WASHINGTON: On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published a bombshell investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against one of Hollywood’s giants, Harvey Weinsteinwho had until then proved untouchable despite rumors of misconduct.
The article proved to be a watershed moment, sparking what quickly became known as the #MeToo movement.
Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey wrote about a subject that was talked about wildly in Hollywood circles, but never discussed in public: that the legendary producer behind “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction” had promised to help career of actresses in exchange for sex. favors, attempted to massage several of them in hotel rooms and forced them to stare at him naked, then used his power to silence them.
The two journalists had been working on the article for months, using all their patience and ingenuity to convince the actresses to speak up.
The claims were so damning that it took Harvey Weinstein just days to be fired from the company that bore his name. He tried to apologize “sincerely”, pleading that he grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, “when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different”.
His lawyers, for their part, tried to minimize the damage. But the momentum was on, and the downfall of this once all-powerful mogul, who had organized fundraisers for the likes of Hillary Clinton, was dizzying.
On October 10, another article followed in the New Yorker magazine, written by Ronan Farrow, who had also spent several months investigating.
Italian actress Asia Argento and two other women have claimed they were raped by the co-founder of Miramax studios.
As the days passed, others began to open. One by one, the main actresses told their own stories or pledged their support for the victims.
Then on October 15, a tweet from actress Alyssa Milano lit the fuse on social media.
She, too, had read the avalanche of articles that followed the revelations about Weinstein.
“If you have been harassed or sexually assaulted write ‘me too’ in response to this tweet,” the ‘Charmed’ star wrote.
His post sparked a deluge of testimonials from people from all walks of life, many of whom said they were sharing their experience in public for the first time.
In the wake of the Weinstein revelations, the #MeToo hashtag has spread like wildfire around the world: #quellavoltache (this time) in Italy, #EnaZeda in Tunisia and #AnaKaman in Egypt (me too).
Milano helped spark the movement, but the original #MeToo hashtag was coined 11 years earlier, in 2006, by African-American activist Tarana Burke.
She had begun to use the phrase “empathy” as a way for survivors of sexual violence, especially those from marginalized communities, to connect with each other and say it out loud to the world.
“At first I freaked out,” Burke said later. “I felt a sense of dread, because something that was part of my life’s work was going to be co-opted and taken away from me and used for purposes I hadn’t originally intended.”
Milano, who says he does not know the genesis of the phrase, quickly gave the activist back what was his.
“What the #MeToo campaign really does, and what Tarana Burke has really empowered all of us to do, is put the focus back on the victims,” Milano said in an interview on “Good Morning America.”
“It’s just the beginning, and I’ve said from the beginning that it’s not just a moment, it’s a movement and movements take time,” Burke, with Milano by his side, said during the interview. a 2017 appearance on “The Today Show.” ”
Weinstein was sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison for sexual assault and rape.
Kantor, Twohey and Farrow received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the reporting that brought it down – and sparked a global toll.
The article proved to be a watershed moment, sparking what quickly became known as the #MeToo movement.
Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey wrote about a subject that was talked about wildly in Hollywood circles, but never discussed in public: that the legendary producer behind “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction” had promised to help career of actresses in exchange for sex. favors, attempted to massage several of them in hotel rooms and forced them to stare at him naked, then used his power to silence them.
The two journalists had been working on the article for months, using all their patience and ingenuity to convince the actresses to speak up.
The claims were so damning that it took Harvey Weinstein just days to be fired from the company that bore his name. He tried to apologize “sincerely”, pleading that he grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, “when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different”.
His lawyers, for their part, tried to minimize the damage. But the momentum was on, and the downfall of this once all-powerful mogul, who had organized fundraisers for the likes of Hillary Clinton, was dizzying.
On October 10, another article followed in the New Yorker magazine, written by Ronan Farrow, who had also spent several months investigating.
Italian actress Asia Argento and two other women have claimed they were raped by the co-founder of Miramax studios.
As the days passed, others began to open. One by one, the main actresses told their own stories or pledged their support for the victims.
Then on October 15, a tweet from actress Alyssa Milano lit the fuse on social media.
She, too, had read the avalanche of articles that followed the revelations about Weinstein.
“If you have been harassed or sexually assaulted write ‘me too’ in response to this tweet,” the ‘Charmed’ star wrote.
His post sparked a deluge of testimonials from people from all walks of life, many of whom said they were sharing their experience in public for the first time.
In the wake of the Weinstein revelations, the #MeToo hashtag has spread like wildfire around the world: #quellavoltache (this time) in Italy, #EnaZeda in Tunisia and #AnaKaman in Egypt (me too).
Milano helped spark the movement, but the original #MeToo hashtag was coined 11 years earlier, in 2006, by African-American activist Tarana Burke.
She had begun to use the phrase “empathy” as a way for survivors of sexual violence, especially those from marginalized communities, to connect with each other and say it out loud to the world.
“At first I freaked out,” Burke said later. “I felt a sense of dread, because something that was part of my life’s work was going to be co-opted and taken away from me and used for purposes I hadn’t originally intended.”
Milano, who says he does not know the genesis of the phrase, quickly gave the activist back what was his.
“What the #MeToo campaign really does, and what Tarana Burke has really empowered all of us to do, is put the focus back on the victims,” Milano said in an interview on “Good Morning America.”
“It’s just the beginning, and I’ve said from the beginning that it’s not just a moment, it’s a movement and movements take time,” Burke, with Milano by his side, said during the interview. a 2017 appearance on “The Today Show.” ”
Weinstein was sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison for sexual assault and rape.
Kantor, Twohey and Farrow received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the reporting that brought it down – and sparked a global toll.
