Why is Hollywood silent about Harvey Weinstein for so long

Seth MacFarlane, back in 2013, mentioned Weinstein’s ill fame. Photo: Depositphotos

When actor Seth MacFarlane announced the Oscar nominees for Best Supporting Actor in 2013, he made an infamous joke: “Congratulations! You five won't have to pretend to like Harvey Weinstein anymore." About it Air force.

At that time it was a rare public mention of what has now become a scandal.

This is eloquent evidence that Weinstein's alleged misdeeds were - as has been said more than once over the past week - an open secret in Hollywood.

However, how many people knew about what was happening, and why was this not discussed before?

According to MacFarlane, he spoke out after his co-star in the film "Ted" Jessica Barth told him about Weinstein's harassment two years ago.

The actress told the magazine The New Yorkerthat Weinstein was trying to convince her to give him a massage in the bed. She refused and left.

Actress Lea Seydoux, who wrote for Guardianthat Weinstein "suddenly jumped on her" in a hotel room, also recalled that the producer tried to "pressure" other young women at parties into sleeping with him.

“Everyone saw what he was doing,” she wrote. - This is the most disgusting thing. Everyone knew what Harvey was doing and no one did anything."

“It is impossible to believe that he could behave like this for decades and maintain his career. This is only possible because he had enormous power,” says the actress.

Weinstein denies having sex with women without their consent.

However, all those who worked for him knew about the accusations of obscene behavior. New York Times.

According to the publication, dozens of Weinstein's former and current employees - from assistants to top managers - "said they knew about his indecent behavior while they worked for him."

“It was not a secret among the inner circle,” Katie Declesis, a former assistant to Weinstein’s brother and business partner Bob, told the newspaper.

Several Weinstein prosecutors at once said that the subordinates of the producer appointed meetings on his behalf to young women and often accompanied them to hotel rooms, and then left alone with the producer.

Фото: Depositphotos

New York Times spoke about a young employee who quit because she was forced to organize “dates” for Weinstein. She signed a non-disclosure agreement and therefore cannot comment on the allegations.

Many are wondering why these employees did not speak out publicly about this. However, it must be borne in mind that Weinstein is one of the most powerful men and, in fact, a Hollywood legend.

In a memo cited by the publication, another former employee, Lauren O'Connor, described her experience at the company: "The balance of power is, I am a zero, Harvey Weinstein is a 10."

What about those in Hollywood and New York who were not affiliated with Weinstein's companies?

Harassment stories spread among actors, agents, and other film industry employees.

Many celebrities now say they did not know what was happening, although some had heard of the producer’s bad reputation.

Oscar nominee Annette Bening told BBC Radio that she had heard about Weinshnein's "boorishness" but was unaware of what was happening behind closed doors.

British producer Alison Owen, who worked on the films Saving Mr. Banks and Suffragette, among others, said Weinstein's behavior was an open secret.

“I haven’t heard about this from the victims themselves. But there were always stories like, 'This actress told me...' or 'Someone at Harvey's company told me...' or 'Did you hear about that intern who worked for Harvey?'” says Owain. “So they were never first-hand, but there were a lot of them.”

According to Owen, the rumors were so widespread that she did not allow young women to meet with Weinstein alone.

“If you were an actress and Harvey grabbed your breast during an audition, what would you do?” the producer says.

“You will not go to the police. They won't take you seriously. You wouldn’t call a journalist because at one point the entire media world was in Harvey’s hands and no one would speak out against Harvey Weinstein,” Owen said.

“You would only have negative consequences...Harvey would have ruined your career,” she adds.

Her sister-in-law, Laura Madden, worked for Weinstein, but never told about his molestation. Owen only found out about them. New York Times.

"That's the power of shame, I think," the producer told BBC Radio. “This is another reason why people were silent.”

Owen believes that the revelations are now known because of the emergence of a new culture. “The wind is now blowing in a different direction, people are now willing to talk on the record,” she says.

But shouldn't the media have reported suspicions before?

A number of journalists have said in recent days that they have tried. However, it was simultaneously difficult to get accusers to come forward publicly and to resist threats of lawsuits from Weinstein - as a result, the materials were never released.

Sharon Waxman, former journalist New York Times, told BBC Newsnight“, that she was doing history in 2004 and found a woman who entered into a pre-trial agreement with Weinstein.

“I was able to meet a woman who received compensation in London, but she literally did not say anything,” says Wachman.

“Actually, she just met with me and didn’t tell me anything. This is a very difficult moment. She was terrified that she might break the non-disclosure agreement,” explains the journalist.

To release the material, the media needed to have very strong evidence in the event of a lawsuit.

“If there was a negative publication about him, he would behave aggressively,” Waxman recalls.

“He used every card he could play, every tool he could to keep this story out of print. I was told that he personally came to the editorial office to talk with my superiors. I don’t know what he said, I don’t know what threats he made,” says the journalist.

Others also tried to tackle Weinstein's case. Editor Hollywood Reporter Kim Masters and columnist New York Times David Carr has already completed the preparation of the material, when their sources at the last moment gave up their words, reports New York Times.

Special Correspondent Vanity Fair Gabriel Sherman, who helped uncover the harassment of the former head Fox News Roger Ailsa, said that one of the most important evidence for the material New York Times became a memo in which Loren O'Connor raises the question of Weinstein's behavior.

“This document became one of the foundations of the investigation,” he told BBC radio.

Rebecca Treister wrote on the site of the New York magazine The Cutthat she first heard accusations against Weinstein in 2000, but the producer was too influential a figure.

“For decades, journalists attempting to tell the story of Harvey Weinstein faced the same wall of unyielding force that was used against aspiring actors, defenseless assistants, managers whose careers, salaries and reputations were in his hands.”

So for years, those in the know talked about it in whispers or, like Seth MacFarlane, as jokes—funny only because they were true.

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