Accusations of sexual harassment and assault aimed at powerful men, especially powerful men in Hollywood, are nothing new. The narrative has been repeated time and again. These men use their positions of power to manipulate and coerce women into situations they did not ask to be a part of. These women are often young and new to the industry, fearful of legal reprimand and losing their careers before they even begin. Harvey Weinstein is one of Hollywood’s biggest moguls, a film producer, co-founder of the Weinstein Company and Miramax. His body of work spans decades and has become prominent to film culture and history. The New York Times investigation into decades of accusations aimed at Weinstein reveals how he has used his power and position to exploit the women he’s worked with.
The article chronicles various instances in which Weinstein’s company has kept accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior under wraps, finding reports of at least eight women recounting similar experiences. Weinstein inviting women into his hotel room or using women who worked for him to facilitate these “meetings.” As former president of Miramax Mark Gill told the Times, Weinstein’s actions were an “open secret” to many within the company. Things were kept from general public knowledge because of private settlements reached with many of the women, barring them from speaking out about the incidents. As of Sunday, the board of representatives of the Weinstein Company decided to fire Weinstein from his position within the company. In the wake of the all the revelations that came out of the story in the New York Times, three other board members have decided to step down from their positions.
What all of this information has in common; the company’s desire to keep things hidden, Weinstein’s firing, his subsequent half-apology blaming 70s culture for his behavior and hyping up the money he’s raising for women directors, it all points to a culture that mistreats women and does nothing to change that. The company executives, Weinstein, they knew what they were doing was horrible, they knew that they had to keep these women quiet to protect themselves, and they knew they could use their power to do so. Their actions and words are not remorse at what they’ve done but remorse at the world finding out. The Hollywood system, like Weinstein, claims to be “progressing” and working to treat women as human beings while doing everything it can to cover up its behavior. Things will never change if the Weinstein’s and the Allen’s of Hollywood and the world continue to stay in power and continue to use it to silence the voices of others.