Time for another round of “reactions” and “not-so-hot takes” from people who knew Harvey Weinstein for years and never suspected that he was not so much a serial philanderer but more of a rampant sexual predator. To be fair to all of the people now claiming that they never knew: we didn’t really know the extent of it either before a week and a half ago. Most people inside and outside of Hollywood believed that his associations with women were icky because of the power imbalance (he could make or break their careers) and because the rumors were that the associations were merely transactional, between consenting adults. That’s not the case. So, here are some reactions that came in over the past three days or so:
Anna Wintour. Wintour was professionally friendly with both Weinstein and Georgina Chapman. Weinstein got very involved with New York Fashion Week, and he financially backed several fashion lines, including his wife’s, and Wintour promoted Marchesa in the pages of Vogue. Plus, Weinstein and Wintour were two of New York’s biggest Democratic party donors and fundraisers. Wintour told the NY Times: “Behavior like this is appalling and unacceptable. I feel horrible about what these women have experienced and admire their bravery in coming forward. My heart goes out to them, as well as to Georgina [Chapman] and the children. We all have a role to play in creating safe environments where everyone can be free to work without fear.” Hm.
Michael Moore. Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 was released and promoted by Weinstein. Moore wrote on his Facebook: “Anyone with a flicker of a conscience or a modicum of decency stands, as I do, with the women who’ve summoned the courage to tell the truth about Harvey Weinstein.
“But well-meaning platitudes of support for the abused are simply not enough. Why do we live in a society where men do not intervene when they witness the mistreatment of women? I have intervened on more than one occasion and I have fired men who sexually harass women. Harvey Weinstein knew better than to behave inappropriately toward women in my presence. I’m guessing successful sociopaths like him who get away with it for years are very, very careful not to let the kind of men who would stop them dead cold ever get a glimpse of who they really are.” You can read more of his statement here.
Lisa Bloom is sorry. Bloom was once known as a champion of feminist causes, a lawyer to the used and abused victims of men like Weinstein. Then she joined Weinstein’s legal team, only to high-tail it out of there once the stories started coming out. She tells Buzzfeed, “I can see that my just being associated with this was a mistake. All I can say is, from my perspective, I thought, ‘Here is my chance to get to the root of the problem from the inside. I am usually on the outside throwing stones. Here is my chance to be in the inside and to get a guy to handle this thing in a different way.’ I thought that would be a positive thing, but clearly it did not go over at all.”
Actually, it’s widely believed that people within the Weinstein Company were absolutely horrified by an internal document she wrote in which she suggested that they, as a group, start attacking the victims and pushing back on their stories in the press. Now Bloom says she is “shocked” by the extent of Weinstein’s predatory behavior.
JJ Abrams. He said at a weekend event, “Someone said to me the other day that they are sick of hearing people talk about how disgusting it is. I don’t think enough can be said about how viciously repulsive his abuse of power was. He’s a monster. There are other monsters but there are those who fight monsters and tonight is all about those who fight monsters.”
Courtney Love. This is what Courtney Love said in 2005:
.@Courtney Love's advice in 2005: "If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a party at the Four Seasons, don't go." pic.twitter.com/I1Zq0WvVNM
— HannahJane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) October 14, 2017
And here’s what she says now:
Although I wasn't one of his victims, I was eternally banned by CAA for speaking out against #HarveyWeinstein #rape https://t.co/8giwNkrC5t
— Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) October 14, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
So how can Courtney Love have known, and his own brother, and male directors, actors and colleagues were all completely oblivious or thought Harvey is just, to quote Clooney “chasing girls”?
I just feel for many men in the industry who say “I had to no idea” really mean “I heard some rumours, but believing them/acting on them would have meant making choices which were professionally disadvantageous, so I was willfully blind”.
There’s probably different levels of “know” at play here. It was widely known he was lecherous. It probably wasn’t as widely known that he’d committed multiple acts of sexual assault and rape. And to be fair, if in passing you heard a rumor about Harvey and so and so, and then you see them working together or looking friendly at an event, you might take the rumor with a big grain of salt. However, I think his inner circle knew how bad it was. That includes his brother, the board at Weinstein Group, his wife, his assistants, etc.
To be fair, you’re being incredibly generous. I wholeheartedly believe that everyone knew and Weinstein isn’t the only sociopath in the room.
Of course everyone knew, but maybe no one acted because that is business as usual in Hollywood, or he is not the worst offender. I strongly believe this is either the tip of the iceberg, or Hollywood is currently being blanketed in hush money.
Good for Courtney speaking about Harvey years ago.
There was a good article this weekend by writer James Sherwood called The Casting Couch 2017. The article implies that many in Hollywood knew.
To quote the James Sherwood’s , The Casting Couch 2017,article ” The Weinstein scandal proves that the only crime in Hollywood is to get caught. Harvey Weinstein got away with treating vulnerable ( teenage) actresses like room service for three decades: exposing himself, demanding massages and even allegedly stalking and raping the unwilling. To reiterate, Hollywood knew this. Agents knew this.
It seems evident that sex has always oiled the wheels of movie-making ” – James Sherwood-The Casting Couch 2017
You got it, Torontoe!
Hell I knew…and now we know he slimed just about everyone in the industry. Now anyone in a friendly pic with him are trying to get the slime off. #WeinsteinSlimer
This is what I’m thinking. If someone came out to a friend and say, this Weinstein guy has done so and so to me and I was repulsed and think he his a predictor what is this friend supposed to do? If the friend encouraged them to report the abuse to the police, and the abused says “no”, the friend cannot go over the abused head to the police. I have heard years ago, reading gossip sites, that Weinstein is a sexual abuser it was common knowledge. I give a side eye to those in the business, men and woman who say they had no idea. I know on my job(s) when you have an abuser the staff talk and give each other a heads up on certain people, I’m thinking it’s the same in Hollywood, imo.
Right. Listen to the outcasts! We has a similar thing w the “yoga guru” (bleeeeech) bikram choudry. I personally saw his sleaziness in 2000 and spoke up and was insulted in front of 400 ppl, then put on a “do not hire” list that literally came out on the official bikram web page. I was even invited on excursions w other sleazy guys in his orbit, only to be “ditched” alone w said sleeze bags. Just the way I was “Talked to” was trauma inducing, though I didn’t experience a physical assault. I later told women to “not go” to his trainings, and was degraded by those in that (cult) community. I just stayed on the “outside”, but guess I was complicit by not being -more- outspoken? I did initially think that women “wanted” to be sexual w him, I didn’t understand he was also using manipulation and in some cases flat out rape. I learned a lot about” victim shaming” and the “rape culture”, but honestly, I didn’t have the words for all of this 20 yrs ago.
Bikram Choudry. Now there’s a name from the past. I saw a 20/20 doco on this animal way back in the day. WOOOOW
Bikram is a monster. I’m sorry you were a victim of the cult mentality within that practise. Signed, a former practitioner who has heard the stories from teacher training.
Can’t remember which female celeb said it but they confessed that they knew and they felt sick about not saying anything about it.
That was Jane Fonda. She said she found out a year ago. I had just watched that epic 18 hour Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam War on PBS and the footage of her as “Hanoi Jane” was still on my mind when she spoke of HW. Ugh.
Laughable that all these people knew what a psycho Harvey was to his employees and people around him, but wanted to believe that his dalliances with young actresses nd models were consensual. This is about a man that used to have a lot of power and now that he’s less powerful, newspapers are willing to write about him. Lots of stories were squashed through the years. Media didn’t cover themselves in much courage.
Courtney Love is the voice of reason………sweet baby Jesus
MTE
Maybe we should listen celebrity outcasts more…
Like Anna W has nooooo idea what’s going on in fashion world. Sure.
I never thought I’d compliment Courtney Love, but I give her props for naming HW in that interview.
I’m not in the entertainment industry but I knew about Harvey.
Some of the comments on Courtney Loves video was “why would you believed her?”
Jillian, I’m in Australia, not involved in the industry, but even people down here heard about his sleaziness. I only learned by reading the articles on this site just how powerful he was. And, my god, he really did have his filthy, fecking claws everywhere – movie production, distribution, talent hiring, music, fashion…just, everywhere, which means, well, victims everywhere. Just thinking about it makes me ill. Let’s hope HW is done for good, and that it’s possible to root out the other filth like him.
Amidst all of this horror, it must be acknowledged how many careers were derailed by the whims of this horrible man. It’s awful to even think about.
Anna going forward no more actresses doing front covers. Thank You. That age is now coming to an end.
I want to see woman captain of industries, woman politicians, woman sport stars and every three months I want see your magazine with articles and front covers of everyday woman. I want to see ordinary fat, skinny black, asian and white woman modelling high end designer clothes.
Wouldn’t that be lovely? But it won’t happen for a number of reasons. First of all: Vogue sells a glamorous fantasy. “Real people” don’t convey that. Secondly, Vogue is a fashion magazine. They shoot fashions in advance of when they are released. Which means the only sizes they have access to when they shoot are sample sizes. Sample sizes which have steadily been getting smaller and smaller over the years. Unless designers start releasing sample sizes in totally different sizes (which won’t happen) they cannot feature anyone but tiny models and actresses in those clothes.
When Courtney Love is the voice of reason you’re officially done! I love that she named checked CAA!
I love that she name checked CAA as well. I hope these agencies get investigated because their hands seem to be pretty dirty in this whole ordeal.
True!
Watching the video of Courtney love brought me shills. Why would the FIRST thing that comes to her mind to give advice is to not accept an invitation to weinstein’s hotel? It just shows that this problem was pervasive, and people knew.
Courtney is crazy but I think she is really smart and and strong woman. She obviously doesn’t take shit from anyone
Courtney has had a hard life but she’s not crazy.
“Why do we live in a society where men do not intervene when they witness the mistreatment of women?” This is an excellent question. Criminals like HW can do anything they want because the majority of other men enable them and/or look the other way. I guess it’s because the patriarchal system benefits all men–so they just go along with it all.
I am generally more tolerant of Michael Moore than a lot of people but Jesus, I’m a little concerned that he might strain something patting himself on the back. He’s fired sexual harassers and would have definitely 100% intervened with HW if only he had known? YOU DON’T GET A COOKIE FOR DOING THE LEGAL AND MORAL THING.
I am so tired.
I know what you’re saying and I’m exhausted by the repetitive comments made in similar vain, but I think he was just trying to emphasize how tough he is on harassment. Maybe I’m giving him too much credit but his statement felt sincere to me.
It also felt sincere – and sincerely angry – to me.
There are reasons to criticise Moore but, on the whole, more reasons to stand in his, on the whole, walk-the-walk corner.
But I do understand the impatience, as expressed above by Pedro45, with having to applaud what should be the basic norm.
No, I was being a little pissy. I do think he’s a sincere ally, it just came across as a bit self-congratulatory.
Harvey Weinstein wasn’t “icky” before the full extent of the allegations came out. What he was doing – essentially requiring that women trade sexual favors for career advancement – was still illegal and still wrong. Not icky. He wasn’t just a “dog”. It was sexual harassment.
Damn, Courtney Love went right after him knowing exactly what was going to happen when she did. Wow.
It’s the women that lost careers because of him that haunt me.
I already wrote here that one of my neighbors is a Belgian movie journalist.He is actually in holiday but because of Weinstein’s scandal,he must work.
He wrote him that when he started to work as journalist,a rumor said that a now famous actor beat HW after HW attacked his wife/girlfriend and it was the reason why the actor didn’t work for 2 years .He know it is real or who he was.
For my neighbor,it is impossible never to hear about Weinstein’s sexual harassment/casting couch /violent behavior when you go to Cannes/Venise festival
Read that too. Wasnt it a blind item some years ago?
This kind of ability to keep people from working provs that a lot of people KNEW.
I said something similar above and it haunts me too.
Is there any relief seeing him taken down now when there were so many opportunities lost?
There’s a good NYT piece on how Harvey pushed himself into the fashion world. After reading it, I think Georgina was his “tool” to gain power and influence there. Like everything else, he used her to get what he wanted.
His interest in fashion predates Georgina.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/style/harvey-weinstein-marchesa-georgina-chapman-anna-wintour.html
Perhaps because his interest in vulnerable young models predates Georgina.
I love the fact that she name checked CAA.
That agency should be thoroughly checked for covering up things… I believe this is only the beginning of an uprising in the movie industry!
Courtney seemed very composed, sober, and rational when she said this, too. She’s the only one who had any guts at all when HW was in full, disgusting, predator creep mode.
ITA about CAA and all other talent agencies.
Think about it. Beside TWC the talent agencies is where Harvey really exercised his power.
I mean actors, journalists, etc are more or less independent contractors. Their agents and management must secure their work and projects. CAA, perhaps the largest and most influential talent agency could destroy careers. With Harvey pushing and promising award-contenders CAA would keep TWC (notably Harvey) happy. And exclusives to reporters, some dirt -true or not- on an upcoming actresses or actor. Destroy the reputation of anyone in his path like that young lady in 2015 police sting operation.
Who cares about a few actresses?
And that is separate from his political pull, see also the DA i n that police case.
Courtney is good friends with Georgina and she hasn’t gone after her….does that say something?
I have newfound respect for Courtney Love.
Courtney often has very intelligent commentary, despite being a mess. The subject matter of her songs is very much centered around her experiences as a woman, and unfortunately those experiences include being assaulted. I think it’s for the video Violet where as she crowd surfs the people in the crowd tear off her clothes (TW), a reference to a time where she crowd surfed and was sexually assaulted during it. Say what you want about Courtney but she’s incredibly outspoken, driven and intelligent. She had the guts to make public comment on video about HW twelve years ago.
Very well said. There has always been a lot to admire about Courtney. It just gets overlooked sometimes because she’s messy.
Messy is an understatement. See the documentary Soaked In Bleach. Prepare to be bone chilled. That said, she was right to speak out then and now.
Lol @ Casey, I’ve seen that. I call BS. Hardly anything substantial to it.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that women like Courtney Love and Rose McGowan were sounding the alarm about HW for a long time but people routinely dismissed them as “crazy”. Hell, some people are still doing it in this comment section.
I think we as a society really need to address how women are dismissed as crazy or messy or stupid when they deviate from the “nice, placid girl” norm. I think it’s a tool that our patriarchal system uses to silence women’s voices.
Google the actress from the 1940’s and 50’s Frances Farmer. Great example of a ballsy actress who would not play into all the hollywood crap. And yes she was labeled crazy and trouble to work with. She was even committed to a mental institution. If it was days gone by Rose McGowan and Courtney would probably face the same fate.
A great movie with Jessica Lange.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083967/
It’s funny that you mention Frances Farmer because Courtney and Kurt were huge fans of hers. It’s been said that Courtney’s wedding dress once belonged to Frances Farmer and that Farmer was one of the inspirations for Frances Bean’s name.
Not just committed to a mental institution but given shock therapy until she was a shell of her former self. A tragedy. Read about The Group Theater (Clifford Odets, Harold Clurman, etc.) and how they passed her around in her theater days.
Courtney Love named her daughter after her.
I think many people “knew” in that they heard stories. I doubt many witnessed anything first hand. The public was also recently scolded by an actress for believing blind items about her and HW. So at what point are people allowed to believe rumors? I want to see HW and others go to jail (civil lawsuits aren’t enough). But can that happen based only on what people “heard” or “knew”? And if a report is made, would that “out” a victim who didn’t want to be outed? People have said HW’s female assistants knew he’d lure actresses to his room, then have the assistants leave. Should the assistants have reported to authorities or higher-ups in the industry? But did THEIR OWN livelihoods depend on HW, like the actresses (and/or were victims of HW themselves)? Again, would the reports “out” an actress? Is there anything people who “knew” or “heard” could have done beyond just refusing to work with HW ever again?
But so many of them DID work with HW again, which is what makes me so angry. To me, you don’t get to “take the victims side” NOW, if you knew or heard then, and yet continued to work with him (which aided in his continued influence in the industry).
When you consider the first defense strategy that his lawyers were planning was to attack/discredit the initial accusers and smear them, and then add to that the threats against their livelihoods and friends/spouses careers and reputations, you can see why women did not come forward.
Part of the insidiousness of Weinstein is how he invested in so many people’s business ventures, thereby making it an act of self-sabotage if they did the right thing.
Kudos to Courtney Love for her no filter / don’t take crap from anyone attitude!