Harvey Weinstein: 'Beautiful Girls' Scribe Scott Rosenberg

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Lisa Bloom, Lawyer Advising Harvey Weinstein, Resigns Amid Criticism From Board Members
by Megan Twohey and Johanna Barr
October 7, 2017

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Lisa Bloom resigned on Saturday as an adviser to Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer who has been accused of sexual harassment. Credit David Mirzoeff/PA Wire, via Associated Press

The lawyer Lisa Bloom resigned on Saturday as an adviser to Harvey Weinstein, the high-powered film producer facing allegations of rampant sexual harassment, amid harsh criticism of her handling of his defense.

Among those upset with her were two members of the board of Mr. Weinstein’s company: his brother, Bob Weinstein, and Lance Maerov, who had both exchanged confrontational emails with Ms. Bloom over the past two days.

In making her announcement on Twitter, Ms. Bloom did not offer an explanation for her resignation. The tactics and tenor of her defense of Mr. Weinstein have varied, and there were often substantial differences in her public and private statements. The emails, viewed by The New York Times, reveal that at least two board members did not approve of her approach.

As the board convened an emergency phone meeting on Thursday evening to address the allegations, published in an investigation by The Times, Ms. Bloom sent an email to board members attacking the article. She outlined a plan that involved “more and different reporting,” including “photos of several of the accusers in very friendly poses with Harvey after his alleged misconduct.”

In one of the emails, Mr. Maerov scolded Ms. Bloom for “fanning the flames and compounding the problem” and asked that she step away from the company. He pointed to a business deal she had previously reached to have Mr. Weinstein turn a book she had written into a television series.

“You have a commercial relationship with TWC via a TV deal so how can you possibly provide impartial advice to Harvey or address this group with any credibility?” Mr. Maerov asked in the email.

In a separate email, Mr. Maerov, who declined to comment on Saturday, said that “publishing pictures of victims in friendly poses with Harvey will backfire as it suggests they are exculpatory or negate any harm done to them through alleged actions.”

Bob Weinstein wrote Ms. Bloom a disapproving email on Friday morning, shortly before she appeared on “Good Morning America.” He pointed out that Democratic politicians were giving away money that Mr. Weinstein had donated to them, women’s rights organizations were calling for him to be fired and actors and actresses were openly stating how appalled they were. “It is my opinion, that u are giving your client poor counsel,” he wrote. “Perhaps, Harvey as he stated in the NY Times, to the world, should get professional help for a problem that really exists.”

Bob Weinstein declined to comment on Saturday.

The details about the emails came to light one day after a third of the all-male board of the Weinstein Company resigned. The remaining board members announced on Friday that they had hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations and that Mr. Weinstein would take an indefinite leave of absence.

“I have resigned as an advisor to Harvey Weinstein,” Ms. Bloom said on Twitter on Saturday morning. “My understanding is that Mr. Weinstein and his board are moving toward an agreement.”

Lisa Bloom ✔@LisaBloom
I have resigned as an advisor to Harvey Weinstein.
My understanding is that Mr. Weinstein and his board are moving toward an agreement.
10:04 AM - Oct 7, 2017

Ms. Bloom said on Saturday that there was a large team handling Mr. Weinstein’s defense and that she personally “did not release photos of accusers” to the press. She also denied that her work with Mr. Weinstein created a conflict of interest.

“A conflict is representing two different sides in the same case,” she said. “This is a difficult time for all involved and I wish everyone the best.”

Lanny Davis, another adviser to Mr. Weinstein, is also no longer representing him, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Davis, a lawyer and crisis counselor who served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton, declined on Saturday to discuss his departure. But he and Mr. Weinstein had disagreed over how to handle the sexual harassment allegations, with Mr. Davis advising a more conciliatory tone and approach than Mr. Weinstein seemed willing to adopt.

The allegations of harassment against Mr. Weinstein reach back decades. Women accused him of requesting massages, appearing naked in front of them and asking if they wanted to watch him shower, among other behaviors. The Times investigation found that Mr. Weinstein had settled with at least eight women over the years.

Mr. Weinstein apologized for his behavior and acknowledged that it had “caused a lot of pain.” But he denied many of the allegations and said he intended to sue The Times for failing to give him enough time to respond to them.

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times spokeswoman, said that Mr. Weinstein had had two days to respond before the article was published, and that his full statement had been included. “Mr. Weinstein and his lawyer have confirmed the essential points of the story,” she said. “They have not pointed to any errors or challenged any facts in our story.”

In a statement on Friday, four of the Weinstein Company’s remaining board members said that Mr. Weinstein’s leave of absence would begin immediately. The company will be led in his absence by Bob Weinstein, its co-chairman, and David Glasser, its president and chief operating officer.

“As Harvey has said, it is important for him to get professional help for the problems he has acknowledged,” the statement said. “Next steps will depend on Harvey’s therapeutic progress, the outcome of the Board’s independent investigation, and Harvey’s own personal decisions.”

Ms. Bloom, who had been advising Mr. Weinstein over the past year on gender and power dynamics, said on “Good Morning America” that his behavior had been inappropriate. She agreed with an interviewer who characterized his reported actions as illegal.

“It’s gross, yeah,” Ms. Bloom said. “I’m working with a guy who has behaved badly over the years, who is genuinely remorseful, who says, you know, ‘I have caused a lot of pain.’”

She had previously described Mr. Weinstein as “an old dinosaur learning new ways.”

Ms. Bloom has in the past represented women who brought sexual harassment claims against the actor Bill Cosby and the former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. Her work for Mr. Weinstein drew criticism, including from her mother, Gloria Allred, the famed women’s rights lawyer.

“Had I been asked by Mr. Weinstein to represent him, I would have declined, because I do not represent individuals accused of sex harassment,” Ms. Allred said. “While I would not represent Mr. Weinstein, I would consider representing anyone who accused Mr. Weinstein of sexual harassment, even if it meant that my daughter was the opposing counsel.”

This year, the Weinstein Company said that it planned to work on a series of television and film projects about the life of Trayvon Martin, based on a pair of books about the teenager. One of the books, “Suspicion Nation,” was written by Ms. Bloom, who announced in April that it would be turned into a mini-series.

Lisa Bloom ✔@LisaBloom
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: My book SUSPICION NATION is being made into a miniseries, produced by Harvey Weinstein and Jay Z! http://ew.com/tv/2017/04/06/trayvon-martin-miniseries/ …
10:39 AM - Apr 7, 2017

Trayvon Martin miniseries coming from Jay Z
The rap icon is teaming with Harvey Weinstein for the new show
ew.com

After the allegations against Mr. Weinstein were revealed, actresses and others in Hollywood spoke out against him and expressed support for his accusers. They were joined Saturday morning by the MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, who said on Twitter that she was considering walking away from a three-book deal with Weinstein Books.

“I can’t go forward with those books unless Harvey resigns,” she said, adding, “Authors, actors, and moviemakers should not work for any Weinstein company until he resigns. Not a close call.”

President Trump, who himself has been accused of making unwelcome advances toward women, also commented on the matter. Asked about the allegations on Saturday evening, Mr. Trump told reporters that he had known Mr. Weinstein “for a long time,” adding, “I’m not at all surprised to see it.”

Jodi Kantor contributed reporting.

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Bill Clinton caught up in fallout from Harvey Weinstein sexual-assault scandal: Hillary Clinton deflects by criticizing Trump amid accusations of hypocrisy on right
by Valerie Richardson
The Washington Times
October 16, 2017

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Photo by: Anonymous
MONICA LEWINSKY - The intern with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "inappropriate relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996. The affair and its repercussions, which included the Clinton impeachment, became known as the Lewinsky scandal.

She didn’t name names, but when Monica Lewinsky joined the viral online campaign against sexual harassment Sunday by retweeting #MeToo, the first person who came to mind was President Bill Clinton.

Therein lies the problem for the Clintons with the Harvey Weinstein sexual-harassment scandal: It hits perilously close to home.

Monica Boo-insky ✔@MonicaLewinsky
#MeToo https://twitter.com/womensmarch/status/ ... 4075216896 …
6:10 PM - Oct 15, 2017

Not only was Mr. Weinstein a political ally and a major donor to the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation, but his alleged sexual misconduct has refocused attention on Mr. Clinton’s own checkered past as the tide turns against powerful men who take advantage of women.

“The question is on everyone’s lips: how could we have let Weinstein’s crimes continue for so long? Yet there’s little in the Weinstein story—the years of whispers of impropriety, the past allegations by women, the intimate connection with a party that advertises itself as a defender of women—that doesn’t apply to Bill Clinton,” said Jacobin’s Branko Marcetic.

Another connection emerged Monday with reports that Mr. Weinstein gave the maximum $10,000 to Mr. Clinton while he was in the White House to fund his legal defense during the independent counsel’s perjury investigation related to his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.

She was a 22-year-old White House intern and he was commander-in-chief when they had an affair, which she later described as a “mutual” relationship. Another three women—Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey—have accused him of sexual harassment or assault.

Other Hollywood bigwigs who helped Mr. Clinton cover the costs of his defense include Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas and Barbara Streisand, along with studio executives David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, according to the 1998 article in the Washington Post.

Mr. Katzenberg was among those in Hollywood who has denounced Mr. Weinstein after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment or assault.

“You have done terrible things to a number of women over a period of years,” said Mr. Katzenberg in an email to Mr. Weinstein that he released Friday. “I cannot in any way say this is OK with me … It’s not at all, and I am sickened by it, angry with you and incredibly disappointed in you.”

Other celebrities have since been accused of misconduct in what director Woody Allen—himself no stranger to sexual-abuse allegations—has warned could become a “witch-hunt atmosphere,” but so far Mr. Clinton has largely received a pass from Hollywood and the left.

Even given all the familiar reasons for discretion and concealment by the women themselves, there was no small potential for revelation. There had been far too many cases. As they eventually told their stories after he was elected president, the Arkansas trooper bodyguards and others would testify to Bill Clinton's extramarital relations with literally hundreds of women, "There would hardly be an opportunity he would let slip to have sex," a state police security guard told the London Sunday Times in 1994. Insistent denials by both Clinton and the woman in question would not always be a guarantee of erasing suspicion, even without photos. While one woman employee of an Arkansas utility continued to deny any relationship with the governor, for example, the Los Angeles Times unearthed partial phone records between 1989 and 1991 that showed Clinton telephoning her fifty-nine times at her home and office, placing eleven cellular calls to her residence on July 16, 1989, and, two months later, while on an official trip, making a ninety-four-minute call at 1:23 a.m. and another for eighteen minutes the next morning at 7:45. Clinton had been wrong when he talked about telephone evidence in a tape-recorded conversation with Gennifer Flowers in December 1991. Did she have phone records? he had asked her after she told him someone had broken into her apartment. "Unh unh. I mean why would I? You ... you usually call me, for that matter. And besides, who would know?" Flowers had answered. And Clinton, speaking from the mansion, had seemed to reassure himself: "Isn't that amazing? Well . . . I wouldn't care if they ... you know, I, I ... They may have my phone records on this computer here, but I don't think it.... That doesn't prove anything."

Though most of the eyewitness accounts would appear only after the 1992 election, the list of the future president's illicit affairs would be remarkably detailed, including more than twenty women who stepped forward or were otherwise publicly identified by the spring of 1994. Troopers would describe the wife of a prominent local judge, a Little Rock reporter, a former state employee, a cosmetics clerk at a Little Rock department store, and several others, including Flowers, whom Clinton had seen at intervals of two to three times a week in the course of relationships lasting anywhere from weeks to months to years. According to the British press, there had been a black woman who claimed, after more than a dozen visits by the future president, that Clinton was the father of her child. In the testimony, too, were the settings and circumstances -- the flaunting of girlfriends in public, Clinton's slipping troopers cash to pay for gifts at Victoria's Secret in Little Rock's University Mall, the constant and often vain efforts to conceal movements from Hillary and the periodic scenes between Clinton and her, the numberless one-night stands with strangers in the state and beyond, oral sex in the dark parking lot of Chelsea's elementary school. "Later he told me that he had researched the subject in the Bible," trooper Larry Patterson told the American Spectator, "and oral sex isn't considered adultery." Some thought it all undeniably pathological. "What has emerged," Geordie Greig of the London Sunday Times wrote, "is a man with what would appear to be an almost psychotic inability to control his zipper."

From the first alarm and strategizing after the Hart episode in 1987, the response of the Clinton entourage had been to view the womanizing in an almost prudish way, fearing outright public rejection. "We were thinking how it was going to play in Jonesboro or Paragould," said one aide, "and of course we were thinking of Gary Hart." But the national public response in 1992 would prove apparently more lenient and worldly. When audiences in New Hampshire, New York, or California seemed ready to accept that a presidential candidate's private life -- whatever his extramarital sexual habits and whether they credited his denials or not -- had no bearing on his integrity as a leader, Clinton's aides regarded their strategy of simply stonewalling as vindicated. Neither then nor later did many of those around Clinton reflect on the deeper meaning of the womanizing and what it said about other aspects of the man and leader.

At almost every turn in the history was an abuse of power and trust: the routine employment of the troopers to facilitate, stand guard, and cover up; the use of state cars and time and the sheer good name and prestige of the governor's office.

It was not that Clinton had governed and then made his sexual forays as part of some scrupulously separate private life. In part because of the furtive shadow play with Hillary, in part the product of his own insouciance and sense of entitlement, much of the philandering took place during the workday, on official trips, or around ceremonial or political functions. He had indulged a good deal of his relentless promiscuity as the government. Propositioning young women at county fairs or enticing state employees at conferences, he enjoyed much of his predatory privilege because he was the government.

There was also the issue of how much the illicit practices opened the governor and future president to blackmail or how much the gifts and other expenses, which could not be taken from any legitimate income that Hillary might notice, made him all the more dependent on his own "walking around" cash from backers. Equally telling was what it all revealed about his genuine attitude toward women. The repeated testimony of the troopers would show the undisguised Clinton rating women as objects, "ripe peaches," as he called them, "purely to be graded, purely to be chased, dominated, conquered," according to L.D. Brown. The governor had been predatory even toward one of the trooper's wives and toward another's mother-in-law.

There was a sharp demarcation between his two worlds, the public champion of equal rights naming women to high office and the seducer who preferred his partners without too much rival seriousness, rewarding substance only as part of the seduction. A young staff analyst for the National Governors' Association would remember Clinton's courting her not only by personal charm and flirtation but also by ardent support of her policy proposals. When she firmly rebuffed his advances one night at an NGA dance, however, he instantly lost interest in her ideas -- "cut me and the policies dead the next day," she remembered. When a former Miss Arkansas, Sally Perdue, told of a four-month affair with Clinton that began not long after he returned to power in 1983, reports fixed on her colorful details of the governor parading around her apartment in one of her black nightgowns playing his saxophone, using cocaine. More significant were the circumstances of their breakup. When she told him she was thinking of running for mayor of Pine Bluff, Clinton bristled. "You'd -- you'd better not run for mayor," he warned her, and the relationship ended in an angry argument. He was clearly upset that she had crossed a line, Perdue remembered. A "good ole boy," as she recalled him, he had wanted a "good little girl" as an intimate. "I don't think he really wanted me to be an independent thinker at that point," Perdue would say.

Fear of exposure notwithstanding, the behavior would continue through the election and transition. Among the troopers' stories would be a scene at the Little Rock airport as the president-elect and his wife left for Virginia and their inaugural procession into Washington. Hillary noticed a security guard escorting one of the women to the farewell ceremony and turned on him angrily. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she asked Larry Patterson, according to his account in the American Spectator. "I know who that whore is. I know what she's doing here. Get her out of here." In a reaction familiar to many aides, Clinton simply shrugged and the trooper took the woman back to the city. At the same juncture, having witnessed during the later days of the campaign and during the transition what some in Arkansas had seen for years, even the legendarily discreet Secret Service was shocked by the new occupants of the White House. According to reliable sources, some of the agents who had been in Little Rock filed an extraordinary warning with headquarters referring in old-fashioned terms to issues of "moral turpitude" involving the president-elect.

Even after the troopers' initial revelations in the Los Angeles Times and the American Spectator late in 1993, however, the issue would be all but marginalized by the mainstream media. ''I'm not interested in Bill Clinton's sex life as governor of Arkansas," New York Times Washington bureau chief R.W. Apple told a British reporter. At the same time, longtime Washington Post journalist Mike Isikoff would find himself in a shouting match with editors who were refusing to publish even a portion of his meticulously researched investigative report on Paula Jones, who would later bring a sexual harassment lawsuit against the president. Jones's much-substantiated story of being propositioned by Clinton at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock on May 8, 1991, when she was a twenty-four-year-old Arkansas state employee, was typical of the situation in which many young women of her time and class found themselves during the Clinton era. Yet few episodes so starkly expressed the inherent sexism, class discrimination, and willful myopia of the Washington establishment as the Jones case. The media, national women's organizations, leaders throughout the Congress, and organized labor and other ostensibly progressive institutions alternately ignored, dismissed, or even belittled Jones and witnesses like her. The studied hypocrisy and insensitivity to the underlying issues of abuse of power and exploitation of women would be one more vivid example of the capital's culture of complicity.

-- Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America, by Roger Morris

Mr. Clinton’s name was notably missing when the feminist publication Jezebel cited “Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Bill O’Reilly, R. Kelly, Roger Ailes, and Donald Trump” as “not the only men who have allegedly abused women from positions of great power.”

The feminists were the biggest letdown. As a politically active Democrat, I believed in women's rights, though I was never a militant feminist. Still, I thought I was both "liberated" and strong. I stood up for myself and spoke out against injustice. I became appalled at the way the feminists refused to support me. That really disillusioned me. I kept thinking, Of course the conservatives are supporting me, but where are the women?

In the end, even NOW president Patricia Ireland was despicable. She gave Clinton a pass, dismissing his behavior by saying, "All of us knew he was a snake when we voted for him." [25] When Juanita Broaddrick's rape allegation emerged, Ireland said the media should "stop wasting time on unprovable charges." [26]

Ireland actually advocated for me when my story first came out. "If what Kathleen Willey says happened, we have moved from talking about a womanizer or a philanderer to talking about the behavior of a sexual predator," Ireland said to Lisa Myers. [27] She also said, "If it's true, it's sexual assault... Now we're talking about, really, sexual predators and people who, in positions of power, who use that power to take advantage of women." [28] Later, however, she rallied her troops against impeaching the president for perjury and obstruction of justice regarding his assault on me. "No matter how offensive the president's behavior was, it does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense," she said. "And the no-holds-barred attack by the ultra-conservatives on women's issues is a far more onerous threat to women and our families." [29] I tried to call her, but she wouldn't take my calls. Of course she wouldn't. What could she possibly say? She calls herself a feminist and this is how she regards a woman who has been sexually assaulted by the most powerful man in the country?

Madeleine Albright echoed Ireland's comment about me. "Yeah," she said, "if it' s true ... "

Singing the same chorus, feminist icon Gloria Steinem "suggested that if the allegations are true, Bill Clinton is a sex addict." [30] Later, she declared that Clinton hadn't committed harassment because he "took no for an answer." Her verdict misses the point. Clinton did not harass me. He assaulted me, which is not just a civil offense but a criminal one. Steinem, however, couldn't care less. In an even more revelatory comment, she added, "The truth of the matter is that [Clinton's] behavior toward women is considerably better than any president I know of." [31] Once again, a free pass.

Then there was Betty Friedan, who said, "She should have slapped him across the face." What kind of feminist blames the victim? And does she really think that when a woman is assaulted by a man, she should slap him across the face and that should be the end of it? Is this really the message she wants to convey to our sisters and our daughters?

"Jesse Jackson, who had been praying with Clinton in the midst of the Lewinsky scandal, chimed in with an excuse for Clinton, rather than a defense," wrote Candice Jackson. [32] "Sex is not the one string on the guitar," Maureen Dowd reported the Reverend Jackson said of the scandal. "There are nine more commandments." [33]

Then James Carville blathered, "He's a good man who did a bad thing." Carville added, "You can't take him to task for his personal behavior." Excuse me? That's personal? The president of the United States, who has to send men off to war, behaves like that in the Oval Office? Seduces young women in the Oval Office? Assaults married women in the Oval Office? This is not personal behavior. At the very least, it is unprofessional. At worst, it is abuse and assault. Obviously, advocating it -- on any level -- is wrong.

Clinton's henchmen trashed me, just as they trashed all of the women. All of us. And they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Many more feminists couldn't even bring themselves to comment. The president of the National Women's Political Caucus said she "wanted to remain circumspect." The president of the National Women's Law Center "declined to pass judgment." So did the president of the Women's Legal Defense Fund. [34] Senator Dianne Feinstein only said that, "The word of the president is a very important thing." [35] Even Anita Hill, whose claims of sexual harassment almost derailed the nomination of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, said that since Clinton advocates for women on the grand scale, nothing I had said should derail his presidency. "I don't think that most women have come to the point where we've said, 'Well, this is so bad that even if he is better on the bigger issues, we can't have him as president.''' [36] Her statement affirms the "feminist" view that women should make or withhold a claim like mine -- and hers! -- based on the ideology of the perpetrator rather than on what the man actually did to a woman, or women!

Nationally syndicated radio host Monica Crowley points out the hypocrisy of these so-called feminists. "If feminist groups such as NOW were really serious about their professed objective about 'female empowerment,' they would have rallied to Bill Clinton's female accusers, supported them in their David and Goliath struggles against this powerful man," Crowley recently railed on her program. "Instead, they rallied to him. They put politics first and looked the other way." [37]

Many people could have intervened in this ugly saga to keep Bill Clinton from harming women. But one woman above all of them was in a position to make Bill behave.

That woman is, of course, Hillary.

When news of the Monica Lewinsky affair broke, Hillary had been married to her wayward husband for more than twenty years. But Hillary charged to Bill's defense. "Certainly," she said publicly of the allegations, "I believe they're false. Absolutely." [38] She went on the Today Show and told Matt Lauer, "Bill and I have been accused of everything, including murder, by some of the very same people who are behind these allegations. So from my perspective this is part of a continuing political campaign against my husband." Thus she invented the vast, right-wing conspiracy.

Just as Hillary did against Monica Lewinsky, Candice Jackson says she "defended her husband publicly and attacked every woman who leveled charges against him or disclosed consensual affairs with him." Hillary condemned all of us, denied our credibility, and expressed only contempt for us. "She is married to a man who mistreats women on a regular basis, and that marriage is the cornerstone of her own political success ... Not only will she excuse Bill's behavior, she will lead the smear team in discrediting and ruining women who come forward against him." [39] And she will do more than that.

The self-anointed queen of the feminists, Hillary smeared and stepped on every one of the women her husband seduced, accosted, and assaulted. Her position on women's empowerment is nothing more than empty hypocrisy.

-- Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton, by Kathleen Willey

One celebrity who did break ranks was chef Anthony Bourdain, who criticized Mrs. Clinton's interview Thursday on CNN as “shameful in its deflection and disingenuousness,” sparking a backlash from Clinton supporters and aides.

The right hasn’t held back. After actor George Clooney condemned Mr. Weinstein’s behavior by citing Mr. Ailes and Mr. Cosby, fellow actor James Woods came out swinging.

“Did you forget President #BillClinton, George? The power imbalance between him and a helpless intern is prima facie sexual harassment,” said Mr. Woods, an outspoken conservative, on Twitter.

Mrs. Clinton has moved to shift attention to President Trump, telling the BBC in a Friday interview that “we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office.”

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski didn’t let the comment slide, noting that Mr. Clinton ended up paying $850,000 to settle the Paula Jones case and resigned from the Supreme Court bar rather than face disbarment for lying under oath.

“There was a sexual assaulter in the White House. He was called Bill Clinton,” Mr. Lewandowski said on Fox News, adding, “That’s the sexual assaulter she should be talking about in the White House.”

David Gergen said in a Frontline interview, "Watching Bill Clinton erupt is like watching Mt. Vesuvius. It is something to behold. He gets very red in the face and it goes very quick and it leaves." [94] A US News and World Report story also said of Clinton, "His rage built on itself, and some of his aides thought he might even get violent..." [95]

It is interesting to consider that Clinton's sexual arousal and aggressiveness appear to be related to his anger response. It certainly seems plausible that Clinton's deep-seated emotional issues would include a significant amount of anger around his mother's abandonment of him at a young age. Compound this with her overt sexuality in his presence and all the other complex dynamics that turned him into a sexual addict, and it is likely that, in his psyche, sexual arousal might well be associated with anger. Further complicating his internal dynamic, Clinton, a sex addict, likely has a few issues with himself over his behavior with women. Of course, I am no psychiatrist or sexual abuse expert. But, taken together, these clues might indicate that Clinton's anger issues are wound together with his sexual abuse mechanism, all of which expresses itself in the aroused man's beet red face. Twisted in his mind, perhaps inappropriate arousal triggers his anger. Alternatively, deep, subconscious anger might result in inappropriate, uncontrolled arousal. Either way, the ugly association of anger with arousal sounds dangerously close to a frightening and violent interpretation of "sex," namely rape.

Despite whatever crazy, psychosexual mechanism is at work in his mind and body, he is very savvy at the psych-out. He is a master predator. And that is precisely the problem with having Bill Clinton anywhere near the White House -- as president or first spouse. He is and always will be a sexual predator. Period. We have no reason to think otherwise, no evidence that he has received treatment, nor any other indication that his behavior has or will change, especially if he has the full powers of the presidency to enable his pursuits -- again.

As the child of an alcoholic, Clinton was predisposed biologically and socially to develop his own addiction, Levin says, adding that an "inappropriate early exposure to sexuality taught him to prematurely associate sex with excitement, secrecy, conflict, and intense arousal." Clinton's highly sexual mother perpetuated this dynamic and later added to it, promoting her smart and competent son to the role of her hero. As a teenager, Levin says, Bill filled his mother's need for a father-figure for Roger, his troubled younger brother, and served as a substitute "husband to his flirtatious [and near-sexual exhibitionist] mother." As a teenaged male, Bill was the man in his mother's life. Levin concludes, "There was something unhealthy in this -- excessive and somehow erotic." Levin explains that feelings of grandiosity and special status combined with Bill's successes, causing him to suffer a condition called "terminal uniqueness" -- the belief that he is special, absolutely different from other people, superior to them, and therefore powerful. [96]

For a brief moment in history, Clinton supposedly participated in "counseling" for his sexual addiction. That moment was fleeting. Though it is obvious that nothing has changed, Hillary's presidential campaign would have us believe that it is resolved. But a man with such a deep problem would require extensive intervention and likely even intensive inpatient treatment before he could overcome his lifelong pattern. What's more, his wife would have to contribute to such a recovery, and we have no evidence of that either.

When Clinton gave his famous "I have sinned" speech admitting that he had lied about Monica, he claimed to have had prayer breakfasts in the White House every week with Jesse Jackson. But Jackson himself seemed to refute the impact of those prayer sessions on Clinton. As Jackson himself put it, "There is nothing that this man won't do." According to Jackson biographer Marshall Frady, Jackson once said of Clinton, "He is immune to shame. Move past all the nice posturing and get really down in there on him, you find absolutely nothing ... nothing but appetite." [97] So while he might have had weekly spiritual moments with Jesse Jackson nearly ten years ago, it is highly unlikely that his confessions changed Clinton's behavior in any way.

-- Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton, by Kathleen Willey

Asked by the BBC about her dismissal of allegations against her husband by multiple women, Mrs. Clinton replied, “That has all been litigated.”

“That was the subject of a huge investigation as you might recall in the late ‘90s and there were conclusions drawn. That was clearly in the past,” she said.

In a Thursday interview, Mrs. Clinton blasted Mr. Weinstein’s alleged behavior as “intolerable in every way,” admitting that she would probably have considered him a friend.

The Clintons had rented a house in the Hamptons next to Mr. Weinstein’s vacation home, and Mrs. Clinton has been frequently photographed with the former head of the Weinstein Company over the years.

“People who never spoke out before having the courage to speak out just clearly demonstrates that this behavior that he engaged in cannot be tolerated,” Mrs. Clinton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren accused the former First Lady of hypocrisy.

“The funniest thing about her comment there is that she finds this intolerable,” Ms. Lahren said Sunday on Fox’s “Watters’ World.” “Um, you’re still married to Bill. Apparently, you don’t find these things that intolerable.”

Actress Alyssa Milano launched the #MeToo hashtag on Sunday, unleashing a flood of retweets from women who included stars Debra Messing and Anna Paquin, as well as liberal groups like Planned Parenthood and the Women’s March.

Also retweeting was conservative radio host Dana Loesch, who said she spent her weekend “preparing to move due to repeated threats from gun control advocates.”

More than a dozen women have said they were pressured for sex or harassed by Mr. Weinstein over a period spanning nearly two decades, including three who told the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow that he raped them.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Weinstein has denied allegations of “nonconsensual sex” and said that “there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”

“Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path,” said spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister in a statement last week.

He was expelled Saturday from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which said in a statement that it hoped to “send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over.”

[admin]

Anthony Bourdain Slams Hillary Clinton's Interview About Harvey Weinstein Calling It 'Shameful' and 'Disingenuous'
by Alexia Fernandez @ALEXIAFEDZ
October 11, 2017 AT 11:57PM EDT

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One day after Anthony Bourdain expressed his support for girlfriend Asia Argento after she claimed Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her, he took aim at Hillary Clinton.

Bourdain tweeted his disappointment and anger toward the former Secretary of State, who said during a CNN interview on Wednesday that the sexual assault and harassment allegations made against Weinstein were “intolerable.”


GARY GERSHOFF/WIREIMAGE; CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY

Despite starring on CNN in his show Parts Unknown, the celebrity chef did not hold back.

“I was — I was just sick,” she told Fareed Zakaria. “I was shocked. I was appalled. And, you know, like so many people who’ve come forward and spoken out, this was a different side of a person who I and many others had known in the past.”

Weinstein donated toward Clinton’s political campaigns. Clinton said that while it wasn’t possible to return the money, she would donate it to charity.

“What other people are saying, what my former colleagues are saying, is they’re going to donate it to charity, and of course I will do that,” she said.

Anthony Bourdain ✔@Bourdain
And I have to say, Hillary's interview with Fareed Zakaria was shameful in its deflection and its disingenuousness.
4:31 PM - Oct 11, 2017

Bourdain tweeted out his thoughts, writing, “And I have to say, Hillary’s interview with Fareed Zakaria was shameful in its deflection and its disingenuousness.”

Anthony Bourdain ✔@Bourdain
know what Hillary Clinton is NOT? She's not stupid. Or unsophisticated about the world. The Weinstein stories had been out there for years
4:40 PM - Oct 11, 2017

He continued, adding, “know what Hillary Clinton is NOT? She’s not stupid. Or unsophisticated about the world. The Weinstein stories had been out there for years… Secretary Clinton was one of the most intelligent, well prepared, well briefed politicians ever. So, yes. I’d hoped for a better response.”

Bourdain wrote that Clinton’s response to the Weinstein allegations was “terrible,” while also calling her interview a “real disappointment.”

Anthony Bourdain ✔@Bourdain
Mindless Hillary hate aside, this was a terrible response to questions about a "friend" who's been tormenting women for decades.
4:46 PM - Oct 11, 2017

Anthony Bourdain ✔@Bourdain
I have met Hillary Clinton. I liked her. I admired much about her. This interview was a real disappointment.
4:53 PM - Oct 11, 2017

Bourdain was also quick to tweet that Clinton was “CLEARLY not responsible for anything Weinstein. That’s screamingly obvious.”

Anthony Bourdain ✔@Bourdain
Hillary is CLEARLY not responsible for anything Weinstein Thats screamingly obvious. Her response to questions though has been uninspiring
5:13 PM - Oct 11, 2017

Anthony Bourdain ✔@Bourdain
I can assure you that the victims of Mr. Weinstein's three decades of predatory behavior are disappointed too. I'm sitting next to one.
5:27 PM - Oct 11, 2017

Bourdain showed his unwavering support for Weinstein’s alleged victims, including Argento, with whom he’s in a relationship.

He tweeted on Monday, “I am proud and honored to know you.” He tweeted against on Tuesday morning, “You just did the hardest thing in the world.”

Zakaria noted that many in the entertainment industry claimed Weinstein’s actions were a well-known fact, yet unspoken. Clinton asserted she “certainly didn’t” know.

“I don’t know who did, but I can only speak for myself, and I think speak for many others who knew him primarily through politics,” she said.


MATT BARON/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; VENTURELLI/WIREIMAGE

Clinton added, “But the courage of these women coming forward now is really important because it can’t just end with one person’s disgraceful behavior and the consequences that he is now facing.”

In a New Yorker article released Tuesday morning, Argento, 42, claims that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1997 by forcibly performing oral sex on her.

She alleged that she was invited to what was supposed to be a Miramax party at a hotel in France, but arrived to find Weinstein alone in his hotel room.

“He asks me to give a massage. I was, like, ‘Look man, I am no f—–g fool,'” Argento told writer Ronan Farrow of her experience. “But, looking back, I am a f—–g fool. And I am still trying to come to grips with what happened.” She later added: “It wouldn’t stop. It was a nightmare.”

Argento also acknowledged that she eventually had a consensual relationship with Weinstein in the five years following the incident. She added that she had been hesitant to come forward due to the studio executive’s power in the industry.

“I know he has crushed a lot of people before,” she said. “That’s why this story—in my case, it’s twenty years old, some of them are older—has never come out.”

In response to the lengthy allegations issued against Weinstein in the piece, a spokesperson for Weinstein said, “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”

[admin]

Scotland Yard ‘told of Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct in 1990s’: Claims that Met police were made aware of alleged incident at Savoy hotel involving 19-year-old intern but did not investigate
by Lisa O'Carroll
October 31, 2017

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Sophie Morris: ‘I was very scared and was in a room with this powerful man and in this compromising situation.’ Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian

The Metropolitan police were made aware of alleged sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein at the Savoy hotel in London more than 25 years ago by a 19-year-old, it has been claimed.

However, it appears that no investigation took place because the woman dropped the complaint after Weinstein allegedly learned that she had reported it to the police.

Speaking for the first time in public about the incident, which took place in 1990 or 1991, Sophie Morris said she had “shut down” the incident in her mind ever since but had decided to go public because she wished to show the film producer’s victims were not only celebrities and would-be actors.

“My main point in speaking out is that I was never part of this world, I was never an aspiring actress looking for a part, I was a 19-year-old person doing admin, earning a bit of extra cash in my year out after my A-levels,” she said. “There could be others like me who want to speak out but haven’t. It is easier for actresses to speak out because they have Hollywood behind them.”

Her disclosures to the Guardian and BBC News came as the Metropolitan police announced they had widened the investigation into Weinstein, with seven alleged victims coming forward between 12 and 28 October this year.

Morris said she might raise her complaint with police again. “Part of me does want to re-report it, because we need to stack up these cases against him because he’s going to keep denying them. If they tell me I would need to re-report it, I would definitely pursue it,” said Morris.

Morris, 44, who works in events, was working as an intern at Miramax just after completing her A-levels when she was asked to go to the London hotel where Weinstein stayed when in the capital.

“I was in his lounge in his suite manning the phones and he called me to the bathroom,” she said. “The door was ajar and I could see him in the bath naked. He asked me to come in and I was standing there and not quite understanding the situation.

“I was 19 and was just covering for a friend for a few days in my year off work after school. I said no, and went back to the desk. The next thing, he called me again; this time he was in the bedroom and he was on the bed naked. I remember this disgusting rash all over his body and he kept telling me it was a medical condition and it was being sorted, as if I cared.”

She said that he asked her to massage him and told her that he would not ejaculate if she did so. “The next thing, I remember my top coming off,” she went on. “And I can’t remember if he asked me to take it off and I was doing it myself or if he was trying to do it. I was very scared and was in a room with this powerful man and in this compromising situation.

“Something must have clicked in me and I got out of the room and went back to the desk. I remember someone phoning and asked me was I alright. She must have sensed from my voice that I wasn’t and she told me to leave. I got out of the room. Then I saw he had put the do not disturb sign on his room. I really remember that,” she said.

Shaken by the experience, Morris returned home to Wandsworth, south London, where she told her boyfriend and younger sister but felt too ashamed to tell her parents at the time.

Her sister Tess, who was 13 or 14 and is now a screenwriter in Hollywood, said she remembered Sophie coming home that day and knew something had happened.

“I have a visual memory of her standing in the hallway in the family house and she was telling me she didn’t know what to do, and she felt ashamed and wanted to move on,” said Tess.

The next day, Sophie Morris returned to the Miramax office and told her bosses what had happened. When they asked if she wanted to report it to the police, she said yes but added that she did not want to attend a police station.

Coincidentally, her boss was going out with a policeman at the time, and she arranged for Sophie to report it in her flat in Finsbury Park, north London. “Even though it was in her flat, it was still official, because I got a case number, I remember that,” said Sophie.

However, within days Morris changed her mind about the police. “I remember I got a call from this woman who ran the office and who said that Harvey wanted to speak to me. I did not want to speak to him. I was scared. I was 19 and had no responsible adult to talk to about this. I hadn’t even told my mum or dad what had happened. I told her I didn’t want to speak to him. I assumed that they had told him I had gone to the police and I told her I would drop the case.

“I never heard anything again,” said Morris.

Scotland Yard said it could not say if it had a record of the incident, but said “anyone with allegations of sexual assault should report it to police”.

Rachel Adamson, a criminal lawyer with Slater Gordon, which handled many of the claims for victims of Jimmy Savile, said it would have been routine in the 1990s for police to drop cases if women dropped complaints.

“There has really been a political and social change since then because of the publicity around domestic violence and police do investigate to find out why complainants drop cases,” she said.

[admin]

Harvey Weinstein: UK inquiry widens to seven women
by BBC News
October 31, 2017

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UK police investigating Harvey Weinstein are now looking at sexual assault allegations from seven women.

Officers are investigating separate incidents alleged to have taken place between the 1980s and 2015 both in London as well as outside of the UK.

The Hollywood film producer has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex.

No arrests have been made over any of the allegations at this stage, the Metropolitan Police said.

Police are investigating the allegations under Operation Kaguyak.

 The earliest allegation is of an assault which it is claimed took place in the early 1980s outside of the UK. Scotland Yard says it will pass the allegation on to the local police force in due course.

 The second woman claiming she was assaulted by Weinstein says the incident took place in west London in the late 1980s, with a third woman alleging she was sexually assaulted in Westminster in 1992.

 A fourth alleged victim claims she was assaulted in 1994, also in Westminster, with a fifth alleging an assault took place on her in the same London borough in the mid-1990s.

 Police are investigating two allegations of assault by a sixth woman in Westminster in 2010 and 2011, with a further assault alleged to have taken place on the same woman in Camden in 2015.

 A seventh woman says she was assaulted outside of the UK in 2012 and two further times in 2013 and 2014 in Westminster. Police say they will pass on the 2012 allegation to the relevant force.

Police have not given any more details about the complainants or alleged offences at this stage.

New York police are also investigating claims against the 65-year-old, including rape and sexual assault.

Numerous allegations have been made against the movie mogul by women including actresses Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Earlier this month, UK police confirmed they were investigating claims from three women that they were attacked in Westminster, Camden and west London, before confirming the four new allegations.

On Tuesday, the Producers Guild of America said Weinstein had been banned for life over reports of his "decades of reprehensible conduct".

Actress Rose McGowan says she was offered $1m (£760,000) from Harvey Weinstein in exchange for her silence.

McGowan says she turned down the money the day before the New York Times ran an expose on the movie mogul earlier this month.

[admin]

Men who’ve lost jobs or face sexual harassment claims since Harvey Weinstein scandal
by David Carrig
USA TODAY
Oct. 31, 2017

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A national uproar has erupted after revelations of years of sexual abuse by powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. It has prompted more women to go public with their experiences of men exploiting positions of power, and some men are being held accountable.

Here is a list of powerful men who have either lost their jobs or have been accused of harassment or sexual misconduct since the Weinstein scandal broke:

Mark Halperin


NBC News senior political analyst Mark Halperin has apologized for what he terms "inappropriate" behavior after five women claimed he sexually harassed them while he was a top ABC News executive.
(Photo: Richard Shotwell, Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

• Work: NBC News, MSNBC political analyst; formerly with ABC News
• Accusation: Five women say he sexually harassed them, including forcibly kissing and grabbing the breasts of one woman
• Consequences: NBC News terminated its contract with Halperin, according to several reports. Halperin also lost a book deal and an HBO project based on it after the allegations.
• Halperin said in a statement to CNN: "I now understand from these accounts that my behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain. For that, I am deeply sorry and I apologize. Under the circumstances, I'm going to take a step back from my day-to-day work while I properly deal with this situation."

John Besh


Chef John Besh attends the Supper to benefit the Global Fund to fight AIDS in New York. Besh is stepping down from the restaurant group that bears his name after a newspaper reported that 25 current or former employees of the business said they were victims of sexual harassment. (Photo: Brad Barket/Invision/AP)

• Work: Celebrity chef; co-owner of Besh Restaurant Group, which includes New Orleans restaurants such as August, Domenica and Willa Jean.
• Accusation: 25 women have made allegations against Besh and other male co-workers that they were sexually harassed while working for the restaurant group, according to a report by The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com. The women described “a corporate culture where sexual harassment flourished” and where “male co-workers and bosses touched female employees without consent, made suggestive comments about their appearance and – in a few cases – tried to leverage positions of authority for sex,” the report said.
• Consequences: Besh stepped down from Besh Restaurant Group on Oct. 23.
• Besh said: "I have been seeking to rebuild my marriage and come to terms with my reckless actions," he wrote in a statement. "I also regret any harm this may have caused to my second family at the restaurant group, and sincerely apologize to anyone past and present who has worked for me who found my behavior as unacceptable as I do."

Robert Scoble


The sexual harassment dominoes continue to fall as more women go public with allegations of men exploiting positions of power. USA TODAY

• Work: Public speaker and blogger, technology consultant and expert in augmented and virtual reality
• Accusation: Two women have accused Scoble of sexual harassment and a third said he verbally harassed her. In an interview with USA TODAY earlier in October after the allegations came to light, Scoble apologized for his behavior: "I did some things that are really, really hurtful to the women and I feel ashamed by that," Scoble said. "I have taken many steps to try to get better.”
• Consequences: Resigned from his business consulting firm Transformation Group on Oct. 22. His former business partner said he would refrain from public speaking engagements through the end of the year.
• Scoble now denies sexual misconduct charges: In a blog post on Oct. 25, Scoble defended himself against the allegations and says he's not guilty of sexual harassment because he had no power to "make or break" the careers of women who made allegations against him. “Sexual Harassment requires that I have such power,” he wrote.

James Toback


Add another name to the list of powerful men being accused of sexual harassment in Hollywood. Reported by the Los Angeles Times, Oscar-nominated writer and film director, James Toback has been accused of sexual harassment by more than 30 women. USA TODAY

• Work: Film writer and director
• Accusation: 38 women accused Toback of sexual harassment, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. More than 270 additional women came forward with similar claims after the report. Actress Selma Blair said he requested she read a monologue naked, asked her to have sex with him and after refusing pleasured himself. Rachel McAdams and Julianne Moore also detailed incidents with Toback.
• Toback’s response: The director denied the charges to the Times. “In earlier reports, he denied previous allegations and said he had never met the women or, if he did, it "was for five minutes and have no recollection," the Times reported.

Roy Price


In August, producer Isa Hackett accused Amazon Studios chief Roy Price of making unwanted sexual remarks. It wasn't until after the Weinstein scandal broke that Price was forced out of his high-profile job. (Photo: Barry Brecheisen, AP)

• Work: Amazon Studios programming chief
• Accusation: Isa Hackett, a producer of Amazon Studios' series The Man in the High Castle, accused Price of insistently and repeatedly propositioning her in 2015, including telling her that she would "love my d***, The Information reported. Hackett said she told Amazon about the issues at the time.
• Consequences: Price resigned on Oct. 17, five days after being placed on suspension over the allegations of sexual harassment. Two of Price’s lieutenants, Joe Lewis and Conrad Riggs, were also let go shortly after his departure.
• Price’s last Facebook post on Oct. 17 said: Left job at Amazon.com

Terry Richardson


Fashion photographer Terry Richardson has been banned from working with major magazines over sexual misconduct allegations dating back to 2010. USA TODAY

• Work: Fashion photographer known for his sexually explicit aesthetic
• Accusations: Multiple allegations have been made against Richardson since 2010 when some models began going public, describing episodes of graphic abuse, inappropriate touching and sexual harassment during photo shoots.
• Consequences: Condé Nast International discontinued working with Richardson Oct. 24 and banned him from future assignments.
• A representative for Richardson sent a statement to BuzzFeed News, saying: “He is an artist who has been known for his sexually explicit work so many of his professional interactions with subjects were sexual and explicit in nature but all of the subjects of his work participated consensually.

Leon Wieseltier


One-time New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier apologized to past staffers for behavior that accusers say included inappropriate touching. The Emerson Collective immediately pulled its support for a magazine Wieseltier was set to publish. (Photo: June 9, 2013 photo by AP)

• Work: Former New Republic editor, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution
• Accusations: Former female employees at the New Republic began circulating stories about Wieseltier’s conduct after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, according to Politico, citing sources familiar with the private discussions. Wieseltier was also included on an anonymous list called ‘Sh**ty Media Men’ that detailed sexual misconduct.
• Consequences: Emerson Collective cut ties with Wieseltier and halted production of an upcoming literary journal he was set to oversee, according to Politico. The Brookings Institution suspended Wieseltier without pay, according to the Washington Post.
• Wieseltier said: “For my offenses against some of my colleagues in the past I offer a shaken apology and ask for their forgiveness,” Wieseltier said in a statement. “The women with whom I worked are smart and good people. I am ashamed to know that I made any of them feel demeaned and disrespected. I assure them that I will not waste this reckoning.”

[admin]

O’Reilly, "Shitty Media Men," and the Harassment Double Standard: In the past, the sexual-harasser perps got their jobs back while their female victims lost their careers. Will this time be different?
by Sarah Ellison
Vanity Fair
October 27, 2017 6:07 PM

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Photo of Anthony Weiner, Bill Clinton, Bill O'Reilly, and several other men accused of sexual harassment.
Photo Illustration by Vanity Fair; From right, by Craig Barritt/Getty Images, by Joe Raedle/Getty Images, by Diana Walker/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images, by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis/Getty Images, by Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images, by Paul Zimmerman/WireImage.

Ever since The New York Times and The New Yorker broke open the story of Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior and alleged serial sexual harassment, new instances of harassment have come to light in what feels like an unstoppable wave. And there’s an eery, Matrix-like feel to the revelations these past weeks. Many of the women I have spoken to in recent weeks say that it was the election of Donald Trump, just weeks after the Billy Bush tape, in which Trump bragged about assaulting women, was made public, that made them realize the country at large didn’t seem to care about women’s complaints of sexual harassment. That, coupled with the Roger Ailes scandal, primed the soil for the Weinstein scandal to grow as quickly and vigorously as it has.

In the short term, men of significant cultural clout are being sidelined, particularly in the media business. Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly, Amazon Studios’s Roy Price, Mark Halperin, Vox’s Lockhart Steele, and others have all had to step away from their jobs to work on or work out their “situation.” Halperin’s use of that term struck me as the ultimate of euphemisms. Indeed, after losing his HBO deal, his book deal, and being deleted from his speaking agency’s Web site, he is in something that definitely could be called a situation.

The sudden crashing of so many powerful males has convinced some that this is a sea change. However much these stories were covered up in the past, the rapidity with which they are coming out now is striking. And it is causing significant soul-searching, not just in the media world, but in Silicon Valley, Washington, and on Wall Street, where this kind of behavior has been out in the open for decades.

One measure by which to determine if this soul-searching will lead to lasting change concerns second chances and rehabilitation, and thus far the available evidence is not encouraging. Harvey Weinstein seems to have flunked out of sex rehab after about a week. Bill O’Reilly, who has been in extended conversations with the Sinclair Broadcast Group since losing his position at Fox News, is reportedly still having those conversations, despite the $32 million secret settlement that O’Reilly made after being accused, among other things, of having a “non-consensual sexual relationship” with a former colleague and sending her gay porn. (O’Reilly denied the allegations, quite angrily, to The New York Times, which broke the story.) “They took a pause, but it didn’t really change anything for them,” a source told NBC News of Sinclair’s discussions with O’Reilly.

Roger Ailes passed away this summer, so it’s fair to assume that he will not have a second act. But what happens to Roy Price, Mark Halperin, Lockhart Steele, Leon Wieseltier, and the other men who have been accused of sexual harassment remains to be seen. (Wieseltier was among several dozen men named in the infamous “Shitty Media Men” list, an unverified, crowdsourced spreadsheet that circulated online earlier this month.) Anthony Weiner, who, after apologizing for his inappropriate messages to women, came back to run for mayor of New York (only to be caught doing the same thing again, and again) provided a lesson to men that apology and shamelessness in the wake of sexual scandal can pave a path back to an old life. Before him, there was Bill Clinton. Our current president has simply done away with the apology part of the equation and gone straight for shamelessness to recover after the Billy Bush tape and after nearly 20 women accused him of groping and other sexual misconduct during the campaign. After all, if we live in the attention economy, where simply capturing the news cycle is reward enough, then moving on has its benefits.

Meanwhile, the inequity between the fortunes of these men and their victims is staggering. What we know is that there are fewer second chances for the women who come forward to allege sexual harassment. Many of the women who spoke out against Ailes, notably Gretchen Carlson, are no longer working in television news. When I interviewed Carlson at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit earlier this month, I asked her if she felt she had been retaliated against in the industry for coming forward. She told me that she has been holding down five jobs since she left Fox News (with a $20 million settlement), including writing a book and launching her own not-for-profit to train women about how to handle sexual harassment at work. A TV job, however, hasn't happened yet. “Gretchen has received many opportunities and inquiries to get back into TV," said her publicist, Cindi Berger, "but has not entertained any as of yet except for one project she’s currently working on with an iconic Hollywood producer which will be announced soon. After her book tour and Ted Talk she will be taking television meetings for her return to the career she built for 25 years.”

One person told me that Carlson’s situation is not unlike Colin Kaepernick’s, where the person who launched the movement is the one who ends up paying the price, even as those who come after benefit from the initial courage of that individual. Some of the other women who came out against Ailes and O’Reilly and do not currently have contracts in television news include Julie Roginsky, Juliet Huddy, Andrea Mackris, Rebecca Gomez Diamond, and Andrea Tantaros, among others. One high-profile anchor, Megyn Kelly, who alleged that Ailes harassed her over 10 years ago, bucked the trend, and has managed to land at the Today show, where she currently hosts her own 9 a.m. hour of that franchise. (That may have something to do with Kelly’s long delay before reporting her alleged harassment. Even then, her former colleague O’Reilly lashed out at her for “making my network look bad,” a comment that spurred Kelly to make a renewed complaint to her bosses about O’Reilly’s behavior.) I’ve spoken to six other women, who wish to remain anonymous, about their difficulty finding jobs after complaining of sexual harassment.

These are stories not of harassment that happened in the 1990s, but, in some cases, harassment that happened in the 16 months since Carlson sued Roger Ailes. Many more women still working in their chosen professions can relate to Charlotte Observer beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue, who asked Cam Newton a question during a news conference and was dismissed by Newton as “funny” because she was a woman talking about the physicality of the game. Rodrigue later tweeted that the situation got “worse” when she confronted Newton after his news conference. He apologized later in a video message to anyone who was offended by his comments, noting, as is custom, that he has daughters.

One can go back in recent memory to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who faced allegations of sexual harassment in the early 1990s from his secretary Anita Hill, to find a man accused of sexual harassment who ended up not simply surviving allegations of sexual harassment, but thriving in his career. If this is truly a watershed moment, we’ll be able to witness the same kind of comeback stories for the brave women who are coming forward now. Finally, the victims will have second chances, too.

This article has been updated to clarify Carlson's TV prospects since her departure from Fox.

[admin]

Lena Dunham, Amber Tamblyn, Rose McGowan React to Shocking Harvey Weinstein Report
by Rebecca Rubin @rebeccaarubin
October 5, 2017

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On Thursday, a bombshell investigation in the New York Times cited decades-spanning sexual harassment allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, and celebrities were quick to react to the shocking report.

Lena Dunham was among the first to respond, and commended the individuals who came forward. “The woman who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s not fun or easy. It’s brave.”

Lena Dunham ✔@lenadunham
The woman who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe. It's not fun or easy. It's brave.
11:51 AM - Oct 5, 2017

Amber Tamblyn, who recently spoke out about her own experiences with sexual harassment, said, “Heed the mantra and never forget: Women. Have. Nothing. To. Gain. And. Everything. To Lose. By. Coming. forward.”

Amber Tamblyn ✔@ambertamblyn
Heed the mantra and never forget: Women. Have. Nothing. To. Gain. And. Everything. To Lose. By. Coming. forward. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/h ... tions.html …
11:50 AM - Oct 5, 2017
Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades
An investigation by The New York Times found allegations stretching back to 1990 about Mr. Weinstein’s treatment of women in Hollywood.
nytimes.com

The Times article revealed actress Rose McGowan reached $100,000 settlement Weinstein in 1997. She responded on Twitter saying, “Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies.”

rose mcgowan ✔@rosemcgowan
Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave
12:29 PM - Oct 5, 2017

A number of journalists put the spotlight on male-dominated cultures in the workplace. “Every industry has at least one of these powerful creeps. Look around. Do you know who the Weinstein is?,” Ann Friedman asked, while TV writer Anne Donahue shared a story of her own. “I’ll go first: I was a 17-yr-old co-op student and he insisted on massaging my shoulders as I typed,” she wrote.

ann friedman @annfriedman
Every industry has at least one of these powerful creeps. Look around. Do you know who the Weinstein is?https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html …
11:29 AM - Oct 5, 2017
Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades
An investigation by The New York Times found allegations stretching back to 1990 about Mr. Weinstein’s treatment of women in Hollywood.
nytimes.com

Anne T. Donahue ✔@annetdonahue
When did you meet YOUR Harvey Weinstein? I'll go first: I was a 17-yr-old co-op student and he insisted on massaging my shoulders as I typed
11:51 AM - Oct 5, 2017

Alyssa Rosenberg ✔@AlyssaRosenberg
Harvey Weinstein is merely the latest of many, many, many reminders that Hollywood isn't actually a progressive industry.
11:23 AM - Oct 5, 2017

The reporters who worked on the Harvey Weinstein story are heroes. Women who had the courage to speak out are heroes. Huge thanks to all.

— Tomris Laffly (@TomiLaffly) October 5, 2017

Women were not alone in speaking out against Weinstein. Film producer Keith Calder wrote, “Just flipped through some contracts to make sure I’m legally allowed to say Harvey Weinstein is the worst person in the film business.”

Keith Calder ✔@keithcalder
Just flipped through some contracts to make sure I'm legally allowed to say Harvey Weinstein is the worst person in the film business.
11:46 AM - Oct 5, 2017

“This Harvey Weinstein story is stomach-turning. As is the thought of how many people enabled this behavior,” journalist and author Mark Harris wrote.

Mark Harris ✔@MarkHarrisNYC
This Harvey Weinstein story is stomach-turning. As is the thought of how many people enabled this behavior.
11:56 AM - Oct 5, 2017

[admin]

The ‘Shitty Media Men’ list? We’re asking all the wrong questions about it
by Helen Gould
the guardian.com
October 18, 2017

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Last week, amid the clamour of yet another high-profile man being accused of sexual abuse (and another industry exposed as complicit), a controversial document was shared.

The spreadsheet, titled “SHITTY MEDIA MEN”, gathered a list of names: the names of men who were alleged to have done everything from inappropriate flirting to physical violence.

The claims were unsubstantiated and the file has since been made private; but why does such a list exist, and why would someone share it?

First, it is crucial to acknowledge that sexual harassment, assault, and rape are absolutely everywhere. The media is not alone in this issue, nor is Hollywood. It is in politics, businesses, schools, and families; it is even in supposedly radical left spaces.

As with so many other things, just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. The nature of abuse often requires that it is hidden from others to maintain plausible deniability, making it impossible to tell who is an abuser until they abuse you.

To put it simply, it is most likely that this spreadsheet was made in the interests of safety.

These types of list are hidden, but they exist everywhere. However, they are normally not written down and shared through a Google doc; instead, they are passed on through word of mouth or private social media groups or chats.

There are many reasons why employees don’t use the formal process to report inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, even if they are lucky enough to be working in an organisation with a functional HR department. Fear of reprisal, of not being believed, of “overreacting”, of nothing happening at all – these are all sadly valid concerns. This is especially true when the abuser is more senior. And as harassment and assault so often take place in private, the evidence that is usually required for a complaint to be taken to disciplinary is just not there.

But lack of evidence does not mean the same thing as innocence; and contrary to the beliefs of a sizeable minority, people do not usually fabricate accusations like these. It is highly improbable that this was done out of spite or to harm anyone’s career, and given that anyone could add to it anonymously, there is no financial or social gain to be made.

So. If someone is assaulted in their workplace – or anywhere – what can they do when they know that the processes they are supposed to follow don’t work? They make their own.

Instead of wondering why so many names were added to such a list, concern turns to the careers of the men named

This usually means people who have been victimised passing a warning on to others who might be put in the same position. A whisper network develops which tells you how to protect yourself and who from. When a new person who could be vulnerable joins the community, they are quietly informed of the issue as well. This advice can include everything from avoiding after-work drinks with the person to only communicating via email to not being in one-to-one meetings with them.

This spreadsheet was a similar informal safety measure that was created because nothing else was working. The difference is that it was loud about it. It had much the same effect as a person standing up in an office and shouting “X, Y, and Z are abusive!”

But instead of wondering why so many names were added to such a list and what could be done about it, concern turns to the careers of the men named (whether guilty or not) and accusations of vigilantism. However, on the whole, men – and it is usually men – who behave terribly often do not experience severe consequences for it. For instance, many celebrities have hit the headlines with hideous assault allegations only to walk away without many serious repercussions.

This is not just because they are celebrities; it is because abusers in general benefit from rape culture, which prioritises blaming the victim rather than finding justice. So if your name was on the list, but you are in fact innocent, there is likely not much to worry about. The way the system works tends to be far worse for the person making the accusation.

What this list changed was the power dynamics, which most corporate structures do not really take into account – generally because the imbalance of power suits them just fine. When I work as a facilitator, I always pay attention to the power dynamics expressed through who is speaking and who is not; who gets interrupted; who gets dismissed.

This spreadsheet attempted to take control of the narrative by speaking out and rebalancing the power differential that has led to such an ingrained culture of silence; it refused to be dismissed and could not be interrupted. That is part of what made it uncomfortable reading.

Of course it raised all kinds of moral and legal questions; but the impulse behind it is entirely understandable. It should make us consider how to make our communities safer and destroy the culture that leads to people getting away with abuse.

That work starts with dismantling the power imbalances of sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, and many more forms of oppression that are inherent in western society and which protect abusers. It starts with listening when people start to shout, as they did with this document. It should have started centuries ago; but the next best time is now.

Helen Gould is a writer, speaker and facilitator

[admin]

Harvey Weinstein Says Brother Bob Responsible for His Demise
tmz.com
10/10/2017 5:36 PM PDT

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

12:35 PM PT -- A rep for Harvey tells us, "No matter what derogatory things Bob Weinstein says about his brother, Harvey Weinstein believes his brother is his brother and does not believe his brother would leak his personnel file to the NYT." The rep continues, "Harvey is dealing with his family and is currently in counseling. These are his priorities."

Harvey Weinstein believes his own brother was responsible for his demise, and he has the proof in the form of a receipt ... but Bob Weinstein says Harvey's a "very sick man" who's slinging fake stories to deflect from his own misdeeds.

Sources connected to H.W. tell TMZ, Harvey firmly believes it was his brother Bob who fed The New York Times the information for its sexual harassment story. He believes it was a well-orchestrated plan by Bob to remove Harvey from the company he built.

Weinstein, we're told, firmly believes the entire board knew about his sexual harassment troubles for years. Our sources say 7 months ago Bob received Weinstein's entire personnel file which detailed a number of the claims, and he believes Bob leaked the file to The NY Times.

As for proof the file was sent, we're told Harvey Weinstein's people have a FedEx receipt which shows his brother got the material.



Bob Weinstein came out swinging, telling TMZ, "My brother Harvey is obviously a very sick man. I've urged him to seek immediate professional help because he is in dire need of it. His remorse and apologies to the victims of his abuse are hollow. He said he would go away for help and has yet to do so."

Bob goes on ... "He has proven himself to be a world class liar and now rather than seeking help he is looking to blame others. His assertion is categorically untrue from A to Z. I pray he gets the help that he needs and I believe that it is him behind all of these stories to distract from his own failure to get help."