Harvey Weinstein

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Harvey Weinstein in 2014.
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Harvey Weinstein (1952–) is an American former film producer, having cofounded MiramaxWikipedia with his brother Bob WeinsteinWikipedia in 1979 and later founding The Weinstein Company,Wikipedia which was known for its attempts at Oscar bait, in 2005. Today, however, he is much more famous for being a convicted sex offender, with over eighty women accusing him of sexual assault,[1] with either him or Bill CosbyWikipedia being considered the first domino to fall in the MeToo movement. As a result, he was forced out of his company and he was sentenced to 16 years of prison in California on top of 23 more years in New York.[2] He was also known to have donated to liberal causes, causing no end of embarrassment to certain Democrats.

Abuse[edit]

Weinstein is notorious for how he used his power and influence to sexually abuse women. In 2017, journalist Ronan FarrowWikipedia wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning[3] article for The New Yorker that detailed some of Weinstein's abuse, with accusations ranging from unwanted groping to forced oral sex.[4] Weinstein was also known to have used his power to blacklist actresses who had rejected his advances.[5] Weinstein also paid off his accusers for decades in order to cover up the allegations.[6]

His behavior towards men is little better, as he has publicly physically assaulted several of them.[7] He's also notorious for cutting scenes from films without the directors' permission, meaning he was already hated by a lot of film fans for that reason alone.[8] It can be surprising that Weinstein was able to last so long, especially as according to multiple of his victims his behavior was an "open secret",[4] however it shows how powerful people can use their influence to get away with massive amounts of abuse.

Liberal donations[edit]

For a while, Weinstein was one of the most prolific donors to liberal causes, donating over two million dollars to Democrats.[9] Notoriously, Weinstein was also close friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton.[10] As the Weinstein scandal broke at around the same time as the origin of QAnon, suffice to say that it was not a good look for the Democratic Party. One of Weinstein's victims, Rose McGowan,Wikipedia announced she was no longer a Democrat while campaigning for Larry Elder as a result of the abuse from liberals like Harvey,[11] after all, it's not as if Republicans have ever protected sexual predators.Do You Believe That? Some Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren have given away their donations from Harvey Weinstein to charity, but unfortunately by then the damage was done.[12]

See also[edit]

  • Hollywood values
  • Jeffrey Epstein, another large-scale sexual predator known for his connections to Bill Clinton. Released court documents have shown that Weinstein and Epstein were, at the very least, acquainted.[13]
  • Melvil Dewey, the Harvey Weinstein before Harvey Weinstein

References[edit]

  1. Harvey Weinstein Accusers: Over 80 Women Now Claim Producer Sexually Assaulted or Harassed Them, Janice Williams, Newsweek 30 October 2017
  2. Harvey Weinstein sentenced in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for sexual assault charges, Eric Levenson and Cheri Mossburg, CNN 24 February 2023
  3. Alum Ronan Farrow’s Reporting for The New Yorker Wins Pulitzer, Bard College at Simon Rock
  4. 4.0 4.1 From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories, Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker 10 October 2017
  5. Peter Jackson seems to confirm Weinstein blacklisted Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd, Daniel Arkin, NBC News 15 December 2017
  6. Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, The New York Times 5 October 2017
  7. Harvey Weinstein is also a jerk. That alone should have gotten him fired., Emily Yoffe, The Washington Post 20 October 2017
  8. Ten Examples of Films That Were Drastically Affected by "Harvey Scissorhands", Bill Gibron, Pop Matters 24 June 2014
  9. Harvey Weinstein has donated over $1 million to Democrats since 2000 – here are some of the biggest names, Allan Smith and Skye Gould, Business Insider 10 October 2017
  10. We Need to Talk About Hillary Clinton’s Disturbing Harvey Weinstein Ties, Cassie Da Costa, The Daily Beast 29 February 2020
  11. Rose McGowan calls the Democrats a ‘cult,’ says people should evaluate their beliefs, Christie D’zurilla, Los Angeles Times 27 April 2021
  12. Democrats give political donations from Harvey Weinstein away to charities, PBS 6 October 2017
  13. Epstein’s Creepy Phone Logs Show Calls From Harvey Weinstein, Schoolgirls, Kate Briquelet and Noah Kirsch, The Daily Beast 5 January 2024