Case 2-6 The Normalization of Unethical Behavior: The Harvey Weinstein Case On October 5, 2017, New York Times investigative reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey broke the story Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades.1 Harvey Weinstein was one of the most powerful and influential movie executives in Hollywood. Weinstein co-founded both the Weinstein Company and

Miramax Films. His movies have garnered over 300 Oscar nominations. Ronan Farrow suggests in his article,

From Aggressive Overtures To Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinteins Accusers Tell Their Stories, that Weinstein has

been publicly thanked at award ceremonies more than anyone else in movie history (with the exception of Steven

2 sexual assault and rape.

Spielberg and God).

The allegations against Weinstein span three decades and range from sexual harassment to

Kantors and Twoheys report found at least eight women in which Weinstein entered into settlement agreements with to presumably keep from pursuing any further legal action against him. The release of this article resulted in a flood of women coming forward and telling their stories regarding similar encounters with Weinstein. It also led to the resignation of four of the Weinstein Companies Board members and the firing of Weinstein himself. NPR inter-

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On October 10, 2017, The New Yorker published Farrows article, which corroborates what is in the report of Kantor and Twohey with three of the thirteen women he interviewed accusing Weinstein of rape. As with the Kantor and Twohey article, Farrow suggests that Weinsteins exploits were common knowledge throughout the entertainment industry. They point toward a systemic problem in the industry where people turned a blind eye to what was hap- pening and even normalized this behavior in their responses to it. In fact, Seth MacFarlane while announcing the Best Supporting Actress Nominations at the 2013 Oscars joked Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.4

One of the first women to be interviewed was Ashley Judd. The actress was interviewed by ABC News Diane Sawyer about her experiences. She expressed regret that she didnt come forward sooner about her allegations of sex- ual harassment in a hotel room years ago from Weinstein. In the segment that first aired on ABCs Good Morning America, Judd said she wished she had a magic wand that would allow her to change the past, for her and others. I wish I could prevent it for anyone, always. Judd did tell her parents and other people in Hollywood, including agents and actors, but didnt think she would be believed by going public. Who was I to tell, she said. I knew it was disgusting. Was I going to tell the concierge who sent me up to the room?5

Emboldened by what had become a scandal of epic proportions in the entertainment industry, dozens of women started to speak out and tell their story. It motivated actress Alyssa Milano to tweet a call-out to victims so we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. The hashtag #MeToo caught fire and became the rallying cry for all women similarly abused.

The bravery exhibited by these women empowered other women throughout the entertainment industry, media, and politics to step forward and finally tell their stories about gender sexual harassment, bullying, and rape. Time magazine named these brave women the 2017 Person(s) of the Year Silence Breakers the voices that launched a movement. Over the rest of 2017, we witnessed an unprecedented number of men being accused of and fired or being forced to resign because of sexual harassment allegations. These include the firing of CBS Good Morning Americas host Charlie Rose, NBCs News Anchor Matt Lauer, PBSs Tavis Smiley, and a host of other high-profile media figures. Congress had its own problems with the resignation of Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI.) and Senator Al Franken (D-MN).

Questions

1. Why do you think this type of behavior was allowed to go on for nearly thirty years?

2. What biases do you think may have played a role in the decisions made by both victims and others who were aware of Weinsteins crimes but did nothing?

3. What responsibility did the Weinstein board of directors have to the victims? What about agents who contin- ued to send their clients to meetings with him? What about the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) that claims to have a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment?

4 Is it fair to judge a person on his/her worst act after a lifetime of seemingly doing good things?