Harvey Weinstein allegations; who's next when it comes to allegations? (1 Viewer)

[Winston T. Boogie]

I see this talked about on the news and I'm not trying to get political but my understanding is that Weinstein gave about $1.5 million to political candidates over the course of about 25 years. On average, that's 'only' about $60,000 a year. He gave just under $75,000 total for the 2008, '12 and '16 elections or about $25,000 an election. Now that's a fortune for a regular guy but I can't imagine that the Presidential candidate of a major political party sees that money as any kind of major donation. In all seriousness, would a donation of that size even get you a dinner attended by and a photo with the candidate?

He worked as a "bundler" for them which means he would get large groups of the rich and famous together to collect donations of giant sums of cash...what a guy like George Clooney would admit was "obscene" amounts of money. And along with his donations to candidates he also gave money to PACs which does not show up under individual candidates because the PAC allocates the money.

So, he was a great source of cash flow for politicians which is why they were so enamored with him and he was a source to glean endorsements from celebrities. Harvey could deliver. There are limits to what an individual can contribute to a candidate which is why they form PACs which allows for more money to flow when an individual has reached the limit of what they can contribute.

I don't think it is "political" to discuss this it is just the business of how it works...it's bad business and should be stopped but it is currently legal.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

True, you can't act on rumors alone. But there's a difference between that and claiming you had no idea. And the big politicians should definately have exercised better judgement about accepting large donations from someone with such an unsavory reputation (though politicians generally never were ones to think they weren't above reproach as well). And even if it wasn't Harvey, the concept of the casting couch is nothing new. Hollywood execs who abuse their power in this way shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

I guess it really comes down to Hollywood just being a cesspool. People with too much money and too much power and the rest afraid to merely fart in the wrong direction.

Well, I mean what do you expect them to say "Oh, yeah I knew all along Harvey was abusing young women!"

They are not going to say that and they will be advised to just say "Wow, I had no idea." any time the question comes up and then to denounce the behavior in the next sentence. That's what their lawyers, their publicists, and agents will tell them they have to say.

Yes, it is an industry where you can kill your career if you say stuff about other people in the industry and sure, there are lots of dirty secrets and Harvey was neither the first nor the last that did something like this. I would not tar and feather everybody in the industry though. Like any other industry there is good and bad and I think the important thing is they got one of the bad guys. The sad thing is it took years but they got him. That's about the only victory to be had with this and maybe it will influence some other people not to attempt this kind of thing.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

All I'm saying, she gave those interviews before this scandal broke. So I tend to believe it was never a real thing in the first place.

I think the story that she put Harvey's name on her ass for a gag is true...if it was done by a make-up artist or a tattoo artist I think does not really matter. It was done as a gag to make Harvey laugh...while the guy was abusing young women who probably would not have found Judi's joke amusing. And I would guess here that Judi was not Harvey's type so when she dropped her panties to show him the real or fake tattoo Harv did not stand up and start jerking off...instead he probably had a young actress sent up later and asked her to stand there while he jerked off.

 

[WillG]

They are not going to say that and they will be advised to just say "Wow, I had no idea." any time the question comes up and then to denounce the behavior in the next sentence. That's what their lawyers, their publicists, and agents will tell them they have to say.

Sure, but that doesn't mean I necessarily believe it. And I think some have been coming out and admitting that they had heard rumors and knew that Harvey had a "distinctive" personality. Again, that type of behavior should come as a surprise to no one in the industry, especially from a guy with a very well known reputation for being an asshole.

 

[Ruz-El]

I think the reason for the silence is there's so much more that can come out. Child pedo ring that Cory Feldman talked about, and Bryan Singer is rumoured to be involved in. The island that everyone from Trump to Bill Clinton is rumoured to have visited. Never mind the legit escorts and what not.

This Weinstein bit could be the tip of the iceberg.

 

[DaveF]

Us Moderators have been discussing if and how this sort of thread belongs on HTF. The concern is twofold: whether tabloid-news topics fit HTF's overarching mission, and that this type of thread often becomes a dumpster fire of a discussion.

The thread has remained good overall and it's remaining open (though it may be moved to After Hours Lounge).

Things to stay away from:

• Don't engage in speculation or invented storytelling about what might or might not have been done, especially regarding sexual acts.
• Don't attack other members.
• Stay out of politics (and religion).
• General Hollywood / Liberal / Conservative / Etc bashing is not recommended.

Problematic posts will be deleted without warning. Problematic members will be banned from the thread. And the thread will be closed if necessary.

So far this thread is going pretty well, and I'm hopeful it can run a normal course.

Thanks!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tippi Hedren: Alfred Hitchcock sexually assaulted her on the set of Marnie, and threatened to destroy her career after she refused to work with him on future projects.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Us Moderators have been discussing if and how this sort of thread belongs on HTF. The concern is twofold: whether tabloid-news topics fit HTF's overarching mission, and that this type of thread often becomes a dumpster fire of a discussion.

So far this thread is going pretty well, and I'm hopeful it can run a normal course.

Thanks!

Well, it has become much more than a tabloid story due to the wide net cast by Weinstein. Politics does have a part to play because he made a point of being involved with politicians and then there are the aspects of the story that reach into how the media covers this. NBC declined to run the story when they had it and the media in general stayed away from it. NBC also failed to run a story that involved somebody very central to our political lives right now that also revolved around the sexual harassment of women and girls...and like Weinstein, they had him on tape making incriminating statements. Chose not to report both of these stories and let somebody else break them.

This is, I think, much bigger than actors and actresses not speaking out...reporters and news organizations are paid to tell us these things and we rely on them as the Fourth Estate. We need them to provide information to the public so we can make informed decisions. I think it is fair to ask why did they choose not to report this? Why was this story kicked up the chain to executives to decide if the story should be reported? Executives that normally would not be making that call and were expected not to be part of deciding what stories are news that should be reported.

The reason this story broke finally is because the NYPD got Weinstein on tape thanks to a brave woman that he harassed and groped wearing a wire and going back to see him...and she got him to admit on tape he groped her as he continued to try to convince her to come into his hotel room for another round. Add this to some good investigative reporting that uncovered all the payouts his companies had to make to women Harvey harassed and somebody was going to end up reporting this.

So, this is bigger than just Hollywood producer uses the casting couch to pressure women into sex...it is about how investigative journalism is vitally important to our society too. How good reporting and honest police work can take down the rich and powerful and they are not above the law.

There were good cops and good journalists that got this done and that is a beautiful thing. Weinstein used his power to prey on those weaker than him and this is not an uncommon thing...it does not just happen in the entertainment industry. We see it happen again and again in all kinds of industries (Healthcare and Financial being two that come up a lot these days) and the most attractive thing about this story is even though it took years...we got one of the bad guys.

 

[TravisR]

^ Great post. I'm sure it wasn't your intent but your last 4 paragraphs loosely describe The Wire (especially the, in my opinion misunderstood, last season).

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

^ Great post. I'm sure it wasn't your intent but your last 4 paragraphs loosely describe The Wire (especially the, in my opinion misunderstood, last season).

Sadly, I have not yet delved into The Wire and I know I should remedy that at some point. I've seen clips from it and it always looks like a fantastic show.

 

[DaveF]

Well, it has become much more than a tabloid story due to the wide net cast by Weinstein. Politics does have a part to play because he made a point of being involved with ...

So, this is bigger than just Hollywood producer uses the casting couch to pressure women into sex...it is about how investigative journalism is vitally important to our society too.
...

And these are topics (politics, role of journalism intersecting politics and social issues) that in general are not part of HTF. As you well know.

I’m not arguing this. I’m stating the rules of engagement for this thread.

Thanks for understanding and for contributing to the thread as fits HTF.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think one of the more shocking things about this story is that Weinstein is accused of behaviors that films he's personally championed have fought against. In a story filled with ugliness and pain and suffering, I don't know if there's a "right" answer for what part of this is "the worst". But the hypocrisy of it all is one of the things that stands out most to me. People pretending to be forces for good while secretly doing horrific things ends up being more shocking to me (right or wrong) than known bad people being caught being bad.

 

[skylark68]

One thing I'm curious about is whether future airings and releases of the films that bear his company name in the credits will start retroactively removing that name (especially if it changes names).

 

[Tony Bensley]

One thing I'm curious about is whether future airings and releases of the films that bear his company name in the credits will start retroactively removing that name (especially if it changes names).

My understanding is that Harvey Weinstein's brother has taken over The Weinstein Company, so I'd suspect that name will remain in place, for the time being at least.

Much more important is that those who have dealings with this concern might now no longer have to deal with the sort of reported horrific unpleasantness that has been associated with its former owner!

CHEERS!

 

[WillG]

I think one of the more shocking things about this story is that Weinstein is accused of behaviors that films he's personally championed have fought against. In a story filled with ugliness and pain and suffering, I don't know if there's a "right" answer for what part of this is "the worst". But the hypocrisy of it all is one of the things that stands out most to me. People pretending to be forces for good while secretly doing horrific things ends up being more shocking to me (right or wrong) than known bad people being caught being bad.

I'm not sure I'd personally call that shocking, I doubt that Harvey thought all that hard about that.

I'd agree with the second part of your post. It's really a black eye for all of Hollywood in a way. We've seen plenty of grandstanding out of Hollywood that they have consistently been on the forefront of social issues throughout history and yet here we are. I don't really mean to shame anyone but I must wonder how the consciences of many of these women who didn't come forward are feeling right now? Don't get me wrong, I'm not unsympathetic to their situations, coming forward against a guy like Harvey would virtually certainly be career suicide (Athough, Gwyneth and Angelina are relatively powerful as well, I'm not so sure that Harvey could have crushed them) but there is something to be said for the notion that for every victim of Harvey who didn't come forward there is some "blood" of everyone who came after them on their hands. It really does seem like a Kobayashi Maru though. I guess Hollywood needs to do better. The powerful people need to try to foster an environment where victims of this type of sexual abuse can come forward without fear of being blacklisted. Maybe some kind of coalition that provides work to smaller actresses that do come forward against people like Harvey. But do I expect anything to really change? No. Because the reality is that Harver was neither the first, nor will be the last. Others like him are not going to just grow a conscience over this.

 

[TravisR]

But do I expect anything to really change? No. Because the reality is that Harver was neither the first, nor will be the last. Others like him are not going to just grow a conscience over this.

I'm too much of a cynic to think that people will suddenly start acting right but I do think the days of the fairly open secret scumbag have ended in Hollywood. Simply because the fear of being the next Harvey Weinstein will help keep powerful people in check to some degree now. The way it should work is that people choose to treat everyone with respect because it's the right thing to do but I guess you have to take a win where you can get it.

 

[WillG]

I'm too much of a cynic to think that people will suddenly start acting right but I do think the days of the fairly open secret scumbag have ended in Hollywood. Simply because the fear of being the next Harvey Weinstein will help keep powerful people in check to some degree now. The way it should work is that people choose to treat everyone with respect because it's the right thing to do but I guess you have to take a win where you can get it.

Could be that or just back to business as usual once this thing does down (and possibly being careful to check women for a wire first)

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Amazon Studios just suspended Roy Price for sexually harassing a female producer...so we are probably looking at some changes in how business will be conducted.

 

[Edwin-S]

I think the interesting thing about this is how it suddenly only becomes an issue when he and his studio stop making money; the only measure that Hollywood uses to gauge success. As long as he was making money, he was able to get away with his behavior. He stops making money and his studio is perceived to be on a downward course and now it is okay to stab him with their steely knives.

 

[Brent Reid]

They may stab it with their steely knives, but they just won't kill the beast...
Nothing will ever change. I'm always particularly sickened at the staggering list of A-list actors queuing up to work with that fêted child rapist, Roman Polanski. Just take a look at the men and women who have flown all around the world to star in his films, just so the disgusting pervert can avoid US justice. Hypocrites and enablers, every last one of them.