Harvey Weinstein-the start of something?

[Derek Nimmo]

Also, apparently he tried it on with Gwyneth and she sent her then boyfriend Brad Pitt round to have it out with him. And then his best mate and good buddy George Clooney says years later this all comes as a terrible surprise to him? He has gone down in my estimation too.

Mind you, this is all going on in a town where support for Roman Polanski is the norm so...y'know.

[Dáire]

Cara Delevingne just posted her account too.

[Marth]

This is every woman. I do hope it's the start of something.

This is the boss that tried to break into my room when I worked in a bar in Greece, the boss in the pub in Portugal who used to rub his knob up behind us when he walked past, the sons of the boss in the café where I worked who used to talk about women in sexually explicit ways in front of us, the GP who gave both me and a friend a breast exam when we registered at his practice........ This is so many fucking me in positions of power. I am just freshly horrified again and again how it is not named. This is men doing this on a regular basis to women and girls.

Therefore the men who are revolted by this need to believe women and shout the loudest about how this is terrible.

[Turtle Bean]

I don't really think it is much more fair to blame male actors than female ones though, do you? I know it did not happen to them personally, and I appreciated that at least some of them must have known, but as much as a female actor's career was on the line so would a male actor's have been if they had spoken up against a powerful producer. I also think it will have been compartmentalised, so that George Clooney might well have known what had happened to Gwyneth but would not have seen the complete picture. The blame lies with the perpetrator and I think his company, as they must have covered for him.

[Turtle Bean]

Oh I see someone has already come out to say Affleck groped her breast. Live on telly apparently. Nice.

[Derek Nimmo]

My problem with him is that (a) he's said the recent revelations were a complete shock to him which I struggle to believe and (b) he's a big enough name / producer etc in his own right to have stood up way before now without fear of consequences.

Of course the vast majority of blame lies with the abuser himself, but the culture that surrounds and protects men like this, and the complicit silence around what was plainly such an open "secret" has to be addressed too.

[Derek Nimmo]

(I think. Sorry, that was pretty strident )

[Marth]

I don't really think it is much more fair to blame male actors than female ones though, do you? I know it did not happen to them personally, and I appreciated that at least some of them must have known, but as much as a female actor's career was on the line so would a male actor's have been if they had spoken up against a powerful producer. I also think it will have been compartmentalised, so that George Clooney might well have known what had happened to Gwyneth but would not have seen the complete picture. The blame lies with the perpetrator and I think his company, as they must have covered for him.

They are not to blame, but they need to speak up. It is less dangerous for men to speak up. The same way that white people can speak up about racism and not only be "heard" more, but be believed more. It's the same thing.

[Turtle Bean]

I mean LIVE ON TELLY. These men really think they are untouchable, don't they? I am going to boycott Affleck.

[Kenickie]

Yes, they'd be more likely to be listened to, and would face fewer consequences.

[Ella]

Agreed, Marth.

Affleck's long been a sleaze. The whole nanny thing only ever seemed like the tip of the iceberg.

[olive]

None of them ever take responsibility for their actions either. Any unpleasant/ inappropriate behaviour seems to be addiction of some sort; so Mark Owen has loads of affairs - he's a alcoholic, Tiger Woods - sex addict and now Weinsteins apparently a sex addict and is going to rehab. Absolute bullshit.

I also agree that there is no way that a lot of his close pals like Matt Damon didn't know it was happening.

[Marth]

None of them ever take responsibility for their actions either. Any unpleasant/ inappropriate behaviour seems to be addiction of some sort; so Mark Owen has loads of affairs - he's a alcoholic, Tiger Woods - sex addict and now Weinsteins apparently a sex addict and is going to rehab. Absolute bullshit.

I also agree that there is no way that a lot of his close pals like Matt Damon didn't know it was happening.

I thought that. "It's not that I am an over privileged sexual predator, it's because I'm unwell :sadface:"

[kiwi]

Oh god the whole sex addict thing makes me want to smash something. Apparently Weinstein wants to get therapy for his 'addiction' and then hopefully get back with his wife. I mean, what sort of arrogant wanker thinks that his wife would want to be anywhere near him after all this?

[H1ppychick]

He’s just trying to save the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ divorce settlement and alimony.

[Lily]

I don't really think it is much more fair to blame male actors than female ones though, do you? I know it did not happen to them personally, and I appreciated that at least some of them must have known, but as much as a female actor's career was on the line so would a male actor's have been if they had spoken up against a powerful producer. I also think it will have been compartmentalised, so that George Clooney might well have known what had happened to Gwyneth but would not have seen the complete picture. The blame lies with the perpetrator and I think his company, as they must have covered for him.

I agree with this. Perhaps Clooney thought it was a one-off years ago; he's not the one to be angry at.

I am gutted by this as I liked HW a lot. But obviously not any more. I am also so pleased to see women speaking out against him and being both supported by their peers and the general public. Like Kiwi I want to spit every time I read about someone going to 'counselling' to deal with their behaviour or 'sex addiction' - utter twaddle, you did it because you thought you could get away with it. A sex addict would not keep it hidden, he or she would be running down the street trying to shag fire hydrants and all sorts.

I know that Casey Affleck's behaviour is pretty well accepted. I didn't know anything about Ben. FFS.

[Leap]

After Weinstein it's the lawyers that I can't get my head around. As a firm potentially representing lots of other male, influential and blackmail-worthy clients, how many NDAs do you need to draft for the same story by different women for ONE client before you at the very least extricate yourself from business with them? I get confidentiality, but still working with them and facilitating its continuance?

I know he would always have found a big firm to back him, and I don't necessarily mean Lisa Bloom, but someone or some people did. What else is being utterly concealed because vulnerable people can be frightened off with the threat of litigation, by firms who quite happily agree to being quietly bankrolled?

I have never heard anything as sinister as that audio clip of him trying to coerce the woman into his hotel room. I feel like I want to ask everyone I meet what they thought about it so I know who to trust.

[Lily]

Where is this Leap?

[Leap]

Oh Lils, I thought it was common knowledge but I don't think you should listen to it and think that you shouldn't. I will post it as it's easily searchable but maybe listen to it in the morning? Sorry I know I'm not your mother :shame:

[Leap]

It was in Ronan Farrow's article:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... ir-stories