George on Weinstein

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George Clooney speaks out on Harvey Weinstein: 'It's Disturbing on a Whole Lot of Levels’

The actor-filmmaker-philanthropist opened up to Marlow Stern about the sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein and Hollywood complicity.

MARLOW STERN

10.09.17 11:15 PM ET

Academy Award winner George Clooney, who was given his first big-screen acting break by Harvey Weinstein in the 1996 film From Dusk Till Dawn, has become the latest—and most high-profile—member of Hollywood to speak out on the alleged sexual misconduct allegations against his sometime employer.

“It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with,” he says. “Harvey’s admitted to it, and it’s indefensible. I’ve known Harvey for 20 years. He gave me my first big break as an actor in films on From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior—ever.”

Clooney spoke to me at length about the allegations—as well as charges of Hollywood complicity—during a phone conversation late Monday.

His remarks come in the wake of statements released by Meryl Streepand Dame Judi Dench, two actresses who’ve won Oscars for Weinstein-shepherded films and who took the bullying movie mogul to task for allegedly preying on vulnerable young women for 30 years, resulting in at least eight settlements, according to a bombshell New York Timesexposé.

Weinstein’s accusers, among them the actress Ashley Judd, shared similar horror stories: a “business meeting” at a lavish hotel suite soon gave way to a series of sexual propositions, including watching him shower. One local TV reporter, Lauren Sivan, claimed that Weinstein cornered her in the bowels of his restaurant, told her to “be quiet,” and masturbated into a potted plant.

Weinstein, the former co-chief of Miramax, has since been fired from The Weinstein Company—which he co-founded with his brother Bob—and many of the male actors and filmmakers in particular who have benefited from the studio executive’s Oscar Midas touch, from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting) to Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), have remained alarmingly silent.

Clooney, on the other hand, was anything but.

How did you react to the Harvey Weinstein news?

I’ve heard rumors, and the rumors in general started back in the ’90s, and they were that certain actresses had slept with Harvey to get a role. It seemed like a way to smear the actresses and demean them by saying that they didn’t get the jobs based on their talent, so I took those rumors with a grain of salt. But the other part of this, the part we’re hearing now about eight women being paid off, I didn’t hear anything about that and I don’t know anyone that did. That’s a whole other level and there’s no way you can reconcile that. There’s nothing to say except that it’s indefensible.

KEVIN WINTER/IMAGEDIRECT

George Clooney, Jon Gordon and Harvey Weinstein at the premiere of 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' on Dec. 11, 2002.

The thing I’ve been seeing online is that, in the wake of Meryl Streep’s statement, and knowing that he helped guide her to an Oscar for The Iron Lady, many people are saying, “Oh, she had to know.” But that seems both incredibly speculative and unfair.

A lot of people are doing the “you had to know” thing right now, and yes, if you’re asking if I knew that someone who was very powerful had a tendency to hit on young, beautiful women, sure. But I had no ideathat it had gone to the level of having to pay off eight women for their silence, and that these women were threatened and victimized. I’ve been talking with a lot of people about this, and I don’t know many people who knew of that.

Sharon Waxman over at The Wrap said she was working on a story about Harvey over 10 years ago at The New York Times and they killed it, and if that’s true, then that’s a shameful thing because a lot of women wouldn’t have been made victims if this had come out. By the same token, I do want to say that Sharon’s been running her own influential website, The Wrap, for quite a long time, and if she did these interviews and this investigation, she didn’t run the story either, and I and a lot of other people would have liked to have known it. A good bunch of people that I know would say, “Yeah, Harvey’s a dog” or “Harvey’s chasing girls,” but again, this is a very different kind of thing. This is harassment on a very high level. And there’s an argument that everyone is complicit in it. I suppose the argument would be that it’s not just about Hollywood, but about all of us—that every time you see someone using their power and influence to take advantage of someone without power and influence and you don’t speak up, you’re complicit. And there’s no question about that.

Hollywood can be good when it comes to certain progressive causes, but this area—preying on women—seems to be a pretty major blind spot. The “casting couch” and the “creepy, lecherous producer,” these are concepts that are so firmly ingrained in the industry that they’ve become troubling clichés, and go all the way back to Golden Age studio chiefs like Louis B. Mayer and David O. Selznick.

I hear you. At the same time, I know an awful lot more people in this business who have nothing to do with that, and I suppose if I went looking I could probably find three or four names of people that I wouldsuspect of doing that. The other part of it is, I’d like to think that if someone came up to me and told me this was going on that I would go out and confront it. I’ve told this story about a night with Silvio Berlusconi, and I hadn’t told all the specifics about it before, but perhaps I should have been more graphic about how vulgar that was in a way to take some responsibility—each of us, in our own individual way—of talking about people with a lot of power using it and holding it over others in some ways.

But on the other hand, maybe that’s what good will come out of this: that not just in Hollywood, although Hollywood is now the focus, but in all of these cases the victims will feel that they will be listened to, and that they don’t need to be afraid.

This is an interesting moment. I’ve seen a lot of people, from Meryl [Streep] to Judi Dench, come out and say “holy shit,” and I think that that’s been the reaction by a lot of people in Hollywood. I don’t think that people were looking the other way; I think that people weren’tlooking, because in some ways, a lecherous guy with money picking up younger girls is unfortunately not a news story in our society.

So when you find out how much worse it is than you thought, then it’s a news story. And this is a big news story now. And I feel very bad for all of the victims. I mean, cornering a young anchorwoman in the kitchen and jerking off into a potted plant? That’s not just some rumor about Harvey hitting on a woman; it’s disturbing on a whole lot of levels, because there had to be a lot of people involved in covering that up. That’s frustrating. If politicians knew these stories, I doubt they’d have been taking donations from him at the DNC [Democratic National Committee], and I hope that they will all give the money back or donate it to good causes.

Those on the right, from Fox News to Donald Trump Jr., have used the Harvey Weinstein news as a cudgel against liberals. It’s a bit rich on Trump Jr.’s part, given the numerous allegations against his father.

Yeah, thats a little pot and kettle there, unfortunately. But I think that everything gets politicized these days. The reality is that this is a problem deeply ingrained in our society. It was something that was talked about a lot on the left with Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and Donald Trump, and it’s something that’s going to be talked about a lot on the right with Harvey Weinstein. I think that rather than politicize it, there should be talk on both sides about the really bad behavior by powerful men and the horrible acts they commit. It’s pretty crazy to me.

It is so firmly ingrained in the culture now. We just elected a man president who’s been accused of sexual misconduct by over a dozen women and was caught on tape bragging to a relative stranger about his ability to sexually assault women at will. One of the strange things about the Harvey news is it emerged around the one-year anniversary of that Trump Access Hollywood tape.

That is a funny part of it: In “liberal” Hollywood the guy loses his job, but then this other guy [Trump] gets elected president. There are a couple of good things that have to come out of this, because something good has to come out of this. One of those things is that victims have to feel safer to come out and tell their stories without the fear of losing their jobs, and they also need to be believed, which is a very important element of this. Also, this should be a shot across the bow that people in places of power cannot abuse that power, and if you do, you’ll be outed publicly, shamed, and even prosecuted. When it comes to most of the people that I know, where we’re shocked is by how bad it was. This is about show business but it isn’t just about show business—it’s about everything. We need to get to a place where we can call these people out much quicker before it becomes such a deeper, long-running problem. This apparently went on for almost 30 years.

People did know that Harvey was a terrible bully, though. It was interesting how Hollywood approached it, because he was almost treated like a caricature—the angry, bellowing studio mogul. I remember there was a character on Entourage based on him. It was treated almost like a joke.

Think about it this way, too: I had knock-down, drag-out fights with him over the years, but he was also making films that other studios weren’t willing to make, and he was making films that everybody loved, so you just put up with certain bad behavior because you felt like, well, if he yells and screams but he gets Pulp Fiction made, who cares if he yells and screams? But it’s a very different conversation when you say, it’s not that he yells and screams but that he’s cornering a young, scared lady in a restaurant and telling her to stand there and be quiet while he jerks off. That’s a very different kind of behavior, and had that been a public thing, I think there would have been some different results. I hope there would be.

Why do you think people are holding him accountable now? I wrote a piece about how there seems to be a lot more accountability surrounding issues of sexual assault and misconduct in Hollywood, and that it’s perhaps a reaction to the Cosby revelations, which served as a wake-up call for a lot of people in the entertainment media space—that in covering celebrities you can’t gloss over the dark details, otherwise you’re mildly complicit. Also, it’s so important how there are more women now in both Hollywood and newsrooms who feel empowered to speak up and hold those in power accountable.

Hopefully, this kind of behavior will end—or become harder and harder for it to continue. What’s important now is that anybody who thinks that they can get away with doing that, they now have to think: Wait, somebody can be recording this or writing a story about it. I’m going to get in a lot of trouble. That’s good, because we’ve seen this type of behavior in politics, in Silicon Valley, and in corporate America. This is a big problem in our society, that people in power are taking advantage of people not in power—particularly powerful men with young women. Maybe Cosby was the watershed moment. I think Roger Ailes was also a watershed moment, because it concerned an establishment figure up to some very shady stuff. But this isn’t a right or a left issue; this is a moralissue. We’re all going to have to be more diligent about it and look for any warning signs. Before, people weren’t paying enough attention to it. Now we have to. This is the moment to start scaring people like this into not acting this way anymore.

EOnline:

George Clooney Reacts to Harvey Weinstein Allegations: "It's Indefensible"

by MIKE VULPO | Tue, Oct 10, 2017 6:10 AM


einstein Accused of Alleged Sexual Misconduct

George Clooney is the latest A-list star speaking out about Harvey Weinstein.

Just a few days after the New York Times first went public with their investigation that featured several women coming forward and claiming sexual misconduct against the Hollywood producer, George is sharing his perspective.

 "It's indefensible. That's the only word you can start with," he said in an interview with The Daily Beast. "Harvey's admitted to it, and it's indefensible. I've known Harvey for twenty years."

George continued, "He gave me my first big break as an actor in films on From Dusk till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. We've had dinners, we've been on location together, we've had arguments. But I can tell you that I've never seen any of this behavior—ever."

According to the Times, Harvey reached at least eight settlements with various women over a span of nearly 30 years. Once the article was published, however, the producer released his own statement.

Read

Donna Karan Defends Harvey Weinstein, Asks If Women Are ''Asking for It''

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

"I came of age in the 60's and 70's, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then," he explained. "I have since learned it's not an excuse, in the office—or out of it. To anyone. I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed."

Harvey continued, "I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment."

His lawyer also called the allegations in the Times piece "false and defamatory" and said a lawsuit against the newspaper is being prepped.

Read

TV Reporter Lauren Sivan Recalls Being Sexually Harassed by Harvey Weinstein:...

Doug Peters/PA Images/INSTARimages.com

During his candid interview with Marlow Stern, George also admitted to hearing rumors about the producer for several years. He would ultimately not take the rumors too seriously.

"I've heard rumors, and the rumors in general started back in the nineties, and they were that certain actresses had slept with Harvey to get a role. It seemed like a way to smear the actresses and demean them by saying that they didn't get the jobs based on their talent, so I took those rumors with a grain of salt," George explained. "But the other part of this, the part we're hearing now about eight women being paid off, I didn't hear anything about that and I don't know anyone that did. That's a whole other level and there's no way you can reconcile that. There's nothing to say except that it's indefensible."

As for some fans who think some Hollywood stars must have known about the alleged behavior, George says it's not the case for him.

"A lot of people are doing the 'you had to know' thing right now, and yes, if you're asking if I knew that someone who was very powerful had a tendency to hit on young, beautiful women, sure," George explained. "But I had no idea that it had gone to the level of having to pay off eight women for their silence, and that these women were threatened and victimized. I've been talking with a lot of people about this and I don't know many people who knew of that." 

Ultimately, George isn't the first Hollywood star to speak out against Harvey. On social media alone, stars including Julianne Moore, Jessica Chastain, Olivia Wilde and Mark Ruffalo have been critical of the Hollywood veteran. 

Meryl Streep—who once jokingly referred to Harvey as "God" at the 2012 Golden Globes—also publicly distanced herself from the producer.

"The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes," Meryl said in a statement to E! News. "One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew."

Dailymail:

EVERYONE is complicit': Hollywood's soul-searching begins as Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Winslet and George Clooney line up to condemn movie mogul Harvey Weinstein over sex claimsClooney and Winslet spoke out after Harvey Weinstein was fired over sexual harassment allegations on Sunday Disgraced producer helped Lawrence win an Oscar with Silver Linings PlaybookHe also gave Clooney his first break on the big screen in From Dusk Till DawnClooney said: 'This is harassment on a very high level. And there’s an argument that everyone is complicit in it'Lawrence: 'I was deeply disturbed to hear the news about Harvey Weinstein's behavior. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting'They have turned on shamed movie mogul who has been fired from his own firmClooney said in an interview the problem was 'deeply ingrained in our society'  

By GARETH DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 08:58 BST, 10 October 2017 | UPDATED: 09:37 BST, 10 October 2017

George Clooney and Jennifer Lawrence have joined the condemnation of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein after revelations emerged he sexually harassed women for decades.

The producer helped Jennifer Lawrence win an Oscar with Silver Linings Playbook and gave Clooney his first break on the big screen in From Dusk Till Dawn and as a director in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

But the A-listers turned on Weinstein - a man once revered as God by some of the world's best actors - after he was fired from his own production company over dozens of sexual harassment allegations. 

In an interview last night, the actor broke his silence and called Weinstein's behavior 'indefensible', adding that 'the reality is that this is a problem deeply ingrained in our society.'

Clooney told the Daily Beast: ‘“It’s indefensible. That’s the only word you can start with.

'Harvey’s admitted to it, and it’s indefensible. I’ve known Harvey for 20 years.  

'We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior—ever.' 

Jennifer Lawrence has echoed the sentiments, stating although she had not witnessed Weinstein's inappropriate acts herself, she still condemned the producer. 
She told Variety: 'I was deeply disturbed to hear the news about Harvey Weinstein's behavior. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting.'

Kate Winslet, who won an Oscar for The Weinstein Co's The Reader said in a statement that the alleged behavior is 'without question disgraceful and appalling'.

'I had hoped that these kind of stories were just made up rumors, maybe we have all been naïve,' Winslet wrote.

Movie legends Meryl Streep and Judi Dench led a chorus of outrage Monday following the revelation that Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed women for decades, as Hollywood stood accused of covering up a pattern of misconduct that finally cost the film mogul his job.

Many had been waiting for Streep to comment given her past praise of Weinstein, who she referred to as 'God' at the 2012 Golden Globes while accepting her Best Actress award for playing Margaret Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady.' 

Streep revealed in her statement however that she had no idea about the incidents of sexual harassment described by woman in the Times piece. 

'The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported,' said Streep.

'The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes. 

'Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally. 

'I didn't know about these other offenses. I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues. I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts.' 

She continued: 'And If everybody knew, I don't believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.'

Streep closed out by one again denouncing Weinstein's actions and applauding the women who spoke. 

'The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar,' said Streep.

'Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.'

Glenn Close, who has worked with Weinstein a number of times in the past, most notably in the 2005 animated film 'Hoodwinked' and its sequel, also slammed the shamed producer. 

She said: 'I'm sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women,' said Close in a statement to The New York Times.

'Harvey has always been decent to me, but now that the rumors are being substantiated, I feel angry and darkly sad.

'I'm angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the "casting couch" phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job,' said Close.

'Ours is an industry in which very few actors are indispensable and women are cast in far fewer roles than men, so the stakes are higher for women and make them more vulnerable to the manipulations of a predator.'

Weinstein was fired late Sunday from his own film studio, three days after a bombshell New York Times report alleged that the Oscar-winning producer behind such hits as The King's Speech and The Artist had preyed on young women hoping to break into the film industry.

Weinstein's accusers - who reportedly include celebrities such as Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd - say the 65-year-old tycoon had promised to help advance their careers in exchange for sexual favors, pressuring them to massage him and watch him naked.

The Weinstein Company's board said it had sacked him 'in light of new information about misconduct' in the explosive Times article, which detailed decades of legal settlements stemming from harassment allegations.

Hollywoodreporter:

George Clooney Slams Harvey Weinstein's "Indefensible" Behavior

9:51 PM PDT 10/9/2017 by Abid Rahman

Clooney, who has known Weinstein for 20 years, said that he had never directly seen any inappropriate behavior by the disgraced producer.

George Clooney became one of the first prominent male stars to condemn Harvey Weinstein's "indefensible" behavior as a spate of sexual misconduct allegations engulfs the producer.

In an interview for The Daily Beast published on Monday, Clooney said that he had heard long-running rumors about Weinstein and young actresses but put it down to attempts to smear the stars in question and downplay their talent.

"I’ve heard rumors, and the rumors in general started back in the ’90s, and they were that certain actresses had slept with Harvey to get a role. It seemed like a way to smear the actresses and demean them by saying that they didn’t get the jobs based on their talent, so I took those rumors with a grain of salt," Clooney said. 

To accusations that he "should have known" about Weinstein's behavior, given their close professional relationship over a number of years, Clooney said that he never knew the full story, in particular, he was unaware of the payoffs Weinstein made over the years to eight women who had made complaints, a revelation that was detailed in the bombshell New York Times story last weekend. "[The] part we’re hearing now about eight women being paid off, I didn’t hear anything about that and I don’t know anyone that did. That’s a whole other level and there’s no way you can reconcile that. There’s nothing to say except that it’s indefensible," Clooney told The Daily Beast. 

Clooney has known Weinstein for 20 years, he said the producer had given him his big break in film acting with From Dusk Till Dawn and directing with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Clooney said that he and Weinstein spent a lot of time at dinners and on location but that he had never witnessed anything untoward himself. "I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior—ever.”

The truth is we often don't WANT to see things.  So we turn a blind eye.  Not just in Hollywood but in real life.

Thank you PAN and carolhathaway for the articles!  I was a bit worried when George hadn't spoken out as of yesterday.  I expected to hear from him. I'm relieved that he has spoken up and hopefully other notable men in the industry will come out against Weinstein's actions.

I appaud George for speaking up early and clearly condemning this behavior.

That being said, his explanation about what he "knew" is a little squishy around the edges.  I understand that he did not give credence to rumors about how actresses got jobs in Weinstein projects. He admits Weinstein was a bully. However, there is a lot of territory between "I did not know about the pay outs" and I knew he "hit on women."  Hit on women who worked for him?  Hit on by inappropriately touching?  Repeatedly pestering after "no"?  Hit on those who were young and he had power over?  Hit on after making them comfortable by having a female employee in the room at first and then sending the employee out and leaving the victim stranded?  Hit on like he apparently had a highly paid employee whose job was to procure women for him?  Unfortunately, I feel like George is being a bit disingenous.  People in the business that he worked with closely knew--Brad Pitt confronted Weinstein after he harassed Paltrow.  

Also, think his response is a bit of male "privilege" -- minimizing how certain men "hit on" women.

George he say he knew Harvey was a dog!
Remind to me of locker room talk like Trump.George he was late to talk he wait many say to Harvey be fired

fava wrote:I appaud George for speaking up early and clearly condemning this behavior.

That being said, his explanation about what he "knew" is a little squishy around the edges.  I understand that he did not give credence to rumors about how actresses got jobs in Weinstein projects. He admits Weinstein was a bully. However, there is a lot of territory between "I did not know about the pay outs" and I knew he "hit on women."  Hit on women who worked for him?  Hit on by inappropriately touching?  Repeatedly pestering after "no"?  Hit on those who were young and he had power over?  Hit on after making them comfortable by having a female employee in the room at first and then sending the employee out and leaving the victim stranded?  Hit on like he apparently had a highly paid employee whose job was to procure women for him?  Unfortunately, I feel like George is being a bit disingenous.  People in the business that he worked with closely knew--Brad Pitt confronted Weinstein after he harassed Paltrow.  

Also, think his response is a bit of male "privilege" -- minimizing how certain men "hit on" women.

One of my least favorite of George's qualities (there aren't that many!), is how he lionizes Hollywood and film making.  When he says, basically, "Yeah, I knew he was a bully, but he made Pulp Fiction, so..." Is the world really that much worse off if people call Harvey Weinstein on his "creative genius = bad behavior" BS early on and Pulp Fiction never gets made, George? UGH. I believe he thought Harvey was just a creepy old man who liked to hit on younger women in the film industry, but that's still not ok, dude! Not when you're in a position of power like that. 

I agree with you on the male privilege piece, and I think it goes even further.  Multiple women, including Angelina Jolie and Jessica Chastain, have said they either were warned about Harvey or made a point of warning others.  Women mostly knew, because women HAVE to know.  It's a matter of survival.  Brad Pitt has had relationships with two women who had to fend off Weinstein, even threatening Harvey over his advances on Gwyneth himself.  And yet he never, not once, in the course of all the years he's known and worked with George and Matt Damon, who have both had long personal and professional associations with Weinstein, ever said, "You won't believe what that asshole did to Gwyneth and Angie"?  George says in the interview, "I don't think people were looking away, I think people weren't looking." Men don't have to look.

I don't see Brad telling anything if Angelina said not too and or Gwyneth . They both were trying to make it in HOllywood and Weinstein had the power. Angelina could have come out once she had made it and told what she knew but chose not too. These women chose to be silent or  take the money and when they had the chance still chose I think out of fear to not say anything.
I do think there is a difference between knowing a man is a bully and knowing he is a sexual predator. I think rumors are just that unless you see something this is still Hollywood where lies are made up every minute about someone.

I don't think George knew he was a sexual predator.  I meant that if people had refused to tolerate the out of control temper and bullying of everyone, men and women, he worked with, it might have put a stop to the bad behavior in general.  There are some OUTRAGEOUS stories about things Harvey Weinstein did to people in fits of temper.  If that behavior had not been tolerated just because he makes good movies, maybe he wouldn't have escalated or been in a position of such unquestionable power that he (rightfully) believed he would get away with all this for so long.  

There was literally no incentive for any of these women to come forward.  They'd have been destroyed personally, professionally, and financially, and to what end? Sixty women accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault and/or rape, and he was not convicted. Victims of sexual assault are rarely even believed, so to assume that if any one of them had come forward it would have stopped him earlier is unfair, IMO.

I'm left wondering how this  could go on for so many years without somebody calling Weinstein to account. Surely some of the women he abused went home and told their partners "You won't believe what that s.o.b. tried to do!". And surely more men than just Brad Pitt were angry enough to confront him.

Also, if the women were warning each other about him, wouldn't word have gotten back to at least some of the men in their lives? Wouldn't an angry husband/father/brother/lover have put the fear of God into Weinstein? Not everyone is willing to sacrifice self respect for a job.

I want to believe the people who say they didn't know, that they only heard rumors, but the A-list in Hollywood is a pretty small club. I find it hard to believe word never got out or that people didn't hear at least one or two stories about Weinstein from people they trusted so they knew  they were true. Maybe they thought what they heard was an isolated incident. I honestly don't get it.

LizzyNY wrote:I'm left wondering how this  could go on for so many years without somebody calling Weinstein to account. Surely some of the women he abused went home and told their partners "You won't believe what that s.o.b. tried to do!". And surely more men than just Brad Pitt were angry enough to confront him.

Also, if the women were warning each other about him, wouldn't word have gotten back to at least some of the men in their lives? Wouldn't an angry husband/father/brother/lover have put the fear of God into Weinstein? Not everyone is willing to sacrifice self respect for a job.

I want to believe the people who say they didn't know, that they only heard rumors, but the A-list in Hollywood is a pretty small club. I find it hard to believe word never got out or that people didn't hear at least one or two stories about Weinstein from people they trusted so they knew  they were true. Maybe they thought what they heard was an isolated incident. I honestly don't get it.

Not just a job-- your career and financial security.  If Weinstein sued, it could break you even if you were telling the truth.   Media outlets were certainly complicit, although Lainey has made the point that it would have needed /did take a media behemoth to take it on.  Stories yesterday and today that NBC nixed Farrow's story before he took it to New Yorker.  

Agree that it is astounding that it went on for so long--even among those who had a little more power in the industry than the average young woman--Gwyneth, Angelina, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino had parents who were in the industry.  Also agree a lot more men than are admitting it had to have some inkling.

Farrow was on Maddow last night.  Very compelling reporting and he as much said that NBC wasn't going to take on his story.  He described how so many of these young women were really anguished by what had happened and were very scared to tell their stories.  One woman who Farrow interviewed decided not to be a part of the story simply because of threats of legal action.

I do wonder why bigger stars like Paltrow and Jolie didn't come forward.  Paltrow's dad was a major producer in Hollywood.  I wonder if they even knew the extent of Weinstein's gross behavior .... that it went beyond just exposing himself or improper touching but  possible rape accusations.  I don't know.  It is bewildering.

Whoopi Goldberg made the point yesterday that if we really want things to change women in abusive situations have to choose whether the job/relationship is more important than their self-respect. Things won't change until we make them change.

Weinstein's accuser claims the assault on Paltrow was well known in Hollywood.
And is shaming stars who didn't speak out.
I'm sorry but she didn't speak out she told brad , where were her parent's in all this. 
The victims were the one's who needed to speak up here say is simply that in court.

Here are Gwyneth's and Angelina's accounts of what happened.

Gwyneth's

When Gwyneth Paltrow was 22 years old, she got a role that would take her from actress to star: The film producer Harvey Weinstein hired her for the lead in the Jane Austen adaptation “Emma.” Before shooting began, he summoned her to his suite at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel for a work meeting that began uneventfully.
It ended with Mr. Weinstein placing his hands on her and suggesting they head to the bedroom for massages, she said.
“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” she said in an interview, publicly disclosing that she was sexually harassed by the man who ignited her career and later helped her win an Academy Award.
She refused his advances, she said, and confided in Brad Pitt, her boyfriend at the time. Mr. Pitt confronted Mr. Weinstein, and soon after, the producer warned her not to tell anyone else about his come-on. “I thought he was going to fire me,” she said.

Angelina's
“I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did,” Ms. Jolie said in an email. “This behavior towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable.”


Taken from the New York Times Article

I'm having a problem with Rose McGowan calling out other people for not outing Harvey Weinstein when she herself took the money and signed an NDA rather than risk her career and expose him. She put her career first - and she was one of the victims! It seems a bit hypocritical to expect others, who didn't have first hand knowledge, to do what she would not do.

Mm, I rather suspect that those who were subjected to this treatment kept silent because their careers depended on it which unfortunately makes them complicit.

I also suspect that it is still going on and that it is not exclusive to the film industry

Lizzy,
that's what I mentioned as well.
The problem is that everybody who had called out Weinstein, risked his or career. 
- His victims didn't want to their career and had signed an agreement, but somebody must have advised them, so others knew about these incidents.
- The victims' managers, lawyers or even powerful parents didn't speak out.
- If journalists knew more than rumors isn't known yet. Nobody would have risked their career for a report accusing a very powerful man without a proof.
- Many people in the 'inner circle' heard rumors - if just about actresses sleeping with Weinstein to get jobs or real sexual harasses or rapes, is still the question 
- Hollywood has always been a place where the casting couch was important. So it doesn't surprise that it still seems to work. 
- Our understanding of sexual harassment has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. Actions we accepted as young women aren't accepted by our daughters anymore because our point of view has changed. When I was a kid, I was told to kiss everybody and to sit on their lap when they wanted it, and when I refused, my parents would scold me. I taught my kids to greet everybody but nothing else.
- Are women really free to refuse a sexual 'offer' by someone they rely on? 

It's just not that simple... - and is not just restricted on the film industry.

These women for the most part were in a no-win situation.  If they were not physically abused or raped (where there would be evidence on the body) then it comes down to he said, she said.  And these women were all too aware of how powerful Weinstein was and in the end there would be no real evidence to prove their accusations.  

This story is incredibly explosive for Hollywood but I think there is ALOT of judgment, blame  and self righteous talk being thrown around right now.  I know Weinstein is guilty but beyond that I want to be careful about who to blame for being complicit in all of this.  We need to hear more from the women and the men in Hollywood and if it was really an open secret or was there an undercurrent of chatter that was pretty much confined to women in the business.  But we do know that it was was public knowledge within the Weinstein Company.

These women are victims and I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt about how they behaved/ reacted afterwards because I do not know enough about the psychology and it may be very individual.  Some may feel they did something wrong to cause this and feel guilt or shame, some protect their careers, some protect their good name--because he regularly got media to trash those who said no or spoke out, some may have felt a pay out would be the only redress/acknowledgement they would ever get that what he did was wrong.

Ashley judds's comment on Harvey

Today she says of her ordeal: “Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly.”

Taken from the Independent

Donnamarie - I think you're right about this being a problem in all parts of our society, but I would add that it isn't just our society that has the problem. Women are mistreated and disrespected all around the world.

Fava - I'm pretty sure we're from different generations, so maybe that's why I see things a little differently than you do. I don't see these women as "victims". I see them as targets of a pervert. They were subjected to disgusting, emotionally upsetting treatment at the hands of a total jerk BUT  (in the cases I've heard about) they weren't physically threatened. They had options. They were free to kick him in the balls and walk out the door. They didn't. They put their careers first.

I know what it feels like to be in that situation. Pretty much every woman I know has been there at least once or twice. How you handle it is YOUR choice. You're only a "victim" if you allow yourself to be one.

So Gwyneth not only told Brad but she says she told a few friends , family and her agent. She also insisted that Weinstein  put their relationship back on a professional level.
The older one's had work and didn't want to rock the boat with Weinstein so said nothing. The one's who had no work wanted to work so said nothing because he
had enough power to stop them from working. The one's he paid off he must have felt threatened by and may have felt they would be believed.

Annemarie - So basically you're saying they all kept quiet because they each decided their career was more important than going public and trying to stop him. If that's true, and I think it is, I wonder why they decided to come forward now. Could it be the claim one girl is making of being raped (I'm sorry I can't remember her name) has made the other women feel guilty for not coming forward sooner?

What I said above was actually said by one of the victims.

Maybe, they all got older and were tired of keeping the secret of Harvey's actions.

I call bull on Gwyneth and Angelina, now that it is out they both say this can't be tolerated. Yet for years they knew and said nothing. I know why , Gwyneth was Queen of Miramax she wasn't about to kill the goose that made her famous. Angelina well she didn't want to rock the boat either so she warned women and never worked for him again. They got the fame that all these women wanted and chose not to say a word even when they could have.

LizzyNY wrote:Fava - I'm pretty sure we're from different generations, so maybe that's why I see things a little differently than you do. I don't see these women as "victims". I see them as targets of a pervert. They were subjected to disgusting, emotionally upsetting treatment at the hands of a total jerk BUT  (in the cases I've heard about) they weren't physically threatened. They had options. They were free to kick him in the balls and walk out the door. They didn't. They put their careers first.

I know what it feels like to be in that situation. Pretty much every woman I know has been there at least once or twice. How you handle it is YOUR choice. You're only a "victim" if you allow yourself to be one.

Lizzy-- I'm 56, but don't know if that's a different generation or not.  The word "victim" for you may have different connotations than it does for me.  My use of it was meant to reflect that even Weinstein's more "minor" behavior (groping, harassment by threatening career, etc.) is illegal in many places.  If the allegations of rape are true, those women were certainly victims in my definition of the word.  

Kate Beckinsale was 17.  !7 year olds (I have one at the moment) are not adults, capable of thinking through consequences.  Her statement:


“I was called to meet Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy Hotel when I was 17. I assumed it would be in a conference room which was very common. When I arrived, reception told me to go to his room . He opened the door in his bathrobe,” she wrote. “I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older ,unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him. After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left ,uneasy but unscathed.”
Beckinsale claims that years later, Weinstein asked the actress if anything had happened between the two of them during their first meeting.
“I realized he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not,” she wrote.

fava - Just to clarify: I was not saying that women who are raped aren't victims. Of course they are. But in situations where women are hit on by men in power. where they are made uncomfortable and uneasy but there is no physical threat, they have options. I'm not saying their choices are easy ones or that they might not have unpleasant consequences, but there are alternatives to compliance.

The word "victim" implies a powerlessness I'm not willing to accept. If we want our daughters to be free of this kind of male behavior we have to teach them better how to avoid it if they can, and deal with it if they can't avoid it. And above all we have to teach our sons that sexist behavior is unacceptable.

When I was 14, I often had to deliver newspapers to an old man in our village, and I always felt uncomfortable. It was just an odd feeling, nothing specific. So I told my parents about it, and they said I was too thin skinned and just shouldn't go inside his house. 'He's such a nice man, his wife left him, and now he's kind of lonely.' He always asked me to come inside and drink a lemonade, which I always refused to do and always kept in distance from him. One year later, another girl accused him of sexual harassment, and my parents were completely shocked 'because he always seemed such a nice man'. It was exactly my feeling before, and I'd been happy if my parents had taken my concerns more seriously.

When I first started working, I sat at my desk, when I suddenly felt two fingers following the line of my backbone to the wrist of my trousers. While turning around, I said very aggressively: 'Take your hands off my back, or I'm going to scream!' I realized it was our staff manager who claimed he hadn't done anything. Years later, I talked about this when we discussed a sexual harassment by a collegue, and we suddenly realized he had done it with every woman, they called it 'he's testing if you wear a bra'.
As long as this staff manager was on duty - he retired just a few years ago - I always had problems with him and never felt really accepted by him. And I guess it's because of my reaction, so I often ask myself if I had reacted differently knowing it was him who had done it.
Oh yes, I asked my female collegues how they had reacted to his 'bra-testing', and all of them said that they didn't do anything, pretended he hadn't done anything...

The last paragraph of Kate Beckinsale's** recollection copper fastens it for me that Harvey was in the grip of a compulsion, a total addiction.....I'm sure he did not go a day without trying it on with someone....Quo, the receptionists, the accountants the florists, the stewardesses, the lawyers, you name it Harvey has to have tried it on with EVERY occupation, colour, creed and dare I say, when landlocked, every sex (male)....Mmmm, now there's a thought....
Obama's daughter was lucky.....but it was only a matter of time, when the itch came Harvey would have to obey and scratch...

What I really can't get my head around is that by the law of averages SOMEONE(s) SOMEWHERE OWES THEIR CAREER TO HARVEY....That they pretended to enjoy Harvey galloping around a hotel room in the nip, because making big of Harvey's parts got them "the big part"...Have they kept the head down in a 10 million mansion...or have the turned gamekeeper and joined in with the condemnation...Twinkle twinkle little star.....

Madonna is quoted as saying Losing her virginity WAS A CAREER MOVE....
I for one do not think she was alone....

That heady combination...Power Money Fame....throw Handsome into the pot and you have only one thing....George Clooney....What else.....


** I adored Kate's Dad, Richard....and still miss him........My first crush.....x



Just to be clear, what Harvey has done is abhorrent on every level.....Just that the story throws up a lot of questions that maybe I shouldn't ask......

LizzyNY wrote:fava - Just to clarify: I was not saying that women who are raped aren't victims. Of course they are. But in situations where women are hit on by men in power. where they are made uncomfortable and uneasy but there is no physical threat, they have options. I'm not saying their choices are easy ones or that they might not have unpleasant consequences, but there are alternatives to compliance.

The word "victim" implies a powerlessness I'm not willing to accept. If we want our daughters to be free of this kind of male behavior we have to teach them better how to avoid it if they can, and deal with it if they can't avoid it. And above all we have to teach our sons that sexist behavior is unacceptable.

Ok, but I might argue that they felt physically threatened.  Weinstein must weigh twice as much as these actresses and often yelled, crowded and swore at them.

That is just it how do you tell who you need to avoid. These men don't wear signs that say hey I'm a predator.

I think if all these women had said something at the beginning  , at the least there would be a paper trail even if he weren't convicted the authorities and others would have known what he was doing. Maybe, people would have looked at him a lot harder.   He is no sex addict he is a predator using that as an excuse.

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i have no words about that, she just accused george, john wells and spielberg!

Yep, just saw it, Benex and it occurred to me that something like this was always going to be raked up.

Mention the name Clooney (or the other two) and you know there'll be headlines. You might maybe even have an ulterior motive yourself to get a teeny weeny bit more fame/work as well?

Messy isn't it, but I'm convinced George must have known there might be comeback the minute he put his head above the parapet

Wow, that's heavy! 
She didn't say that she was harassed on ER. So I assume she's talking about other actresses or staff members and assume they will be asked about that...
But apart from that: How should George have helped to blackmail her? By talking bad about her on sets? By not casting her in his movies?

Oh, it gets worse. Story expanding..........

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Have to say I have no idea who this lady is.......

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she pointed against Eric, Anthony,Noah and Julianna... maybe she just hated all the cast

Mm, looking at IMDB, she's not had that great a career............

I am with this courage woman and not because she is not famous means she is a liar , i expect George did that and more and knew about HW and maybe did the same to some women he met in Hollywood...

And oF couse she had no great career thanks to GC,HW AND ALL THE KIND OF ***

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[size=34]‘ER’ actress calls out Clooney, producer in misconduct claim[/size]
By Ruth Brown
October 13, 2017 | 1:28pm


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George Clooney and Vanessa Marquez[size=10]Getty Images[/size]

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A former “ER” actress claims that she was sexually and racially harassed daily on set — and George Clooney helped “blacklist” her from Hollywood when she complained.
“Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up abt harassment on ER.’women who dont play the game lose career’I did,” tweeted Vanessa Marquez, who played a nurse on the show’s first three seasons.
She accused actor Eriq La Salle and a crew member of being “p—sy grabbers” and said racial abuse about her Mexican heritage came from “Anthony,Noah,Julianna,” referring to cast members Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, and Julianna Margulies.
Marquez said she complained to executive producer John Wells.
“Wells was the boss&I 1st reported it to him.His 1st question:Did George do something to u,” she tweeted.
Marquez has appeared in a handful of short films and TV movies since the 1990s, according to her IMDb page. In 2005, she discussed her shopping addiction on the A&E reality show “Intervention.”
Her accusations came after Clooney denounced producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault, describing his alleged actions as “indefensible” but saying he had no idea what the movie mogul was up to behind closed doors.

I do remember this actress from the first seasons on ER. She played a sweet little girl who first started working as a nurse. Her role character never really developed, so as a consequence, her character disappeared.

She says that Eriq LaSalle 'and a few other men' were p...ygrabbers, and she says that all the other main characters - apart from George - racially abused her. But she accuses George (and in further tweets Spielberg and Wells) for not speaking out for her. She also implies that Wells expected George to have abused her which would mean that others had accused him before to have it done.

I don't know how good she is as an actress, her ER character wasn't that great. So if she never really had a career because George helped to blackmail her or if she simply wasn't that talented - I don't know. I just remember to have read an article saying that George did support and help an actress on ER who was racially abused. 

And I'd like to say that, when she was on ER from 1993 to 1995, Geoge just started being successful and making a career and certainly didn't have the same power and influence, so if he could really help to blackmail her at that time...

George is quick off the mark..........Great response

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I definitely remember this actress too.  She had a reoccurring role for a few seasons.  I've never heard about this before.  Supposedly she spoke to Entertainment Tonight back then about her treatment.  She has called George a predator.  But singled out only LaSalle and a crew member of sexual harassment.  And it sounds like from her point of view it was all the leading actors on this show who were guilty of racial slurs.  Waiting for responses from all the accused parties ...  oh dear this is going to be interesting.

It's interesting that she names everyone but George as those who harassed her, but blames George for her problems.

I'm not saying she's lying, but her statement does have a feeling of sour grapes to it. Maybe they "black-balled" her (if they did), not because of her complaints but because she was unpleasant to work with.

Carolhathaway - I don't think Wells asked her if George did anything because he thought he was a sexual predator. I think he asked because George was the clown who was always playing pranks and cracking jokes and there were probably people on set who didn't appreciate his brand of humor. Actually, she sounds like she might be one of them. I really don't think it's in his character to force himself on a woman.

party animal - not! wrote:George is quick off the mark..........Great response

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Yes he was quick PAN.  But George didn't address the accusations of racial slurs and harassment that she experienced.  That's an important part of her allegations.

His statement in Gossipcop

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George's Response

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George Clooney denied accusations by former “ER” actress Vanessa Marquez that he helped to have her blacklisted after she reported suffering sexual and racial harassment on the set of the NBC medical drama.
“I had no idea Vanessa was blacklisted,” Clooney said in a statement to TheWrap on Friday. “I take her at her word. I was not a writer or a producer or a director on that show. I had nothing to do with casting. I was an actor and only an actor.”
The actor, who starred as Doug Ross on the series for five seasons, denied having any influence on casting the show or on Marquez’s career. “If she was told I was involved in any decision about her career then she was lied to,” he said. “The fact that I couldn’t affect her career is only surpassed by the fact that I wouldn’t.”
Also Read:'ER' Actress Says George Clooney Helped 'Blacklist' Her After 'P--- Grabber' Complaint
Marquez accused the cast and producers of “ER” of conspiring to have her blacklisted after she reported being sexually harassed and being discriminated against on the basis of race.

“B.S.” she tweeted in response to Clooney’s condemnation of Harvey Weinstein last week. “Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up [about] harassment on ER. ‘Women who don’t play the game lose career’ I did.”
Marquez, who portrayed Nurse Wendy Goldman in 27 episodes of the series between 1994 and 1997, accused Eriq La Salle and a camera operator of being “p—– grabbers”, which she said she reported to showrunner John Wells and to the show’s production company, Warner Bros.

Also Read:George Clooney Says Harvey Weinstein Scandal Is 'Disturbing on a Whole Lot of Levels'
Her accusation came after Clooney spoke out against Weinstein, the powerhouse producer who has been accused of sexual harassment and rape by multiple women, in an interview with The Daily Beast. Clooney, who worked with Weinstein on his breakout film role in “From Dusk Til Dawn,” called the producer’s alleged behavior “indefensible.”

Yeah, it's going to be interesting, but more in how they call her a liar without looking like they're putting her down.

One, she's chosen to accuse a close unit of people, who, right or wrong, can band against her. Next, none of these people has a reputation for harassing anyone for any reason, that I've ever heard of. In fact, the ones who don't have a reputation for being total team players are known for not really getting involved in the Hollywood scene at all. She's had since the early 90's to call out George as his star began to rise, but only now says he helped "blacklist" her. (I think George's record shows that if he doesn't like you, he simply never has anything to do with you again.) Finally, in order to be blackballed, you have to be denied roles because of something someone told an employer. Specifics... if you got 'em, show 'em.

I call bullshit. She's a bandwagon-jumping opportunist.