Film producer Harvey Weinstein has recently faced sexual harassment allegations from actresses in Hollywood. The New York Times broke the story on October 5, releasing an article compiling allegations against the movie producer spanning almost three decades. With new details emerging from this scandal, people in the entertainment industry are now coming forward with their personal experiences with this issue. Many feel this not only brings the problems with the entertainment industry to light, but also further demonstrates how often issues such as these are neglected and swept under the rug.
As of October 13, Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment by 22 women in the industry. Weinstein was a big influence in Hollywood and was even influential in the campaign of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He was a big campaign donor for Clinton during the election and questions have risen regarding whether or not the former Secretary of State knew about his misconduct.
Many famous faces in the industry are attached to this scandal including superstars Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. Paltrow worked with Weinstein on “Shakespeare in Love,” a movie that many said jumpstarted Paltrow’s career. During the filming of Jane Austen’s adaptation of “Emma,” Paltrow claimed she was harassed by the movie producer. Paltrow explained her emotions about the incident to The New York Times.
“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” Paltrow said in interview. “I thought he was going to fire me.”
Students like junior Elyssa Garson are angry about the news with Weinstein. Garson believes that the way Weinstein treated women in Hollywood was horrific and terrible for everyone involved.
“The amount of women that have gone public with their personal accounts of sexual harassment with Harvey Weinstein is outrageous because no one should be treated that way,” Garson said.
While Weinstein hasn’t been formally charged, he’s been getting judged by the public. With many people in Hollywood speaking out against him and condemning his actions, Weinstein has fallen hard in the hearts of his previous colleagues. Actor George Clooney, who previously worked with Weinstein on multiple films, was quick to shame Weinstein for his actions.
“It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with,” Clooney said in an interview with the Daily Beast. “Harvey’s admitted to it, and it’s indefensible. I’ve known Harvey for 20 years. He gave me my first big break as an actor in films on From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior—ever.”
Many have gone to Twitter to express their disappointment with the current state of the industry and how this kind of issue is handled. Actor Terry Crews shared his experience on Twitter with an unnamed movie executive, proving that this issue doesn’t only impact women, but could happen to anyone in the industry.
“This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME,” Crews said.
As this scandal gets bigger and bigger, it’s encouraging more and more victims of sexual harassment to speak out. This scandal sheds some light on how much we don’t know about Hollywood. At the end of the day, freshman Emily Horan thinks Weinstein’s actions are despicable.
“The way Harvey Weinstein treated women was extremely unacceptable,” Horan said.
