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Weinstein effect

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The Weinstein effect[1][2] is a phenomenon in which sexual harassment allegations of powerful figures get disclosed.[3]

The first of a worldwide wave of allegations was made in the United States in October 2017, when media outlets reported on the allegations made against film producer Harvey Weinstein. They were described as a "tipping point" or "watershed moment" and precipitated an "international reckoning" against sexual harassment.[4][5]

The effect gave rise to the #MeToo movement, which encourages people to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault, and the two events triggered a cascade of allegations that brought about the swift removal of many people in positions of power in the United States. In the entertainment industry, allegations led to the dismissal of actors and directors alike.[6][4]

History

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Background

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In July 2016, Fox News television host Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against the station's chairman Roger Ailes, which led to his removal and encouraged journalists to pursue rumors about Weinstein's conduct and political commentator Bill O'Reilly. Similar revelations and a lawsuit led to O'Reilly being fired in April 2017. Both Ailes (who died in May 2017) and O'Reilly denied any wrongdoing.[7]

Harvey Weinstein, the producer convicted of sexual misconduct

On October 5, 2017, The New York Times broke the first reports of decades of sexual misconduct claims against film producer Harvey Weinstein. On October 10, 2017, journalist Ronan Farrow reported further allegations that Weinstein had sexually assaulted or harassed thirteen, and raped three women.[8]

He was immediately dismissed from The Weinstein Company, expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other professional associations. Weinstein had suppressed these cases through confidential financial settlements and nondisclosure agreements, as was common for celebrity sexual harassment cases, before journalists aired the story. Over eighty accusers came forward against him, including many well-known actresses.[9]

Impact

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Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times said the Weinstein scandal precipitated a "national reckoning" against sexual harassment and assault in the United States,[10] which became known as the Weinstein effect.[7] USA Today wrote that 2017 was the year in which "sexual misconduct became a fireable offense".[7]

Women and men aired claims of sexual misconduct in workplaces across multiple industries, leading to the swift international condemnation or removal of many men in positions of power. On Twitter, the #MeToo campaign also encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to share their stories.[7][11]

Examples of the Weinstein effect are numerous. In film and television, Honest Trailers co-creator, former executive at Collective Digital Studio and Disney Interactive, and former Senior Vice President of Content at Defy Media, Andy Signore;[12] television director/producer Mark Schwahn;[13] animators John Lasseter, John Kricfalusi, Chris Savino and Julia Vickerman; actors such as Russell Brand, Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor, James Franco, Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis C.K., Danny Masterson (convicted of rape), Chris Noth, Ron Jeremy, T.J. Miller and Dan Schneider; voice actor Vic Mignogna; writer Neil Gaiman and filmmakers such as Bryan Singer, Brett Ratner, Max Landis, James Toback and Rob Cohen were all implicated.[4] American rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs has been called the Harvey Weinstein of the music industry.[14][15]

American rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs has been accused of sexual assault by multiple people and was arrested by federal agents in September 2024.

In the journalism industry, allegations led to the firing of editors, publishers, executives, and hosts, including high-profile television figures such as Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, and Matt Lauer.[4] In politics, accusations of varying degrees of severity were made against U.S. House Representative John Conyers (D-MI) and U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), both of whom resigned their seats in Congress, and Roy Moore (R-AL), who lost his 2017 bid for election to the United States Senate.[4] Celebrity chefs Mario Batali and John Besh were also removed.[4]

In technology, the Weinstein effect went underway when Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was investigated after being accused of violating the company's anti-fraternization policy over a consensual relationship he engaged in with an employee. Regardless, although this incident was ultimately not counted as sexually violent, and with the #MeToo movement still in effect, Krzanich was ousted as Intel's CEO on June 21, 2018.[16][17][18]

Two supporters of the #MeToo movement were also accused. CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves was one of Hollywood's most prominent supporters of the movement and a founding member of the "Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace", formed in late 2017 to "tackle the broad culture of abuse and power disparity".[19][20][21][22][23] On July 27, 2018, six women, including actress Illeana Douglas, accused him of sexually harassing them.[19] On August 19, 2018, an article published in The New York Times detailed allegations that Asia Argento sexually assaulted Jimmy Bennett, a then-17-year-old actor and musician, in a California hotel in 2013, and arranged to pay $380,000 to her accuser.[24][25][26] Bennett was under California's age of consent, which is 18 years of age, and says he was given alcohol under the age of 21.[26][27][28] Argento was a leading Weinstein accuser and prominent #MeToo movement leader.[26][27][28]

The Weinstein effect was felt outside the United States, especially but not solely in the English-speaking world. In the United Kingdom, allegations of sexual misconduct against many British politicians became a public scandal involving dozens of women accusers across decades and political parties. It led to the resignations of Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, Cabinet Secretary Damian Green, and Welsh minister Carl Sargeant (who died by suicide four days after his dismissal).[29] In January 2018, reports of sexual harassment at the high-society Presidents Club charity dinner caused another scandal. In Canada, accusations against Just for Laughs comedy festival founder Gilbert Rozon led to his resignation, and 15 people accused Quebec radio host Éric Salvail of sexual misconduct. Broadcaster and former baseball player Gregg Zaun was fired.[30]

Analysis

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American journalists in conversation at NPR spoke of the allegations feeling like a tipping point for societal treatment of sexual misconduct.[31] They distinguished the moment from prior sexual misconduct public debates by the public trust in the accusers, who in this case were celebrities familiar to the public, rather than the accusers in prior cases, in which the accusers were unknown and became famous for their testimony. Social media provides a platform for women to share their experiences and encouragement on a scale that had not existed during prior public debates.[31] The state of California is considering legislation to ban closed door sexual harassment settlements.[7]

Two columnists of the USA Today expressed doubt that the trend of public opinion would hold, citing open, public cases with few consequences, such as R. Kelly (the column was made before Surviving R. Kelly aired and Kelly's subsequent arrest in early 2019) and Donald Trump.[7] The Weinstein effect also caused some to question the place of Bill Clinton within the Democratic Party due to the sexual misconduct allegations against him.[32][33][34] Journalist Jenny Nordberg published a New York Times article in protest against the prosecution and conviction of actress Cissi Wallin, one of the many accusers of journalist Fredrik Virtanen, and her criticism of the difficulties the Me Too movement faces in Sweden.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Harvey Weinstein effect". USA Today (interactive graphic). Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Graham, Renée (November 28, 2017). "The 'Weinstein effect' hits a wall". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  3. ^ Nicolaou, Elena (November 15, 2017). "The Weinstein Effect, Explained". Refinery29.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Worthen, Meredith (December 20, 2017). "100 Powerful Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct in 2017". Biography.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. ^ deJesus-Remaklus, Mariah (November 20, 2017). "Red Zone: 'Weinstein effect' sparks national reckoning against sexual assault and harassment". The Northern Light. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "Powerful men confronted as 'Weinstein effect' goes global". CBS News. Associated Press. November 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guynn, Jessica; Della Cava, Marco (October 25, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein effect: Men are getting outed and some are getting fired as women speak up. And it's spreading". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Farrow, Ronan (October 10, 2017). "From aggressive overtures to sexual assault: Harvey Weinstein's accusers tell their stories". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. ^ Williams, Janice (October 30, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein accusers: Over 80 women now claim producer sexually assaulted or harassed them". Newsweek. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  10. ^ Rutenberg, Jim (October 22, 2017). "A long-delayed reckoning of the cost of silence on abuse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017.
  11. ^ Cook, Jesselyn; Simons, Ned (November 8, 2017). "The Weinstein effect: How a Hollywood scandal sparked a global movement against sexual misconduct". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017.
  12. ^ Couch, Aaron; Parker, Ryan (October 6, 2017). "Honest Trailers creator Andy Signore accused of sexual abuse". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  13. ^ "Mark Schwahn Officially Fired From 'The Royals' Due To Sexual Harassment Claims". ENStarz.
  14. ^ "Is Diddy hip-hop's Weinstein? Plus, Brittany gets rejected". NPR. September 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "'Does the case of Sean Combs, aka Diddy, herald a #MeToo in music?'". Le Monde. October 4, 2024.
  16. ^ "Intel CEO out after consensual relationship with employee". NBC News. June 21, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  17. ^ "Intel CEO out after consensual relationship with employee". AP News. June 22, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  18. ^ Welch, Chris (June 21, 2018). "Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigns over relationship with employee". The Verge. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Farrow, Ronan (July 27, 2018). "Les Moonves and CBS face allegations of sexual misconduct". The New Yorker. A reporter at large. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  20. ^ Deerwester, Jayme; Mandell, Andrea (July 28, 2018). "Leslie Moonves accused of sexually harassing six women in New Yorker piece". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018. A public proponent of the #MeToo movement, Moonves
  21. ^ Lutz, Eric (July 28, 2018). "CBS exec Les Moonves accused of sexual misconduct in latest Ronan Farrow bombshell". Mic. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Moonves has also been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement
  22. ^ Wattles, Jackie (December 16, 2017). "Hollywood execs name Anita Hill to lead anti-harassment effort". CNNMoney. Cable News Network. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Among the list of the commission's members are: ... — Les Moonves, chairman/CEO of CBS Corp
  23. ^ Cara Buckley (December 15, 2017). "Anita Hill to lead Hollywood commission on sexual harassment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  24. ^ "Italian actress Asia Argento, who accused Weinsten of misconduct, slammed for payout to sexual assault accuser". The Economic Times. The India Times. ANI. August 20, 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  25. ^ North, Anna (August 21, 2018). "The Asia Argento allegations reveal our damaging misconceptions about sexual assault survivors". Vox. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  26. ^ a b c Severson, Kim (August 19, 2018). "Asia Argento, who accused Weinstein, made deal with her own accuser". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Willis, Kim (August 19, 2018). "Report: #MeToo leader, Weinstein accuser Asia Argento paid off her sexual assault accuser". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  28. ^ a b France, Lisa Respers; Cullinane, Susannah (August 22, 2018) [2018-08-20]. "New York Times: Asia Argento, #MeToo leader, paid sexual assault accuser". CNN. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  29. ^ "The death of Carl Sargeant: Timeline". BBC News. November 21, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  30. ^ Doherty, Brennan (November 30, 2017). "Former Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun fired from Sportsnet over 'inappropriate behaviour'". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017. Sportsnet has fired Blue Jays broadcaster Gregg Zaun for "inappropriate behaviour." Rogers Media said "multiple female employees" complained about him. (The Canadian Press)
  31. ^ a b King, Noel (November 4, 2017). "Why 'The Weinstein effect' seems like a tipping point". NPR.org. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  32. ^ Tumulty, Karen; Mettler, Katie (November 17, 2017). "Abuse allegations have revived scrutiny of Bill Clinton — and divided Democrats". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  33. ^ Flanagan, Caitlin (November 2017). "Bill Clinton: A reckoning". TheAtlantic.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  34. ^ Wolf, Z. Byron (November 17, 2017). "Are Democrats about to turn on Bill Clinton?". CNN.com. Kirsten Gillibrand. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

Further reading

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