31‘I want
to leave.’
AMBRA BATTILANA
GUTIERREZ,on a
recording from an
NYPD sting operation70% to
90%
Percentage of victims
who do not file a
complaint with their
employers or with
fair-employment
agencieswas “shocked and appalled by the revelations”—
only to be excoriated by Kellyanne Conway for
taking five days to speak up. Never mind that it
has been more than 365 days since video came
out of Conway’s boss boasting that he can “grab
[women] by the pussy” because “when you’re a
star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” with
no denouncement or resignation from Conway or
any other members of his staff as a result. Never
mind that the “liberal media” broke the Weinstein
story (as well as the stories about Ailes and
O’Reilly, who both worked at a conservative media
company that, the accusers say, systematically
covered up their misbehavior). When it’s right-
wing men in influential positions, harassment is
too often downgraded to “locker-room talk,” and
“pussy grabbing” is boys being boys.
The supposedly liberal men of Hollywood
weren’t much better. With only scant exceptions—
Seth Rogen, Mark Ruffalo, George Clooney—
many of the progressive men of the entertainment
industry seemed to have gone curiously missing.
Even among feminists, there was less of a collective
smugness about Weinstein’s undoing than there
was about the accusations leveled against Ailes or
O’Reilly. It’s less satisfying when the powerful men
in question have play-acted something resembling
feminism—and perhaps even manipulated
women’s causes to shield their abuses.
One certainly understands why working
actresses may continue to remain silent: when
he got word that he could be fired, Weinstein
solicited support from talent agents and industry
executives so that he may eventually “resurrect”
himself. His spokeswoman confirmed to theNew
Yo rk e r that “Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he
makes enough progress, he will be given a second
chance.” For his part, Weinstein has alternately
claimed and denied responsibility. In a bizarre
statement to the New YorkTimes, Weinstein first
justified his actions, then quoted Jay-Z aboutwanting to be a better man. Weinstein also said
he’s been trying to change his ways “for 10 years.”
The statement concluded with lines about his
coming battles against the NRA, the location of
his bar mitzvah and the $5 million foundation at
the University of Southern California that he was
organizing to support female directors. “It will be
named after my mom, and I won’t disappoint her,”
Weinstein said. (The pledge was subsequently
rejected.) But before he could finish saying “mea
culpa,” his lawyer Lisa Bloom, who initially
advised Weinstein on the unfolding scandal, was
denying the allegations as “patently false.”EVERY WOMAN KNOWS THESE MEN.We’ve
worked for them, loved them, married them, raised
them. We’ve watched their movies and read their
books and cast ballots checking their names. We’ve
occasionally been the Lisa Bloom in the Harvey
Weinstein drama, compromising our ideals to
defend a friend or protect our own hard-won but
tenuous position. Every woman also knows the
pretty good men who aren’t predators, but who
intentionally or tacitly create the conditions for the
predation, degradation or even just marginalization
of women: the men who make up all-male boards
and executive leadership, who don’t want to create
discomfort by challenging sexism from friends or
co-workers, who hire and mentor and promote
younger men who remind them of themselves,
who go silent on “women’s issues.” We are often
quick to absolve them, and how could we not?
Severing our ties with all of these men would
require self-banishment to a remote cave, or at
least expatriation to a radical commune. The Roger
Aileses of the world are easy to dismiss, and their
downfalls are easy to celebrate. The men who are
supposed to be on our side, though—these men are
the ones who break our hearts.Filipovic is a writer and lawyerKATHERINE
KENDALL
Says Weinstein
asked her to give
him a massage
and show him her
breasts in 1993 GODRÈCHEJUDITH
Says Weinstein
asked her to give
him a massage
and attempted
to take off her
sweater in 1996DAWN DUNNING
Says Weinstein
offered her film
contracts if
she agreed to
participate in a
threesome in
2003LOUISETTE
GEISS
Says Weinstein
exposed himself
to her and asked
her to watch him
masturbate in
2008LOUISE
GODBOLD
Says Weinstein
“trap[ped] me
in an empty
meeting room,”
touched her
shoulders and
asked for a
massage in the
1990sZOE BROCK
Says Weinstein
got naked and
asked for a
massage in
1997CARA
DELEVINGNE
Says Weinstein
tried to kiss
her and asked
her which
women she had
slept withSOURCES: THE NEW YORKER, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ACES CONNECTION BLOG, MEDIUM, INSTAGRAMARQUETTE, CAUNES: GETTY IMAGES (2); BARTH: SHUTTERSTOCK; PALTROW: REDUX; JOLIE: SHUTTERSTOCK; ROBERTS: MARK REIS—THE NEW YORK T
IMES/REDUX; KENDALL: EMILY BERL—
THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; GODRECHE: GETTY IMAGES; DUNNING: ILANA PANICH-LINSMAN—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; GEISS, DELEVINGNE: GETTY IMAGES (2)