‘I was witnessing history – and writing history’
The female journalists who worked 24/7 to report from the court on the Harvey Weinstein trial tell Anna Silverman how it was both moving and thrilling – as well as unusually collaborative...
‘We were all in it together every single day for seven weeks,’ Variety reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister tells Grazia, revealing how the female journalists put their competitive streak to one side to help each other cover the trial. ‘I’m so grateful to have been in the trenches with so many hard-working and passionate journalists. As a woman, I felt an extra sense of responsibility covering this case, which I knew could have a game-changing impact for future generations of working women who will hopefully now have safer and more equitable workplace environments.’
CBS Network News producer Cassandra Gauthier says there was a group of four or five female reporters with whom she became very close. ‘Many of us relied on one another to firm up a quote, to share a transcript and often to share a hug. This was tough stuff.’
For Elizabeth, hearing the verdict felt monumental. ‘As I sat there and typed my notes as the clerk said the word “guilty”, I knew I was witnessing history – and writing history. It’s ironic that Harvey Weinstein was one of the biggest movie producers in Hollywood history because, at times, walking into the courtroom felt like walking on to a movie set, in the sense that it was so surreal the trial was actually happening in real life, after decades of allegations.’
Before covering the case, Elizabeth had seen Weinstein at his company’s Oscars party a few years earlier, where she says he ruled the room. It was a stark contrast to the shadow of a man she watched in the dock. ‘Seeing him feeble and frail with his walker was eerie. And seeing him sitting at the defendant’s table emphasised exactly what was happening in that courtroom, which was the turning-of-the-tides of Hollywood power structures.’
‘The atmosphere was often tense and emotion-filled,’ says Cassandra. ‘Weinstein’s victims had to walk down the hallway of media before and after testifying. Jessica Mann [an actor who Weinstein was convicted of raping in a Manhattan hotel room] cried on the stand for three days. It was painful to hear.’
There were several jaw-dropping moments, not least when the jurors were shown a nude photo of Weinstein. While the images were passed around, she says ‘eagle-eyed sketch artists were able to note the attributes and their work became one of the most shocking takeaways’.
As for the verdict, neither woman knew what to expect: Cassandra tried not to speculate but says, at times, it looked as if it might be hung, while Elizabeth says sources close to Weinstein told her they never anticipated things would turn out the way they did. ‘Weinstein remained stoic as the verdict was read,’ Cassandra adds. ‘There was no visible reaction. No one in the gallery made a sound. Weinstein was cuffed and led out of the room, hobbling without his walker.’