Hollywood scandal

Maddye Cavanagh, News Assistant Editor

The hashtag “MeToo” has been used thousands of times on Twitter alone. This hashtag was used to encourage victims of sexual harassment and assault to come forward and know they are not alone. Dozens of actresses  and actors came forward revealing injustices within the Hollywood production industry. Over thirty women admitted they were sexually harassed by big-time producer Harvey Weinstein, and three said they were raped.

In 1979 Weinstein founded Miramax, a major production company, which Disney acquired in 1993. Due to the sexual harassment allegations, he was asked to step down from his own company.

“The toughest part of the entire negotiation has been giving up a company named after my parents,” Weinstein said. He will now hold the title of Co-Chairmen and oversee marketing and distribution.

Many women came forward to talk about their experience with Weinstein. One of those women was actress Angelina Jolie.

“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth,” Jolie said. “As a result, I chose to never work with him again and warned others when they did.”

All of these victims share a similar story. Weinstein would call them to his hotel room for a meeting, then he would appear only semi-dressed and suggested inappropriate activities. Oftentimes he would force himself onto his clients.

While many people knew of Weinstein’s behavior towards clients, they remained silent. It has been discovered that Weinstein would pay settlements to keep others quiet. He had at least eight settlements with female accusers. One victim, Rose McGowan, reached a settlement of $100,000 and recently spoke out against Weinstein through Twitter.

Numerous actresses remained silent for years out of fear of losing their career. Weinstein had promised them fame and career advancements. Actress Cara Delevingne experienced this firsthand.

“He walked me to the door and stood in front of it and tried to kiss me on the lips. I stopped him and managed to get out of the room,” Delevingne said. “I still got the part for the film and always thought he gave it to me because of what happened. Since then, I felt awful that I did the movie. I felt like I didn’t deserve the part.”

Support has flooded social media as people continue to share their experiences with sexual harassment and assault.

Maddye Cavanagh

News Assistant Editor