The New Yorker magazine released chilling audio today of Harvey Weinstein. The recordings, which had previously been in the hands of the NYPD, feature Harvey bullying a Filipina-Italian actress. Having been in uncomfortable situations where I was being pressured into things I wanted nothing to do with making the audio difficult to listen to, but it's a perfect peek into the mind of this abusive rapist.
As <i>New Yorker</i> mentions, these rumors are anything but new. They have only resounded louder in the past 3 decades. One question, at this point, might be why so many who knew were silent and are they not in some way culpable for this sexual predator's continued assaults. According to the <i>New Yorker</i> Weinstein and his cronies used monetary payoffs, non-disclosure agreements and threats to their livelihood or good name to silence the victims. As more and more comes out in this tawdry tale, it seems like keeping Weinstein raping was quite the cottage industry for at least a quarter of a century.
Many of the victims are still too frightened to speak without anonymity. "I know he has crushed a lot of people before," was rape victim Asia Argento's explanation of why she kept silent for two decades. Argento, by the way, is the daughter of the world-famous Dario Argento, so it seems regardless of your personal stature, Weinstein in many ways was able to tower over his prey.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Textbook sexual harassment” was how Nestor described Weinstein’s behavior: <a href="https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c">https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c</a> <a href="https://t.co/pPVUZIQifF">pic.twitter.com/pPVUZIQifF</a></p>— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/917766154185256960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<h4><strong>a clear case of sexual harrassment</h4></strong>
And that's just what these women were to him, prey. One actress said she believed he literally got a thrill from the fright and horror that his victims were faced with during his sexual assaults. As time goes by, the <i>New York Times</i> expose seems more and more like just the tip of an ever-growing iceberg. What will become of this is yet to be seen, but Weinstein until now has been literally untouchable. The recording released by <i>New Yorker</i> was previously in the possession of the New York Police Department. One might ask why obvious proof of a sexual assault did not lead to any action, but the unfortunate answer is that the actions of many in the upper echelons of power are completely unchecked, despite how horrendous.
Weinstein is just the latest in the past month to have made news as a film professional/sexual abuser. Louis C.K., Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool and Devin Faracini recently made waves when the news finally broke about their malevolent misdeeds. Not unlike the allegations related to C.K., Weinstein evidently had a habit of trapping women in his hotel rooms and then shutting off their entry while he forced them to watch him masturbate. <i>New Yorker</i> spoke to sixteen current and former executives and assistants at Weinstein's companies who said they had witnessed or had knowledge of multiple instances of unwanted sexual advances which included touching young actresses and models and even forcing himself on them in all-out rape.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Emma de Caunes met Weinstein in 2010. He invited her to his hotel room and emerged naked and aroused, she said: <a href="https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c">https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c</a> <a href="https://t.co/0kelnOuoiN">pic.twitter.com/0kelnOuoiN</a></p>— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/917766339795783680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<h4><strong>the fear turned him on</h4></strong>
One female executive admitted to being a part of the Weinstein "honeypot." Several associates would join a meeting that had been called explicitly for the purpose of Weinstein putting moves on some unsuspecting female. Weinstein would dismiss the rest of the executives and commence his "private meeting" wherein he would often disrobe. Nearly everyone <i>New Yorker</i> spoke with worried about their lives and careers. Being targeted by one of the most powerful members of the incredibly exclusive and powerful world of Hollywood bought the silence of both victims and accomplices. Countless women never worked again after pushing Harvey's corpulent mass away.
"Don't ruin your friendship with me for five minutes," he gruffly warned Filipina-Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez. Rosanna Arquette, Mira Sorvino, Rose McGowan and other well-known starlets have cowered in silence for years to save themselves from retaliation at the hands of Weinstein and his rape-protection racket.
"This was ongoing predatory behavior towards women - whether they consented or not." As often happens in cases like this, Bill Cosby or Roger Ailes are examples, once the ice has been broken more women feel comfortable sharing their story.
Weinstein in his weak apology, weirdly pivots to the NRA and Trump as if POTUS and guns were the reason he literally can't keep it in his pants. In a statement, Weinstein denies that his improprieties were truly nonconsensual. The women who have spoken thus far strongly disagree.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Other women <a href="https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonanFarrow</a> spoke to were too afraid to allow him to use their names. <a href="https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c">https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c</a></p>— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/917767018568445954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<strong><h4>other accusations</h4></strong>
Multiple victims have spoken about how he literally, physically overpowered them. “He’s a big guy. He overpowered me.” Lucia Evans told <i>New Yorker</i> of Weinstein physically forcing her to perform oral sex, “I just sort of gave up. That’s the most horrible part of it, and that’s why he’s been able to do this for so long to so many women: people give up, and then they feel like it’s their fault.”
Not only does this seem to be "industry standard" in the Dream Factory, but no one seems exempt. Todd Bridges, Corey Feldman, and Ashton Kutcher have shared nightmares about how the casting couch turned into scenes for molestation. Nickelodeon has itself employed multiple sex offenders. The one thing we can hope is that this story continues breaking and breaks hard enough to break the spell these sickos in plush leather office chairs have over their victims and the agencies charged with preventing these situations.
