Harvey Weinstein fired from The Weinstein Co.

One caught. Hundred remains. He belongs in jail.

When Weinstein invited actresses to "the meetings", some rejected his advances. Those who rejected his advances knows that he will try to demolish their career. But still they took their chances, believing in themselves and their talent. But there were few who pursued him, of course to their dislike, to advance their careers. A shortcut to success. They were also slightly at fault, right? I am not trying to mitigate Weinstein's actions even by .1%. As I said, he belongs in jail. Now these famous actresses are coming out against him as if he is at 100% fault. These actresses also kind of used him to advance their careers, in a way fame and money. If the actresses haven't obliged to him (he couldn't have forced everyone), the opportunity they got, at least some might have gone to actresses based on merit and talent.

If he is doing this for more than 25 years, for sure the industry people would have known this at some point. But they were just spectators till the allegations came up.

I just graduated and started working small jobs here and there. I don't have that much industry knowledge or experience like many members here. I might be wrong but what I mentioned above is how I felt after reading the news.
 
peacemaker said:
One caught. Hundred remains. He belongs in jail.

When Weinstein invited actresses to "the meetings", some rejected his advances. Those who rejected his advances knows that he will try to demolish their career. But still they took their chances, believing in themselves and their talent. But there were few who pursued him, of course to their dislike, to advance their careers. A shortcut to success. They were also slightly at fault, right? I am not trying to mitigate Weinstein's actions even by .1%. As I said, he belongs in jail. Now these famous actresses are coming out against him as if he is at 100% fault. These actresses also kind of used him to advance their careers, in a way fame and money. If the actresses haven't obliged to him (he couldn't have forced everyone), the opportunity they got, at least some might have gone to actresses based on merit and talent.

If he is doing this for more than 25 years, for sure the industry people would have known this at some point. But they were just spectators till the allegations came up.

I just graduated and started working small jobs here and there. I don't have that much industry knowledge or experience like many members here. I might be wrong but what I mentioned above is how I felt after reading the news.
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No.
It is 100% his fault. No negotiating here.
Someone saying 'no' would very likely get ruined and the total imbalance in power doesn't make it a simple yes or no question as if you are deciding what kind of cheese you want to buy.
Those women where ambushed while hoping to get a part in a major film.

His power was one of the reasons people kept quiet. He could make someone an outcast.
Another reason is the misogyny that hides in victim blaming: "she probably wore a short skirt, she probably asked for it, a girl shouldn't walk outside alone, she should just have said no, blabla" all ignore the criminal, but blame the victim for the crime. Lots of women standing up and speaking up get piles of shit thrown at them.
Women don't ask to be preyed on by predators and yet a lot of people use that primitive logic that has been keeping women living under obvious or subtle submission, so they can't live safely and free as (most) males can.
 
WalterB said:
Another reason is the misogyny that hides in victim blaming: "she probably wore a short skirt, she probably asked for it, a girl shouldn't walk outside alone, she should just have said no, blabla" all ignore the criminal, but blame the victim for the crime. Lots of women standing up and speaking up get piles of shit thrown at them.
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Exactly. One of these victim blaming, misogynistic attitudes is 'she did it to advance her career'/'slept her way to the top'/other similar sentiments.

Unconscious sexism is extremely prevalent in our society, and it's become so normalised that often we don't even realise we're doing it. We must ensure we call out misogynistic attitudes in others and more importantly learn to recognise when we're doing it ourselves if we have any chance of eradicating these detrimental atttitudes from our society.

The Hollywood sexual harassment scandal has been harrowing. I'm glad people are feeling emboldened to speak out and I sincerely hope that the attitudes, particularly of those in high power positions (not just Hollywood) genuinely change.
 
Well it's been a month now! Crazy month for Hollywood.

I think a lot of good has come from this, but the national enquirer article pisses me off.
https://www.nationalenquirer.com/true-crime/charlie-sheen-corey-haim-rape-claims/

Some dude that was not even involved in the incident is throwing claims around and whats worse is that the story gained traction and once sheen responded it became legitimate "news" to report his response.


This is one story I don't believe. And from a magazine that brought us bat boy and other such world wonders it's a shame that such fake news distracts from the real issues. Journalists should have a little bit of integrity.
 
Outing of sexual harassers is amazing right now. I saw an article that listed like 30 people in corporations being removed/suspended.
Matt Lauer's co-worker from Sochi Olympics showed such strong evidence, he was gone the next morning.
Gal Gadot refuses to work on WW2 because 1&2's exec prod Brett Ratner has allegations.
I read Kevin Spacey got messed up as a kid cuz his dad, a Nazi supporter, molested his younger brother. Kevin became an actor to be someone else & escape his reality.
 
I'm satisfied with how it's all gone down.

I think there have been a few innocent people accused like Jeremy Piven, but I haven't heard about any of the innoncents facing consequences. That's great!! So far I think Jeremy is also the only person to volunteer a lie detector test.

One thing is for sure - and this is the most important - the message is loud and clear.
People will absolutely be thinking twice before trying something like this again.
 
The recent allegations against Harvey Weinstein and others seems to be an insidious trend that has been going on in Hollywood since time immemorial. The terrible thing is that people on the inside have known about this for years and its only now that something is being done about it.

Weinstein's dismissal from the company is just the beginning. There will be many changes in Hollywood personal before the year is done. The list will only get longer because this isn't just about one man or even a few bad apples, its about the whole way in which the industry treats women, its a patriarchal culture that needs to be shook up and eradicated.

Israel Horowitz is the latest name to added this week joining Kevin Spacey, Casey Affleck, Dustin Hoffman etc etc etc.

Here's a list in full if you need it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41940680
 
and let's remember; men have been exploited too. Not just the women.

and let's also remember that most of these victims had a choice. They could have immediately called the police. They could have immediately called the union. They chose to put up with the exploitation rather than lose a role in a movie. Kind of like selling your soul to the devil if you thing about it... and I'm sure that plenty of woman (and men) didn't need to be exploited. There are those who were voluntary. They were more than happy to blow the producer to get the part. There are no innocent victims in this story. We are talking about Hollywood where people would do ANYTHING to be in a movie...

I'm not defending anyone who exploited these people. All I'm saying is that they had a choice. They didn't NEED to be in that movie. They could have kept their dignity and called the police. They chose not to. They are adults. They made that decision. Life is about accepting responsibility for your decisions. Right now ol' Harvey and Kevin and some of the others are accepting responsibility for the decisions they made. A woman who accepts something from a man in exchange for her dignity is just as guilty as the man in my opinion... It's good that they are coming forward now but they really should have come forward decades ago when the alleged exploitation occurred.
 
You are right Velusion, women are not the only ones being harassed here.

As Kevin Spacey's recent exploits have proven this affects men as well as women. This being brought to light by actor Anthony Rapp's (Star Trek: Discovery) experience regarding sexual misconduct by Spacey when he was only 14 years old. goo.gl/gizgUK

However, the idea that you think these victims had a choice in being abused in this manner is utterly deplorable. Could a 14 year old boy call the police and accuse a world renowned film star of being sexually abused? You might as well claim that anyone who has been abused had a choice.

This is the problem I am trying to address. This culture of silent abuse, the belief that we all have a choice, when those in powerful and influential positions take advantage of the young, the inexperienced, and the naive. That they somehow deserved it. They knew what was happening so they had a choice. That is absolutely and utterly abhorrent.

How can you even attempt to come forward to the authorities about something this serious when your limited position in the industry leaves you open to questioning? When to tell the truth opens you to ridicule, to be thrown to the wolves, where people like Harvey Weinstein can threaten you with ruin.

Is losing your entire career for the price of sexually exploiting yourself worth it? That should not be the question we are asking.

In any other position in any other industry would this behaviour be deemed okay, to put up with a bit of sexual harassment with the understanding that it is expected in order to get work in the industry that you want to build a career in? NO it isn't. So why should Hollywood be any different?

As sfoster said earlier when posting the article about Cara Delvinges experience, Cara didn't have many options when a creep like Weinstein makes his move on you. She wanted to leave and had to improvise by singing, pretending Weinstein's attempted seduction in inviting her up to his room was simply an audition, which it should have been in the first place.

This is the same story that we've heard from Angelia Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale and Lea Seydoux. These brave women had to defend themselves against a monster and they did NOT to put up with it. It is only now that they finally have a voice to call these sexual deviants out.

goo.gl/LDiWfV

Back then they had no choice because who would believe them or who would even have the power to do anything about it. These men who abused women and men alike were too powerful to oppose.

No longer.
 
There are no innocent victims in this story. We are talking about Hollywood where people would do ANYTHING to be in a movie...
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There probably Are innocent victims. Don't lump them together with the ones who willingly had sex to advance their careers. There Are people who won't do Anything to be in a movie.
 
You're right. There are some victims in this story. The 14 year old boy. The 2 Coreys. ALL exploited children are victims. No exception.
 
Velusion said:
and let's remember; men have been exploited too. Not just the women.

and let's also remember that most of these victims had a choice. They could have immediately called the police. They could have immediately called the union. They chose to put up with the exploitation rather than lose a role in a movie. Kind of like selling your soul to the devil if you thing about it... and I'm sure that plenty of woman (and men) didn't need to be exploited. There are those who were voluntary. They were more than happy to blow the producer to get the part. There are no innocent victims in this story. We are talking about Hollywood where people would do ANYTHING to be in a movie...

I'm not defending anyone who exploited these people. All I'm saying is that they had a choice. They didn't NEED to be in that movie. They could have kept their dignity and called the police. They chose not to. They are adults. They made that decision. Life is about accepting responsibility for your decisions. Right now ol' Harvey and Kevin and some of the others are accepting responsibility for the decisions they made. A woman who accepts something from a man in exchange for her dignity is just as guilty as the man in my opinion... It's good that they are coming forward now but they really should have come forward decades ago when the alleged exploitation occurred.
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it's really not that simple.

#1 it's not just a role in a movie. All of the Harvey victims were risking their whole career AND a public smear campaign against their reputation via his media outlets. Losing a job is one thing, losing a career is entirely different.

keep in mind these people are victims. we call people that come forward heroes because it's more than what the average person does. It was one woman that started all of this, she worked with the police against Harvey. She is the exceptional person.

#2 in some of these cases it's not just losing a job, but getting all of your friends fired because the whole production gets shut down. People need their friends, it's asking a lot for someone to alienate all of their friends.

It's great to be a champion for future potential victims but no one asked for that responsibility and we should celebrate the exceptional people that rise to the occasion.
 
Sorry Velusion, I don't agree with blaming people who didn't dare to speak out.
The ones who did were destroyed with gossip, smeared as gold diggers or portrayed as junkies, so they were not only feeling ashamed of being a victim of sexual misconduct, but also embarrased in front of their friends and family.
So they were 'beaten' 3 times: firts when it happened, second time when they were not believed and the third time when their image was being destroyed.

Besides that: victims almost always feel ashamed of what happened. Partly that is due to constant victim blaming: rape victim? Your skirt was too short!

And even now, when the victims (mostly female, but indeed also male) dare to speak up, they are blamed for being silent up till now.

Either way: in this abuse of power, the victim always gets at least a part of the blame.

Going to the authorities: it is a logical thing to do.
But time and time again victims have not been believed or they were discredited.
People trying to warn against the powerfull predators were just not believed and proof is hard to provide in such cases.
With what we know now it is unbelievable they could go on.

Time and time again this has happened in history.
Just like it is unbelievable now that Jews warning about the death camps in 1942 were not believed for a long time. Because people have a hard time to imagine that such evil exists, whether it be industrial genocide or that fun guy you know or that amazing actor being a sexual predator. It just doesn't compute in our brain.

@Direktorik:
here in The Netherlands the most influential casting director of the national film industry (who was also a succesful producer and director) did exploit men. Mostly inexperienced actors were invited for 'private class'. Sneaky as he was he never touched them, but let them practise erotic scenes where they had to touch themselves.
Metoo gave many of those men the courage to speak out.
Word is that Yorrick van Wageningen never got a part in The Netherlands because he did play along with this casting directors dirty 'games', so he went to Hollywood. (And became succesful.)

Here we see the same pattern: in the 90s he was let go from a casting agency because of rumours about his misconduct, but nobody dared to file a report. That would mean you would no longer get any parts at all. Or at least: that is what people feared.
 
Velusion said:
and let's also remember that most of these victims had a choice. They could have immediately called the police. They could have immediately called the union. They chose to put up with the exploitation rather than lose a role in a movie. Kind of like selling your soul to the devil if you thing about it... and I'm sure that plenty of woman (and men) didn't need to be exploited. There are those who were voluntary. They were more than happy to blow the producer to get the part. There are no innocent victims in this story. We are talking about Hollywood where people would do ANYTHING to be in a movie...
[...]
A woman who accepts something from a man in exchange for her dignity is just as guilty as the man in my opinion... It's good that they are coming forward now but they really should have come forward decades ago when the alleged exploitation occurred.
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I'll add to my list:

jax_rox said:
One of these victim blaming, misogynistic attitudes is 'she did it to advance her career'/'slept her way to the top'/'blew the Producer to get the part'/other similar sentiments.

Unconscious sexism is extremely prevalent in our society, and it's become so normalised that often we don't even realise we're doing it. We must ensure we call out misogynistic attitudes in others and more importantly learn to recognise when we're doing it ourselves if we have any chance of eradicating these detrimental attitudes from our society.
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Please share what further information you may have about these particular instances, because as far as I can tell it has been entirely unwanted, unprovoked, invasive and ultimately scarring.

And no, going to the police or the union is not and was not a solution for many if not all of those who are abused by people who hold the most power in Hollywood.
 
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