5 Recent ‘Harvey Effect’ Stories You Need to Know About

It has only been three weeks since a New York Times investigation revealed that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted women for decades and has paid off accusers since the 1990s.

Since the initial report broke, Weinstein’s reputation and career came to a swift end. He was fired from his film studio The Weinstein Company, resigned from the company’s board, and was removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The scandal resulted in actors, agents, and other members of the entertainment industry reacting to the “open secret” of Weinstein’s behavior and coming forward with their own stories of workplace sexual assault at the hands of male executives, ranging from repeated harassment to rape. But it’s not just in Hollywood – “the Harvey effect” started a cross-industry movement that refuses to slow down. It spawned a social media hashtag (#MeToo) that women around the world are using to share their experiences with sexual misconduct, and it led to an ongoing fight to hold predatory men in power accountable for their actions, calling out men as a whole for perpetuating sexism and rape culture, and pressuring companies to take serious action against sexual harassment.

Women and men are breaking their silence, and here are five recent examples that add to the domino effect.

1. Kevin Spacey

Here’s the latest instance of allegations against powerful men in the media industry that has developed in the last 36 hours, and it may come as a shock to longtime Kevin Spacey fans. In a Buzzfeed interview, actor Anthony Rapp, who is best known for appearing in the original Broadway production of Rent, accused Spacey of making a sexual advance on him when they were alone at a party in 1986. Spacey was 26 years old and Rapp was 14 at the time.

Spacey responded on Sunday night with a statement on Twitter, in which he apologized for his “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior” and also came out as gay.

Spacey is facing widespread backlash from critics, especially in the LGBTQIA+ community, who said his statement dangerously conflates sexual abuse and predation with homosexuality, or that Spacey is attempting to detract from the larger issue at hand.

“Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault. This isn’t a coming out story about Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp [and] those who speak out about unwanted sexual advances,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD.

2. James Toback

Toback is a screenwriter and director who wrote the screenplay for the 1991 film Bugsy, which was nominated for an Academy Award. In an October 22 article from the Los Angeles Times, 38 women accused Toback of sexual harassment and abuse in their encounters with him over the last several decades, whether he hired them to work on his films or saw them on the street.

Allegations had circled around him since the late 1980s and most people in the industry knew he was a predator, but his behavior was never reported until now. Much like Weinstein, Toback would rattle off his Hollywood credentials, get close to women either on set or by inviting them to events or to his hotel room, then sexually assault them and tell them it was a necessary part of the business.

“It’s a common thread among many women I know…after someone mentions they were sexually abused by a creepy writer-director, the response is, ‘Oh, no. You got Toback-ed,’” said Karen Sklaire, one of the accusers in the article.

Within two days of the Times report, over 200 women contacted the newspaper to share similar encounters they had with Toback. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is encouraging women to call the office’s sex crimes hotline in relation to the accusations, since he lives in New York. Toback denied the initial 38 allegations and has not responded further, according to the LA Times, and he still remains a member of the Writers Guild of America, East.

3. Terry Richardson

You might recognize Terry Richardson from these NSFW photographs he took of Miley Cyrus in 2013, but she’s not the only one. His trademark style is overexposed, risqué photos of celebrities and models, and stories of lewd behavior and sexual harassment allegations have circled around him in the fashion industry for many years.

On October 23, UK website The Daily Telegraph reported that according to an email that circulated within Condé Nast International media group, any work Richardson did for the company that was not yet published was ordered to be killed or substituted.

“Terry is disappointed to hear about this email especially because he has previously addressed these old stories,” said a representative for Richardson.

The photographer also claimed that any sexually explicit interactions between himself and the subjects of his work was consensual.

4. ESPN & Barstool Sports

ESPN faced severe backlash in early October when it announced a partnership with douche-bro sports website Barstool Sports, which is known for its brash and often sexist commentary. The collaboration between the two was set to be a late-night talk show called “Barstool Van Talk,” but after one episode aired, the network pulled the plug on the project, according to CNN.

ESPN’s “NFL Countdown” host Sam Ponder was an outspoken critic of the Barstool partnership and expressed her opinions in a series of tweets.

5. George H.W. Bush

As if Donald Trump making sexual advances on women and becoming President of the United States anyway isn’t disgusting enough, allegations involving former president George H.W. Bush have come to light in the last few days.

Actress Heather Lind wrote and later deleted an Instagram post describing the incident, which took place in 2013, according to reports from October 25. Lind said that while she was standing next to Bush for a promotional photo, he touched her from behind and told her a dirty joke, then assaulted her again as the photo was taken.

“Barbara [Bush] rolled her eyes as if to say ‘not again’,” Lind wrote. “His security guard told me I shouldn’t have stood next to him for the photo.”

A second woman, Jordana Grolnick, came forward later the same day and also accused Bush of groping her.

What is Bush’s response to all of this, you ask? His spokesman, Jim McGrath, is brushing it off as a trivial matter.

“At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures,” McGrath said. “To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke – and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”

That’s all? A former president serially groped women without their consent but it’s alright because he meant it in a “good-natured manner” and he’s elderly? Hell no! People’s defiant and outraged reactions to each emerging story of sexual harassment are proof that this time, we’re not gonna take it.

As hard to stomach as the stories behind these allegations are, the fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal is creating a much-needed space for the affected women to share their experiences with the world and push for real change. Perhaps America’s time of reckoning with its sickeningly lenient attitude toward sexism, men’s abuse of power, rape culture, and sexual assault has finally arrived.

• harvey weinstein
• hollywood
• kevin spacey
• Me Too
• sexual assault
• sexual harassment