@roycroftmom
“Associating socially” with HW and going to parties and events can be part of your contract – actors have to promote their movies, often with the producers in tow. So don’t judge before you know the facts. BTW, very famous actresses DID speak out against HW – Angelina Jolie is one – and nothing happened. So please don’t judge. It sounds like you have a very limited idea of the entertainment industry. Like someone said, easy to opine if you’ve never been there and don’t have anything to lose.
@busdriver11 – if you really think Anita Hill put up with Thomas “to enhance her career,” then you know nothing about Anita Hill. Your comment really illustrates why many women refuse to speak out about sexual harassment in the workplace. Because of comments like yours.
Didn’t Ke$ha speak up and try to get away from her abuser and the legal system forced her to continue working with him?
How well has that worked for her so far?
I think it’s a fantasy that there is an obvious right way to handle this issue.
@katliamom, even Anita herself acknowledges following him to another job was poor judgement. Not following a harasser to another position seems like a no brainer, but some women will put up with abuse for all sorts of reasons unfathomable to others. It certainly doesn’t help your case when you make accusations many years later.
LOL @busdriver, the wikipedia is hardly a safe source of information. You do know that whole section could have been written by, for example, Thomas’s weird wife?
Other sources that cite this supposed career advancement on Hill’s part appear in a lot of right-wing magazines and books which bent over backwards to portray Hill as a liar. Most of these claim were rebutted by subsequent authors and sources.
Maybe it would be too much of a stretch that she would realize it was bad judgement after all…
Ladies, let me tell you my opinion of what is poor judgement. Don’t date or marry your abuser. Don’t voluntarily hang out with him and set your friends up with him. You shouldn’t have to quit your job because of him, but don’t follow him to the next one. Don’t ask for favors from him. You may feel that you can’t speak up for whatever reason, but don’t purposefully expose yourself to more abuse, even if it helps you out. Seems like a no brainer.
Ah, the BBC reported in 2009 that HW was trying to help his friend Roman Polanski and marshall support with the legal troubles related to Polanski’s rape charge and extradition. They deserve each other.
Yes, but it is important to place commentary in it’s proper perspective. All the “woulda coulda shoulda’s” that some posters so readily offer come from a very comfortable place of not having to make those difficult decisions themselves. It is very easy to point fingers, judge and advise when your own bills are paid and your own job is secure. Your moral superiority doesn’t mean anything in real time – these women mostly likely did what they needed to do to survive, pay their bills and continue working in the industry they were trained in. And that meant silence at that time.
Who am I to judge the decisions they made? One thing I am certain of – they spoke of it amongst themselves as women always do. But in that particular industry it was simply those with little power speaking to others with little power.
Even in my 20s, telling the interviewer I didn’t believe he was allowed to ask that question, to which he responded “because it’s illegal?” I understood not everyone had the luxury to question this sort of behavior.
The issue we see with HW is that a lot of people know(heard the stories from people they know) but these same people can’t prove it as it didn’t happen to them or they weren’t a witness to an incident with HW. Looking at the history of this story, the people who knew something was going on. These people didn’t have proof and tried to warn others were ostracized, Courtney Love and others.
here is an example of the power HW had over the media. The person who spiked the HW story at NBC news was trying to be a screen writer.
“He alternately flattered and bullied reporters (including this one), while occasionally attempting to entice journalists and gossip columnists with offers of book and movie deals.”
Dont write the story and you get a book deal or start your new career as a screen writer.
“NBC News’ recently appointed president, Noah Oppenheim, is facing intense criticism for reportedly spiking an exclusive story exposing movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault allegations. Oppenheim, who is a Hollywood screenwriter, should have recused himself from making decisions about a powerful player in the entertainment industry, critics say. Instead, the usually hands-off executive — who is still actively writing screenplays — intervened in the editorial process and killed the story, according to The Daily Beast.”
Yes and a luxury it is @ahl. Which brings me to a thought that I have been reluctant to raise because not everyone has that luxury.
If there is one thing that can assist a young woman in not lowering her standards by having to deal with the likes of Harvey Weinstein, it is the knowledge that someone will be there to help if that rent check cannot be paid the next month because they walked away. I know when I entered the working world my parents let me know they were there if a job didn’t work out – they wanted me to know I had the freedom to walk away. I am pretty sure my brothers got the same message.
So it can be very helpful to make sure your daughters and sons realize that you will assist them if they need to walk away – even if that just means coming home until something better comes up.
An amazing op-ed by Lupita Nyong’o, about her experience with Weinstein. As a student at Yale Drama, s
he was harassed by Weinstein. She refused his advances, and tried to have nothing to do with him. Like other women Weinstein harassed, she didn’t feel like there was anyone she could tell. She writes
You’re absolutely right. I’m remembering two situations in my life – one was sexual harassment, one was just harassment – and in both situations, I knew I didn’t need the job.
In the sexual harassment situation, the CEO of my company – yes!, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company – said in a meeting with witnesses that “VeryHappy is our honey!” I had financial assets behind me (I was in my late 50s at that time) and felt fine about reporting his comment to the head of HR and the General Counsel and about accosting him about the comment. If they had fired me, I would have been fine. That’s a luxury.
In the “just harassment” situation (not sexual harassment), I knew my boss was trying to get me to quit. And I decided that no matter how bad it got, (1) it wasn’t my real life, and (2) I wasn’t going to leave until they gave me some goodies. She finally went waaaaaay over the line, I reported it to HR, and I wound up with half a year’s severance. In this situation also I was old – in my early 60s.
Age has its perquisites. So does financial security. When you have the finances, you don’t have to be afraid.
I think that makes a huge difference. If you are not dependent upon this job, you feel more free to respond as you choose. I am sure that someone who knows they have tremendous power over not just your job, but your career, like Harvey did, is far more bold to do as he wishes. I can understand why many women would not want to make their experiences public, if he could ruin them.
But…that comment was offensive? I would have taken that as a compliment, maybe had it framed…that sounds kind and affectionate to me.
As an FYI for the group, I deleted the quote above, not because I agree or disagree, but because I have no idea to whom the poster is referring. If you want to respond to a post, use BB codes to quote the section of the post, or at the very least tag the user with the @ sign.
While I was at it, I also deleted a few other posts that were too back-and-forth. This is not a debate society, so please don’t try to argue a point with another user. If I missed a post that should be deleted, it is not because I agree with it - I just missed it, so feel free to flag.
