[Politics] Harvey Weinstein

[Pevenseagull]

this says it all really:

'in january 2013, seth macfarlane, who hosted the oscars that year, was joined by actress emma stone to unveil the nominees. After reading the five actresses in the supporting actress category, macfarlane said: “congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to harvey weinstein.”'

http://deadline.com/2017/10/seth-macfarlane-harvey-weinstein-oscar-joke-explained-1202186425/

that is class.

 

[LlcoolJ]

I thought that the casting couch has been a tradition in Hollywood since films were first made there ?

Not just Hollywood. Rampant sexism, racism, a disregard for the law and dodgy financial dealings are the cornerstones of corporate America. Which sort of explains why they have the President that they do.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/donald-trump-scandals/474726/

 

[Crispy Ambulance]

Wouldnt be surprised if he tops himself, rather than face the music.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

A lot of them didn't accept it. Many of them regected his advances as the tape recording of one of the incidences will testify. Many of them did tell others and even reported him to the police in at least once instance but no action was taken. Those that didn't say anything and remained silent did so because they were scared of the backlash from those in the industry. They would have been treated as the wrong doer for causing trouble which wouldn't have been particularly pleasant for them. I'm not saying they wouldn't have been believed because that wouldn't strictly be true because people knew what he was like but even with their knowledge of what he was like they would still treat the women reporting him as the wrongdoer. How do you think that would make those women feel? It's almost worse than not being believed. It's like telling them that what happened to them was ok because good old Harvey did it and many of those people had vested interests to ensure Harvey didn't get into any trouble because that might have affected their own lives which is why they were so ready to sweep it under the hollywood red carpet. So them remaining silent isn't them accepting it, it's just them not wanting to be treated as a pariah when they were the victims. These women were in extremely difficult and uncomfortable positions. Acceptance just doesn't come into it.

Also the only reason there is a sudden "rush to accuse" as you put it is because one woman had the courage to go public and that gave all the other women the strength and courage to come forward. It was the same sudden rush we witnessed when that ex footballer had the courage to come forward after remaining silent after all those years. It gave the courage to all the other victims of the abuse they suffered. There was no "acceptance" of what they had suffered either just as the victims of Weinstein didn't accept what happened to them.

If you had read my post a little more carefully, you would have understood that I was referring to the history of the motion picture/modelling industry and not specifically to the Harvey Weinstein case. I hold by my view, that over the years, many of the most famous actresses were victims of the casting couch but kept their counsel for fear of damaging their careers.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

That reads like an "I'm not racist but" comment.

Not in my book it doesn't. You are way off beam with that comment.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

You absolute wrongun!!!!!

Yes...always have been.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Funny how a number of actresses/models on the way up in their careers said and did nothing at the time. Now that Weinstein's influence has waned and their careers have strengthened, all of sudden there is a rush to accuse.
The ' casting couch ' has been around for a long time and for a long time, aspiring actresses/models accepted that it was part of getting their foot on the ladder. Not condoning it, just saying that it is nothing new.

You are are in effect condoning it with a post that lacks any empathy.

Often it takes one person to stand up to encourage others to be brave enough to do so as well. I worked for a company where something a director did effected me very directly and badly ( to the point of needing counselling and drinking too much ). I went to the rest of the board and also raised a formal grievance. Once the rest of the company had heard what was happening a number of women came forward and raised formal grievances against the same director ranging from sexual assault, through inappropriate behaviour to bullying. It was someone standing up to this director that emboldened others to tell their stories. Exactly as is happening here. I hope Wienstein gets everything he deserves and the women get some relief from the secrets they have kept for so long.

 

[spring hall convert]

And it's completely unsurprising that most people have conveniently forgotten that the President of the USA has been accused of exactly the same thing...........

https://www.vogue.com/article/weinstein-donald-trump-alleged-sexual-abuser-in-white-house

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...of-sexual-assault_us_57ffae1fe4b0162c043a7212

The President of the United States was recorded boasting about sexually abusing women before the election and STILL got in.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Great post, and exactly that thought ran through my mind when his wife spoke out at the beginning of the week. I just thought "you gutless cow"


Not really "funny" at all, as much as perfectly understandable. An all-powerful misogynistic sex-pest abuses his power to take advantage of attractive professional nobodies and gets his comeupppance when the tables are turned - hardly rocket science why that is the case. Would you rather these actresses kept quiet once they were so well known that they felt empowered enough to speak out? Or is "funny" according to you that powerless kids didn't speak out against Jimmy Savile at the time, but did so when they turned into adults?

Some difference between a naive adolescent, way off maturity and a grounded woman in her twenty or thirties, who chooses to do nothing at the time. Hopefully, this case will give others the courage to speak up earlier in the future rather than fear industry backlash/condemnation and subsequent career damage.

 

[Bakero]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/books-used-books-textbooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=266239

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The President of the United States was recorded boasting about sexually abusing women before the election and STILL got in.

Slimeball's going down for sex crimes tho, hopefully in his lifetime, else a la Savile...

 

[spring hall convert]

Slimeball's going down for sex crimes tho, hopefully in his lifetime, else a la Savile...

I think he'll be found dead fairly soon. I assume he knows where a lot of bodies are buried.

 

[pearl]

Wouldnt be surprised if he tops himself, rather than face the music.

or gets shot

 

[Mo Gosfield]

You are are in effect condoning it with a post that lacks any understanding.

Often it takes one person to stand up to encourage others to be brave enough to do so as well. I worked for a company where something a director did effected me very directly and badly ( to the point of needing counselling and drinking too much ). I went to the rest of the board and also raised a formal grievance. Once the rest of the company had heard what was happening a number of women came forward and raised formal grievances against the same director ranging from sexual assault, through inappropriate behaviour to bullying. It was someone standing up to this director that emboldened others to tell their stories. Exactly as is happening here. I hope Wienstein gets everything he deserves and the women get some relief from the secrets they have kept for so long.

I am not condoning it. I am saddened that it took so long to expose him.
As a young schoolboy, I was a member of a sports team that suffered from an abuse problem. I knew something wasn't right and that I had to say something. The individual involved was a high ranking official in the County. Highly respected, with much influence. I spoke to my father about the issue and he was shocked. He went to see the individual concerned, told him that he was withdrawing me from his club and the reason for doing so. I know my father spoke to other parents.
I am not sure how long it took for others to take up the cudgel but eventually this man's career waned and he was arrested by the police. I may have appeared clumsy and insensitive in my post but I always feel uncomfortable when I hear of abusers getting away with things for too long and this is one such case.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Some difference between a naive adolescent, way off maturity and a grounded woman in her twenty or thirties, who chooses to do nothing at the time. Hopefully, this case will give others the courage to speak up earlier in the future rather than fear industry backlash/condemnation and subsequent career damage.

Jane Fonda was interviewed and asked why she didn't speak up and she was forced to say she was a coward. It just shows the strength of power someone like HW wielded if someone as powerful and righteous as Fonda couldn't do it. It happens in all spheres of life and it's bad.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I am saddened that it took so long to expose him.

And I am saddened that that is the way the Casting Couch system has always worked. Weinstein's a repulsive creep abusing his position of power, make no mistake, but there are a thousand others who were/are doing exactly the same thing.

 

[Simster]

Some difference between a naive adolescent, way off maturity and a grounded woman in her twenty or thirties, who chooses to do nothing at the time. Hopefully, this case will give others the courage to speak up earlier in the future rather than fear industry backlash/condemnation and subsequent career damage.

Hmmm, I'd agree that there is a huge difference between a child and a grounded woman in terms of how culpable the perpetrator is, but the principle of a powerful man abusing his power to take advantage of a less powerful victim is exactly the same. Ultimately in both cases, if the victim was as powerful as the accused, those crimes wouldn't happen.

And unfortunately, I don't see how any of this is going to encourage others to speak up earlier because this isn't an example of that happening sadly.

 

[marlowe]

If you had read my post a little more carefully, you would have understood that I was referring to the history of the motion picture/modelling industry and not specifically to the Harvey Weinstein case. I hold by my view, that over the years, many of the most famous actresses were victims of the casting couch but kept their counsel for fear of damaging their careers.

But your opening paragraph did refer very specifically to the Harvey Wenstein case as you can see below. Also just because a small minority of actresses willing succumb to the casting couch it doesn't mean they all do or want to.

Funny how a number of actresses/models on the way up in their careers said and did nothing at the time. Now that Weinstein's influence has waned and their careers have strengthened, all of sudden there is a rush to accuse.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I wonder how many other producers who have made generous use of the casting couch are now sh1tting themselves?

 

[Bakero]

Not in my book it doesn't. You are way off beam with that comment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/books-used-books-textbooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=266239

Maybe you can find yourself a new book here, Mo.