Harvey Weinstein’s downfall and the questions it’s sparked
One might say it’s among the most stunning falls from grace Hollywood has ever seen, but the word “grace” has rarely been used where Harvey Weinstein is concerned.
In less than a week, the mounting scandal over allegations of sexual harassment and assault has rapidly consumed the once-powerful film mogul — and the entertainment industry as a whole.
With fresh accusations against Weinstein continuing to emerge after stories involving stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie broke in the New York Times and the New Yorker, organizations and individuals across Hollywood and in politics are scrambling to distance themselves from him, while large and uncomfortable questions are arising about what the scandal reveals about the culture of Hollywood.
Since the first New York Times story appeared last Thursday, Weinstein — a man who for decades was renowned for his ability to mint award-winning hits like “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “The King’s Speech” and whose films have racked up more than 300 Oscar nominations — has become a pariah.
The Weinstein Co., which he ran alongside his brother Bob, has fired him. His wife, fashion designer Georgina Chapman, with whom he has two children, has said she is divorcing him. And the film academy, whose validation Weinstein so clearly cherished as a brash outsider from Queens — and whose 54-member board of governors currently has 21 women serving on it — has publicly disavowed him.
On Wednesday, the academy released a statement calling Weinstein’s alleged behavior “repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the Academy and the creative community it represents” and announcing that its board of governors would hold a special meeting to review his membership.
For a figure whose Midas touch when it came to the Oscars has long been the stuff of legend, such a repudiation by the film industry’s preeminent organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, capped a collapse unlike anything Hollywood has seen in modern memory.
In this context, reports less than an hour later of a 911 call about a distressed Weinstein seemed almost unsurprising.
As the accusations against Weinstein increased, Hollywood — which has long spoken of sexual harassment only in whispers, if at all — has been able to talk about little else.
Amid the cascade of accusations, many have raised questions about where the next shoe might drop.
“It’s pretty hard to not just be constantly outraged,” said writer Jen Statsky, who has worked on the TV series “The Good Place” and “Broad City.” “You’re just constantly refreshing the news. We are all shocked at how truly horrific these stories are, but we also recognize that this is the culture we live in. This is how women are devalued.”
Many believe the scandal will become a watershed event for Hollywood, sparking wider conversations about sexual harassment, much like the #OscarSoWhite controversy did for the issue of diversity.
“What’s really important right now is that there’s an uprising — people are saying, ‘No, this is problematic,’” actress Blake Lively told The Times. “Women need to speak up, and women need to heard. It’s not one industry, and it’s every level of the food chain. It’s just something women learn to write off as the dayto-day of being a woman: ‘She asked for it because she wore a dress.’ But thank God now the conversation is shifting.”