Celebrities are speaking out after news broke Thursday of nearly three decades of sexual harassment allegations—made by multiple actresses, including Ashley Judd, and female co-workers—against film executive Harvey Weinstein.
The firestorm started when the New York Times published an investigation into multiple accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace, with interviewees characterizing the Weinstein Company as “a toxic environment for women” due to the culture of masking of Weinstein’s behavior and encouraging women to keep quiet. Throughout the afternoon, more female voices in Hollywood joined the chorus.
Amber Tamblyn tweeted a link to the Times article with the simple reminder to, “Heed the mantra and never forget: women have nothing to gain and everything to lose by coming forward.”
Heed the mantra and never forget: Women. Have. Nothing. To. Gain. And. Everything. To Lose. By. Coming. forward. https://t.co/ynKX1bcBkK
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) October 5, 2017
Rosie O’Donnell, who’s also drawn ire from President Trump, recalled a particular meeting where Weinstein called her a slur after she defended her director in a conversation. “He once called me the c word for defending [M.] Night Shyamalan after we filmed Wide Awake,” she tweeted.
he once called me the c word
— ROSIE (@Rosie) October 5, 2017
for defending night shyamalan
after we filmed WIDE AWAKE
Rose McGowan called for the men in Hollywood to remember the allegations as they make career decisions. “Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies,” she tweeted.
https://twitter.com/rosemcgowan/status/916022471165276161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjezebel.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-916022471165276161%26autosize%3D1
30 minutes later, she added: “Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves.”
https://twitter.com/rosemcgowan/status/916030749823852544
Lena Dunham took particular issue with Weinstein’s public apology, which she felt wasn’t specific enough to indicate that he actually understood why his behavior was wrong.
“Would have recommended at least 2 years as caged sub to a bunch of Bard gender studies profs before Weinstein issued that pathetic apology,” she joked.
Would have recommended at least 2 years as caged sub to a bunch of Bard gender studies profs before Weinstein issued that pathetic apology
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) October 5, 2017
Comedian Aparna Nancherla found a bright side, though: Here’s another career path little white boys can pursue and succeed in whether they’re a sexual predator or not.
“Wow, little boys, you can be anything when you grow up!” she tweeted. “Sexual predator businessman, sexual predator president, stay-at-home sexual predator.”
wow, little boys, you can be anything when you grow up! sexual predator businessman, sexual predator president, stay-at-home sexual predator
— Aparna Nancherla 🇵🇸 (@aparnapkin) October 5, 2017
Weinstein has reached at least eight settlements with different women outside of court about these allegations. He is currently on “a leave of absence” from his job.
