Harvey Weinstein: fall of Hollywood player they once called ‘God’

[EnterpriseSovereign]

On the day before news officially broke of alleged sexual harassment stretching back decades, Harvey Weinstein, the 65-year-old movie mogul, offered this comment: “The story sounds so good I want to buy the movie rights.”

In its blend of the glib, the acquisitive and plain braggadocio, it seemed an incredible response to a potentially career-ending exposé. Yet those familiar with the man Meryl Streep called “God” at the 2012 Golden Globes, know that he’s defined by an attitude of infallibility. In 2000, having allegedly assaulted a young reporter at a crowded party, Weinstein is said to have screamed: “It’s good I’m the fucking sheriff of this fucking lawless piece-of-shit town.” (Though several photographers were present, no images surfaced.) With more than 300 Oscar nominations to his name, he is one of the most powerful men in Hollywood,– a formidable, even unrivalled mix of art, celebrity, politics, money and power.

Full article here.

[Lonestar]

Man who knew that the Hollywood culture that continues to embrace Roman Polanski would also hush up Weinstein.

[K. A. Pital]

Good riddance to one of the rich motherfuckers' lives.

[Crazedwraith]

Would it be better if victims came forward? Yes. It is reasonable to condemn for not going coming forward? Not really.

Does condemning the victim of an entirely different incident more than the actual perpetrator of multiple sex crimes the thread us about make you look like an asshat? Yes, yes it does.

[TheFeniX]

What incentive did Crews have to come forward before now? He's built like a brick shithouse, many would believe he's not capable of being assaulted in that way, those that did wouldn't think it's a big deal. I've had my ass groped at a bar. The girl was fairly attractive and my friends, who saw it, said "dude, why did you walk away?" Maybe because girls who say "hi" with an assgrab aren't my thing.

I didn't feel violated. It didn't make me uncomfortable. It just annoyed the shit out of me. Still doesn't make what she did acceptable.

What incentive do those people who took the hush money have/had to come forward? To risk total social and professional destruction in a long drawn out legal battle where every little thing they've ever done or didn't do has a light shined on it, for what? AT BEST, the guy/gal gets a slap on the wrist, continues business as usual, and they get little to nothing in return.

Take the money and run. Up until the U.S. gets over it's problem with sexual issues in the first place. Sure, more people falling on their sword for the cause would speed it up, but to demand they reopen old wounds and risk destroying their ability to make living to be deserving of some sympathy is pretty fucked up.

[Elfdart]

Some of the posters over at Jezebel make two very compelling points:

1) These victims were GIRLS, mostly in their late teens/early 20s. So busting their chops for not going nuclear the instant Weinstein strolled out in a bathrobe is stupid and cruel.

2) Gwyneth Paltrow, Mira Sorvino, Angelina Jolie, Asia Argento and Ashley Judd all come from show business families, so if he was willing to pull this shit on them and they were afraid to come forward out of fear of retaliation, then no wonder the others were more afraid. The best part:

If Blythe Danner’s daughter and John Voight’s daughter didn’t feel comfortable speaking up for fear of repercussions, what does that tell you about the level of power Harvey Weinstein had over the entertainment industry? I hope this illustrates for people how deep this guy’s power was. I hope people stop putting blame on the women who were harassed for not saying anything sooner. The blame is solely on Harvey Weinstein and anyone who helped cover it up not the victims who were too afraid to speak.

I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of the talent agencies get a well-deserved kick in the balls over this. Supposedly they represent the actresses, but they sent these girls to Weinstein's HOTEL ROOM to discuss landing parts in his movies? Setting up your client to get harassed/molested and then charging them 30% and up? That is fucked up on several levels.

[Alyrium Denryle]

This thread has been cleansed. JLTucker's ridiculous bile has been split to HoS (sorry other folks, your posts too for the sake of context and preservation) and further mod/admin action will be taken as appropriate.

[Gandalf]

This whole thing has inspired others to come out with their experiences with other (somewhat) powerful people. As a result, more than a few women have come forward with their experiences with Honest Trailers co-creator Andy Signore.

Here's an article on the subject. I won't quote the whole thing because there's twitter screengrabs and such at the source.

On 6 October, two other women made accusations of sexual misconduct against Signore. April Dawn said in a statement on Twitter that Signore had tried to sexually assault her on multiple occasions, and had threatened to fire her boyfriend, an engineer at Screen Junkies, if she spoke out. Dawn says that she and an unidentified woman had contacted the company’s HR department about Signore’s behaviour two months ago, but her claims were not taken seriously. “All they’ve done is protect him,” she wrote. A third woman, Devin Murphy, has claimed that Signore had made sexual overtures towards her and tried to meet her on several occasions.

[JLTucker]

I want to publicly apologize for my vitriol and content-free posts. I did engage in victim blaming even while knowing the potential ramifications that could happen to these women.

[Dalton]

lol. I'm pretty sure no one would have come forward if the current stories of prominent film bloggers weren't being accused.

Edit: And fuck Terry Crews. He was assaulted last year but didn't say anything. He would have been fine saying something.

Great job on your straw mans, bro. Want a medal? It’s pretty cool that you think I think the women are to blame for their sexual assaults.

Do me a favor: next time there’s a large event in Vegas, be sure to get a ticket and attend.

You had your second chance. You blew it.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

7 years to the day. Some people never change.

The New York Police Department is looking into an allegation dating from 2004 and is reviewing whether there are any additional complaints.

London's Met Police has received an allegation of sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s.

Weinstein has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex.

The New York Police Department said it was "looking to speak" to an individual who had made an allegation dating from 2004.

Assistant Commissioner J Peter Donald said: "Based on information referenced in published news reports, the NYPD is conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints relating to the Harvey Weinstein matter.

"No filed complaints have been identified as of this time."

The force also appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

The Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, said it had been passed the allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police.

A Merseyside Police statement said it "can confirm a report was received at 8.40am on Wednesday (11 October 2017) of an alleged sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s".

The investigations come as more women publicly accuse Weinstein of inappropriate behaviour, sexual harassment or assault.

Rest of the article here.

[Broomstick]

The problem is that Mr. Weinstein's conception of "consensual" is of the sort that if a person has a gun held to their head when asked "will you give my your wallet?" and gives the gunholder his wallet Mr. Weinstein would deem that "consensual" because the wallet-holder physically handed over the wallet. As opposed to having the wallet removed from a pocket by someone else, or refusing and getting a bullet in the brain.

Someone failed to impress upon him that "coercion" and "consent" are two different words and mean two different things.

[TheFeniX]

This whole thing has inspired others to come out with their experiences with other (somewhat) powerful people. As a result, more than a few women have come forward with their experiences with Honest Trailers co-creator Andy Signore.

He's Gone. Best that can be expected. This was a bit (understatement) worse than complaining about dongles.

[TheFeniX]

NeoGaf had/is having it's own set of issues. Seems the owner is being accused of sexual harassment as well. There was a moderator and user "revolt" as the site, from what I've read, is pretty hostile toward this type of shit. They shut down over the weekend and have come back online to try and get things under control.

[The Romulan Republic]

Some of the posters over at Jezebel make two very compelling points:

1) These victims were GIRLS, mostly in their late teens/early 20s. So busting their chops for not going nuclear the instant Weinstein strolled out in a bathrobe is stupid and cruel.

2) Gwyneth Paltrow, Mira Sorvino, Angelina Jolie, Asia Argento and Ashley Judd all come from show business families, so if he was willing to pull this shit on them and they were afraid to come forward out of fear of retaliation, then no wonder the others were more afraid. The best part:

If Blythe Danner’s daughter and John Voight’s daughter didn’t feel comfortable speaking up for fear of repercussions, what does that tell you about the level of power Harvey Weinstein had over the entertainment industry? I hope this illustrates for people how deep this guy’s power was. I hope people stop putting blame on the women who were harassed for not saying anything sooner. The blame is solely on Harvey Weinstein and anyone who helped cover it up not the victims who were too afraid to speak.

I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of the talent agencies get a well-deserved kick in the balls over this. Supposedly they represent the actresses, but they sent these girls to Weinstein's HOTEL ROOM to discuss landing parts in his movies? Setting up your client to get harassed/molested and then charging them 30% and up? That is fucked up on several levels.

You know, when you put it that way, it makes me wish we could charge the talent agents for being pimps.

[Elfdart]

A class-action lawsuit would hit them in two places where it really hurts:

1) The wallet. They would almost certainly be forced to settle as quickly as possible, otherwise...

2) How would you like to an agent who is shown in publicly available legal documents (the kind TMZ and Deadline eat up) as someone who sets up clients to be harassed, groped and RAPED -and charges the victim a percentage?

I see Gloria Allred is already representing one woman who says Weinstein molested her. I hope she takes him to the cleaners.

[Gandalf]

I see Gloria Allred is already representing one woman who says Weinstein molested her. I hope she takes him to the cleaners.

I find myself wondering if anyone will spring for any of his defence, or if he'll be hung out to dry.

Thankfully, he can't exactly run out the clock like Cosby seems to be doing.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I see Gloria Allred is already representing one woman who says Weinstein molested her. I hope she takes him to the cleaners.

I find myself wondering if anyone will spring for any of his defence, or if he'll be hung out to dry.

Thankfully, he can't exactly run out the clock like Cosby seems to be doing.

With a net worth of at least $150 million, like the late Michael Jackson, Harvey Wankstain can afford the best lawyers in the world in his defence. Historical sex abuse charges are always difficult to prove owing to the difficulty of acquiring evidence on something that happened years if not decades ago. This was highlighted all too well when the allegations regarding one Jimmy Savile came to light.

[Dragon Angel]

Eh, no matter what happens to him in the legal arena, he's more or less done now in the public sphere. Like Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, and Bill O'Reilly, he will become a meme to display to everyone how big men in big positions can turn out to be the grossest, most abusive assholes this planet has ever known. I guess I can be satisfied ... somewhat with that knowledge.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Eh, no matter what happens to him in the legal arena, he's more or less done now in the public sphere. Like Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, and Bill O'Reilly, he will become a meme to display to everyone how big men in big positions can turn out to be the grossest, most abusive assholes this planet has ever known. I guess I can be satisfied ... somewhat with that knowledge.

And some are elected regardless

[Flagg]

Eh, no matter what happens to him in the legal arena, he's more or less done now in the public sphere. Like Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, and Bill O'Reilly, he will become a meme to display to everyone how big men in big positions can turn out to be the grossest, most abusive assholes this planet has ever known. I guess I can be satisfied ... somewhat with that knowledge.

And some are elected regardless

Yeah, I’m waiting for a Trumper to point to this sack of runny shitfoam as a defense when the fact that our President is a pedophile rapist is brought up without any sense of how damning such a comparison is. If it hasn’t happened already.

But more on topic: I hope dickweasels like Weinstein, Cosby, Ailes, and to infinity and beyond being outed as the waste of perfectly good organs that they are is a sign of progress. Not holding my breath, though.

[Gandalf]

Another shitlord gone; this time it's Mark Halperin.

Mark Halperin, the prominent political journalist accused of sexually harassing multiple women while he was political director at ABC News, issued a lengthy apology on Friday for “conduct that was often aggressive and crude”.

“The world is now publicly acknowledging what so many women have long known: Men harm women in the workplace … For a long time at ABC News, I was part of the problem,” Halperin wrote on Twitter. “I acknowledge that, and I deeply regret it.”

Halperin is one of many powerful men who have been accused of sexual harassment or other misconduct in the weeks since the New York Times and New Yorker reported on years of alleged sexual harassment and assault by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

In his statement, Halperin said: “Some of the allegations that have been made against me are not true.”

However, he added: “Toward the end of my time at ABC News, I recognized I had a problem. No one had sued me, no one had filed a human resources complaint against me, no colleague had confronted me. But I didn’t need a call from HR to know that I was a selfish, immature person, who was behaving in a manner that had to stop.”

On Wednesday, CNN reported that five women had shared accounts of being harassed by the veteran political reporter during his tenure at ABC News. By Thursday, Halperin had been suspended by MSNBC, where he is a contributor. Halperin was also dropped by Penguin Press, which was publishing his and his fellow journalist John Heilemann’s account of the 2016 presidential campaign, and HBO, which planned to produce a movie version of the book.

The CNN report included anonymous allegations that Halperin had kissed female employees, grabbed one woman’s breasts, and pressed his erect penis against three women’s bodies, all without consent. Halperin denied the allegations of grabbing breasts and pressing his erection against women, but acknowledged that his “behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain”.

Since the CNN report was published, several women have gone on the record with allegations of harassment, including Eleanor McManus, formerly a senior producer for Larry King Live, and Lara Setrakian, who wrote in the Washington Post that she was a junior reporter working on ABC News’ election coverage in November 2006 when Halperin “kissed me and touched me inappropriately” during a meeting in his office.

The Washington Post on Thursday also published the accounts of nine women who alleged harassment by Halperin during his time at ABC News. The report described a pattern of coercion, in which female journalists felt they had to put up with Halperin’s behavior in order to receive desirable reporting assignments or advance in their careers.

Additional allegations surfaced Friday, when CNN reported on the accounts of four more women who said they were harassed by Halperin while he worked at ABC News. One woman told the network that Halperin had masturbated in front of her during a meeting in his office. A second woman alleged that he threw her against the window of a restaurant, then “lunged” at her in an attempt to kiss her. The woman alleged that Halperin called her soon after to threaten that she was “never going to be hired in politics or media”.

Speaking to CNN, Halperin denied masturbating in front of anyone, physically assaulting anyone, or threatening anyone.

In his statement, Halperin said that he attended counseling sessions for several years, and claimed that “did not engage in improper behavior with colleagues or subordinates” in his subsequent jobs at Time magazine, Bloomberg, NBC News and Showtime.

Halperin left ABC News in 2007.

Hopefully this leads more more scum being purged from the industry.

[Simon_Jester]

Yeah, I’m waiting for a Trumper to point to this sack of runny shitfoam as a defense when the fact that our President is a pedophile rapist is brought up without any sense of how damning such a comparison is. If it hasn’t happened already.

But more on topic: I hope dickweasels like Weinstein, Cosby, Ailes, and to infinity and beyond being outed as the waste of perfectly good organs that they are is a sign of progress. Not holding my breath, though.

I'd take it as progress, if only because twenty years ago these exact same jackasses were getting away with the exact same actions free and clear. Forty years ago, it was "business as usual," and there was to at least some degree an unspoken cultural convention that if a powerful man wasn't taking sexual advantage of women in his workplace, it was because of a personal commitment to marital fidelity, not because he could get in effect blackballed from a position of power and influence that way.

[Elfdart]

Another shitlord gone; this time it's Mark Halperin.

...and pressed his erect penis against three women’s bodies, all without consent...

Hopefully this leads more more scum being purged from the industry.

A dickless sycophant like Mark Halperin can actually get an erection? I find this part of the story hard to believe.

Speaking of shitlords:

I love how Kevin Spacey's attempt to pin a 14-year-old to a bed and rape him is being euphemized as a "sexual advance" by the media. The only differences between what Spacey is accused of doing (and which he's more or less admitted to with his bullshit "apology") and what Roman Polanski admitted to doing are:

1) Polanski used drugs to disable his victim while Spacey's victim was able to get free before he could be forcibly sodomized.

2) Polanski's victim was a 13-year-old girl as opposed to a 14-year-old boy.

I guess Spacey didn't have roofies at his disposal. Thank heaven for small favors.

And George H.W. Bush not only gropes women but makes them listen to puns first ("You know who my favorite magician is? David Cop-a-feel!"). Is there any low that is too low?

[Flagg]

Man I never would have guessed that about Spacey, which is weird since he plays creepy scumbags (apparently “himself” ) for a living.