps this moment can offer some small solace to them. Let it also remind the rest of us that sexual predators can’t be allowed to harass and abuse with impunity. An offending man’s privilege and power must always be challenged by the stubborn inconvenience of a woman’s truth.
Oh, and if you’re using Weinstein’s fall as an opportunity to attack “liberal” Hollywood hypocrisy, but voted for Donald Trump, have a seat. The president of the United States confessed to intimately grabbing women without their consent, and was allowed to brush off his comments as “locker room” talk. This is how rape culture takes root, and why women often opt for uncomfortable silence.
This was the case at Fox News.....
I'm sure that is an exaggeration.
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Yes, Meryl Streep and George Clooney “didn’t know” and Dame Judi Dench said she was “completely unaware.”
The question now is were they part of the audience that was laughing?
Related:
Elizabeth Warren to donate Weinstein contributions
Sen. Whitehouse to Donate Weinstein's Campaign Contribution
DCCC to donate all Harvey Weinstein donations to women’s group
Has the bullseye on him now -- as if donating the loot makes everything all right.
Time for a name change?
"Weinstein Co. will change its name following the firing of cofounder Harvey Weinstein over sexual harassment allegations, a studio insider said. Meanwhile, the Hollywood establishment — slow to react to the initial allegations against the mogul — began speaking out. Among those condemning him were Meryl Streep and Judi Dench. Streep, who called Weinstein ‘‘God’’ when accepting a Golden Globe Award in 2012, said: ‘‘The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes.’’ Actress Lena Dunham tweeted: ‘‘Easy to think Weinstein company took swift action but this has actually been the slowest action because they always always knew.’’ Under Weinstein, the company was a dominant force at the Oscars. It accomplished the rare feat of winning back-to-back best-picture awards....."
At least his brother is still there.
"Report: Matt Damon helped kill earlier New York Times story about Harvey Weinstein" by Mark Shanahan Globe Staff October 09, 2017
How did serial sexual harasser Harvey Weinstein get away with it for so long if his transgressions were hiding, as they apparently were, in plain sight? One answer seems to be that pretty much everyone in Hollywood looked the other way because Weinstein is, or at least was, one of the titans of Tinseltown and crossing him could put one’s career at risk.
Even Matt Damon is being accused of protecting Weinstein, who had produced “Good Will Hunting,” the 1997 film that earned Damon (inset) and Ben Affleck Academy Awards for original screenplay, and also Damon and Affleck’s reality TV series “Project Greenlight.”
In a scathing piece for TheWrap.com, Sharon Waxman writes that, as a reporter for The New York Times in 2004, she looked into allegations of sexual misconduct by Weinstein, and the role and responsibilities of a man named Fabrizio Lombardo, who was head of Miramax Italy but had no discernible experience or expertise in film and, according to Waxman’s reporting, was on the payroll merely to help Weinstein procure women.
“After intense pressure from Weinstein, which included having Matt Damon and Russell Crowe call me directly to vouch for Lombardo and unknown discussions well above my head at the Times, the story was gutted,” Waxman writes.
Ooooooooh, so EVERYONE KNEW as far back as 2004, huh?
Yup, the JYT sits on that story then like NBC sat on it before the New Yorker story now.
In an interview Tuesday with Deadline.com, Damon denied any knowledge of Weinstein’s misconduct and said he would never do anything to cover up or protect such behavior.
I suppose he has to say that, otherwise it looks worse; however, one of the handful of actors I had a modicum of respect for just lost it. The whole celebrity culture and ruling cla$$ is populated and staffed by sick perverts, and it explains the the rotten garbage and filth spewing from Tinseltown these days.
“Even before I was famous, I didn’t abide this kind of behavior. But now, as the father of four daughters, this is the kind of sexual predation that keeps me up at night. This is the great fear for all of us,” the actor said. “We know this stuff goes on in the world. I did five or six movies with Harvey. I never saw this. I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true. This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view. If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it. And I will peel my eyes back now, farther than I ever have, to look for this type of behavior. Because we know that it happens. I feel horrible for these women and it’s wonderful they have this incredible courage and are standing up now.
“We can all feel this change that’s happening, which is necessary and overdue,” he said. “Men are a huge part of that change, and we have to be vigilant and we have to help protect and call this stuff out because we have our sisters and our daughters and our mothers. This kind of stuff can’t happen. This morning, I just feel absolutely sick to my stomach.”
Not as sick as a whole bunch of women, Matty.
Weinstein was fired Sunday evening by the company he’d cofounded and that bears his name. In a statement, the Weinstein Company said its all-male board made the decision “in light of new information about misconduct” by Weinstein.
In the days ahead, there’s likely to be a lot of hand-wringing about what people knew and when they knew it.
Good Lord, it's another WATERGATE!
Actress Meryl Streep, for one, insists she didn’t know. A frequent collaborator of Weinstein’s, Streep issued a statement Monday saying she’s upset.
“The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,” she said. “The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes. One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew. Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally.
“I didn’t know about these other offenses: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts. And if everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.
Not only is she a fool, she just gave the worst performance of her long and storied career.
What a fraud!
“The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar,” she said. “Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.”
Oh, she is nuts, too -- unless she is referring to those truth-tellers who toil on the fringes out here.
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"Matt Damon denies report he tried to stop earlier Weinstein story" by Meredith Goldstein Globe Staff October 10, 2017
Matt Damon says he did not try to stop Sharon Waxman from writing a story about Harvey Weinstein in 2004.
The actor spoke to Deadline about a story published by Waxman on the website The Wrap over the weekend. Waxman’s article said that when she was still working for The New York Times, she traveled to Europe to investigate Fabrizio Lombardo, the head of Miramax Italy.
“According to multiple accounts,” she wrote, of Lombardo, “he had no film experience and his real job was to take care of Weinstein’s women needs, among other things.”
Waxman said that Damon and Russell Crowe called her to vouch for Lombardo, and that pressure from the actors and the Weinstein Company influenced the Times not to publish the story.
The Globe e-mailed Damon’s publicist, Jennifer Allen, twice, about Waxman’s report but received no response. On Tuesday afternoon, Deadline published an interview with Damon, in which he says, of his interaction with Waxman, “My recollection was that it was about a one minute phone call. Harvey had called me and said, they’re writing a story about Fabrizio, who I knew from ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley.’ He has organized our premiere in Italy and so I knew him in a professional capacity and I’d had dinner at his house. Harvey said, Sharon Waxman is writing a story about Fabrizio and it’s really negative. Can you just call and tell her what your experience with Fabrizio was. So I did, and that’s what I said to her.”
Damon also said, of Weinstein — who was fired over the weekend by the studio he cofounded, after the Times published a story about his history of sexual harassment and abuse — “I did five or six movies with Harvey. I never saw this. I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true. This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view. If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it.”
Okay, you didn't see it but you might have heard about it?
Were you in the audience in 2013, Matt?
If not, did you see or hear about it?
Pretty open secret from what I've read in the watchdog media that would never have ignored such a story.
Hours before the Deadline story, Ben Affleck released a statement on social media about Weinstein, who worked with both Affleck and Damon on “Good Will Hunting.”
Affleck’s note about “this morning” may have referred to a New Yorker story by Ronan Farrow published Tuesday morning that details allegations of rape against Weinstein.
Waxman’s report involving Damon inspired many in the industry to comment about how the actor might have enabled the former studio exec.
Culinary personality Anthony Bourdain tweeted to his more than 6 million followers Tuesday morning: “Looking forward to ‘THE BOURNE APOLOGY’ in which Jason fights off attempts to expose a pimp.”
Actress Rose McGowan, who has long spoken out about the climate for women in Hollywood and beyond, tweeted Monday — as news of Damon’s possible involvement was breaking:
She also tweeted in reply to Affleck’s statement: “‘I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT’ you said that to my face. The press conf I was made to go to after assault. You lie.”
Casey Affleck settled out of court after being sued for sexual harassment in 2010 by two women who’d worked with him on the film “I’m Still Here.” Damon has long worked with Casey Affleck, and was a producer on the local film “Manchester by the Sea,” for which Affleck earned the best actor Oscar this year. Casey Affleck told the Globe after his win, of his case, “I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else.” He also said that he was prohibited from talking about the lawsuit.
As of Tuesday, Meryl Streep, Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, and Jennifer Lawrence were among the actresses who had spoken out about Weinstein.....
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Related:
Actress Laura Michelle Kelly (left), producer Harvey Weinstein, and director Diane Paulus at the opening night of “Finding Neverland” at the American Repertory Theater in 2014 (Gretjen Helene).
American Repertory Theater artistic director Diane Paulus, whose “Finding Neverland” was produced by Harvey Weinstein, has released the following statement in response to reports of Weinstein’s history of sexual harassment and assault....."
She said that before setting out to sea.
As for me, the blog is suffering because I'm ‘‘busy, absent-minded, and lazy,’’ but thankfully there are people out there trying ‘‘to make things as easy as possible’’ for us.
Yes, folks, that is the elite ruler mindset behind the pri$m of my pre$$.
