Now MeToo activists say: This is only the start...
LEADERS of the MeToo movement hailed yesterday’s rape conviction of Harvey Weinstein as the dawn of a ‘new era of justice’.
They said it vindicated the women who bravely took on one of Hollywood’s most powerful players.
Actress Mira Sorvino, who has accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, tweeted: ‘The beginning of justice. More to come, my sisters.’
The guilty verdict comes two years after a Pulitzer prize-winning investigation by the New York Times revealed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the movie mogul. More than 100 accusers subsequently came forward.
Among them was actress Ashley Judd, who was the first big name to condemn Weinstein on the record. Yesterday she praised the six women – Annabella Sciorra, Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Dawn Dunning, Tarale
Wulff and Lauren Young – who gave evidence to ensure Weinstein was put behind bars. She tweeted: ‘For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you.’
Miss Judd met Weinstein in 1997 and accuses him of trying to coerce her into bed at a Beverly Hills hotel. She later claimed he ‘blackballed’ her after she refused his advances. He has denied all the allegations.
Dame Heather Rabbatts, chairman of Time’s Up UK – a movement born out of the Weinstein allegations – hailed the conviction as marking ‘a new era of justice’ for survivors of harassment, abuse and assault at work.
She said: ‘We owe a debt of gratitude to the survivors for their bravery and resolve as they faced Weinstein in court. We continue to believe them, all of them.’
The Silence Breakers, a group formed to challenge Weinstein, issued a statement saying: ‘While it is disappointing that today’s outcome does not deliver the true, full justice that so many women deserve, Harvey Weinstein will now forever be known as a convicted serial predator.’
Rose McGowan, an actress and MeToo founder who alleged Weinstein raped her, said: ‘Today is a powerful day and a huge step forward in collective healing.
‘Twenty years ago I decided to come after Weinstein because I’d heard about him doing this to someone else, and then I heard him doing it to someone else, and someone else.
‘Every one of us who has come forward, we have a name, we have a history, we have a life, we are more than Weinstein. But today, because of the brave women, who bared their deepest hurt for the world to see, he’s in Rikers Island. For once he won’t be sitting comfortably. For once he will know what it’s like to have power wrapped around his neck. Today is not a referendum on MeToo, this is taking out the trash.’
The Time’s Up and MeToo movements have given a voice to those speaking out against sexual misconduct. Ted Baker chief Ray Kelvin was forced to resign in March last year after staff signed an online petition calling for an end to his ‘forced hugging’. He denied the allegations.
The Royal Ballet’s top choreographer, Liam Scarlett, was suspended last month following allegations that he encouraged students to send him naked pictures and acted inappropriately. And business tycoon Sir Philip Green was also accused of sexual harassment and racial abuse by his staff, all of which he denies.
‘This is taking out the trash’