Dozens of actors and former employees have accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and misconduct, exploding the #MeToo movement onto the global stage. Weinstein's sentence is expected on Wednesday.
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It all began with a tweet.
Using the hashtag #WhyWomenDontReport, actor Rose McGowan accused an unnamed Hollywood producer of raping her.
"Because it's been an open secret in Hollywood/Media & they shamed me while adulating my rapist," she wrote in October 2016. But she was finally breaking her silence.
Confirming rumors
The tweet came on the heels of several public trials of prominent media personalities for sexual assault and harassment, including actor Bill Cosby and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.
While rumors about Harvey Weinstein's behavior towards women had long been circulating within the film industry, no one had gone on record. A groping case against the producer was looked into by the New York Police Department in 2015 but no charges had been filed.
Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter who had been covering workplace sexual harassment, saw McGowan's tweet and eventually reached out to the actor for more information. That conversation got the ball rolling on what would be a groundbreaking investigation into wrongdoing by the movie mogul.
High-profile sexual misconduct cases in the US
Since The New York Times published allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in October, many other prominent US men have faced harassment allegations. DW looks at some high-profile cases.
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The case that sparked a global debate
Harvey Weinstein has been accused by dozens of women of sexual harassment or sexual assaults, including rape. Under investigation by police departments in New York, London, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex, but apologized for causing "a lot of pain." The case prompted many other women to come forward.
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Media men in glass houses
PBS and CBS host Charlie Rose is accused by several women of unwanted sexual advances, walking naked in front of them or making lewd phone calls. He has apologized for his behavior but questioned the accuracy of some of the allegations. Meanwhile, Journalist Mark Halperin is accused of harassing about 12 women while at ABC News.
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Politicians from the Republican party...
US Senate candidate Roy Moore, a Republican from Alabama, is accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers and pursuing relationships with several others decades ago, when he was in his 30s. He has denied the allegations. Former President George H.W. Bush was accused of patting seven women below the waist. The 93-year-old has issued apologies through a spokesman "to anyone he has offended."
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...and the Democrats
A senior figure in the US Democratic party, Minnesota Senator Al Franken is accused of forcibly kissing radio personality Leeann Tweeden and groping her while she slept during a 2006 tour to Afghanistan to entertain US troops. The former comedian who became a senator in 2009 has apologized, saying he felt "disgusted" with himself.
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Sexual misconduct in sports
Ex-USA gymnastics team doctor Lawrence "Larry" Nassar is accused of abusing over 100 female athletes. He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and could face 25 years in prison. Three of his victims were under 13 years old. Israeli IOC member Alex Gilady is accused by two women of rape and by two others of inappropriate conduct. He denies the rape accusations.
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Hollywood stars under scrutiny
Actor Kevin Spacey has been accused by at least 24 men of sexual misconduct or assault. London police are investigating two sexual assaults and he was fired from "House of Cards." Dustin Hoffman is accused by a woman of harassing her when she was 17. He has apologized for his behavior. Writer-director James Toback is accused by hundreds of women of sexual harassment. He denies the allegations.
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'She feared that Weinstein would crush her'
Kantor's expose, which was first published in the New York Times on October 5, 2017, revealed accusations of sexual assault, rape, harassment and intimidation across decades by women who had worked with Weinstein. Prominent actors including McGowan and Ashley Judd went on record with details of their experiences with the producer. Once these women came forward, others followed.
Just a few days later, on October 10, 2017, journalist Ronan Farrow published the results of a similar investigation he'd undertaken in the New Yorker. He quoted 13 women, including actor Mira Sorvino, who described being assaulted by Weinstein.
Noting that some of the accusations dated back years, and that other investigations had fallen short in terms of evidence, Farrow explained there was a plausible reason for the delay in reporting on Weinstein.
He quoted Weinstein accuser, film director Asia Argento, who said that "(s)he feared that Weinstein would 'crush' her. 'I know he has crushed a lot of people before,' Argento said. 'That's why this story — in my case, it's 20 years old, some of them are older — has never come out.'"
Since those initial revelations, which sparked a worldwide revitalization of the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment, over 100 women are estimated to have accused one of Hollywood's most prominent producers of sexual misconduct.
Time's 2017 Person of the Year: The Silence Breakers
Giving power to the #MeToo movement, the people who came forward with their stories of sexual harassment have been named Time's 2017 Person of the Year. Here are some of the most high-profile "Silence Breakers."
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Ashley Judd
In 1997, upcomer Ashley Judd was invited to meet star-maker Harvey Weinstein at an LA hotel, whereupon he tried to coerce her into bed. Judd escaped but refused to be silenced. Many in Hollywood then said the producer's sexual misconduct was an "open secret." "There wasn't a place for us to report these experiences," said Judd, the first to call out Weinstein in the New York Times in October.
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Rose McGowan
When actor Rose McGowan first told people that Harvey Weinstein had raped her, she says some in Hollywood threatened to end her career. "They threatened [me] with being blacklisted. I was blacklisted after I was raped, because I got raped, because I said something," she said in a January interview first published in the Observer. But that didn't stop her from later speaking out.
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Taylor Swift
When Taylor Swift alleged that Denver radio DJ David Mueller reached under her skirt and groped her, he took her to court after it lead to his firing. "I'm not going to let you or your client make me feel in any way that this is my fault," she told his lawyer. Swift also told Time magazine that if Mueller was "brazen enough to assault me... imagine what he might do to a vulnerable, young artist."
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Selma Blair
Blair claims that writer/director James Toback invited her to his room and asked her to remove her clothing while she read a script before asking her for sex. When she refused, he blocked her way and masturbated against her leg. He then threatened to kill her if she dared to talk. "I didn't want to speak up because, it sounds crazy but, even until now, I have been scared for my life," said Blair.
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Alyssa Milano
"Me Too" was first used in 2006 by gender equality activist Tarana Burke as a rallying cry for young sexual harassment and assault survivors. Actor Alyssa Milano was sent a screenshot of the phrase in October and later tweeted: "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet." She woke to find that over 30,000 people had used #MeToo and burst into tears.
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Wendy Walsh
After Bill O'Reilly and Fox News spent millions on lawyers to settle, and silence, sexual harassment claims, Wendy Walsh, a psychologist and Fox contributor spoke out about O'Reilly after initial reluctance for fear of retaliation. "I felt it was my duty," Walsh told Time, "as a mother of daughters, as an act of love for women everywhere and the women who are silenced, to be brave."
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Megyn Kelly
TV news anchor Megyn Kelly has accused Fox host Bill O'Reilly of sexual harassment. "What if we did complain?" she said to Time, "if we spoke our truth in our strongest voices? What if that worked to change reality right now?" Perhaps that change has already started to come. "I always thought maybe things could change for my daughter," said Kelly. "I never thought things could change for me."
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Susan Fowler
An Uber engineer, Fowler felt powerless with "a harasser in the White House" and decided to out sexual harassers at Uber in a blog post. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was subsequently forced to resign and 20-odd employees were fired. "There's something really empowering about standing up for what's right," said Fowler, who has been described as a whistle-blower — which she calls "a badge of honor."
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Terry Crews
The actor and former American football star is one of a number of men who have said "me too." Crews has taken out a sexual assault lawsuit against talent agent Adam Venit, who he accuses of groping him at a party in Hollywood in February 2016. Also among Time's Silence Breakers is actor Blaise Godbe Lipman, who's accused talent agent Tyler Grasham of sexually assaulting him when he was a teenager.
The back-to-back reports by Kantor and Farrow not only led to a public outcry but had a series of consequences for Harvey Weinstein and Miramax Films, the company he co-founded with his brother Bob in 1979.
So what exactly has happened since the first Weinstein revelations? The following timeline breaks down important events in the sexual assault cases against the Hollywood mogul:
● October 5, 2017: Immediately following the publication of Kantor's investigation in the New York Times, Weinstein issued a statement to the paper saying, "I so respect all women and regret what happened." He also threatened to sue the newspaper;
● October 8, 2017: Weinstein takes a leave of absence from The Weinstein Company, which was launched by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 after they left Miramax;
● October 9, 2017: Prominent celebrities including George Clooney and Meryl Streep decried the producer's actions, calling them "indefensible";
● October 14, 2017: After further accusations were made, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, the organization behind the Oscars, votes to expel Weinstein, whose name had been one of the most frequently invoked in thank you speeches;
● October 17, 2017: Weinstein resigns from the board of his eponymous company;
● February 11, 2018: New York state prosecutors file lawsuit against the Weinstein Company, alleging that the studio failed to protect female employees from alleged sexual harassment and abuse;
● March 20, 2018: The Weinstein Company files for bankruptcy, dissolving all existing non-disclosure agreements and enabling accusers to speak freely in court;
● May 1, 2018: Actor Ashley Judd sues Harvey Weinstein;
● May 25, 2018: Charged with rape and several other counts of sexual assault against two women, Weinstein turns himself into the New York Police Department and is released on $1 million (€900,000) bail the following day;
● June 5, 2018: Weinstein pleads not guilty to the first case. Within a month he is charged with a third count, to which he also pleads not guilty;
They broke the Harvey Weinstein story for the New York Times and won the Pulitzer Prize: Jodi Kantor and Megan TwoheyImage: Getty Images for Hearst Magazines/T. Wargo
● September 25, 2019: New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey release their book, She Said, detailing their reporting on the Weinstein accusations and his use of intimidation tactics to prevent the release of the investigation;
● October 5, 2019: Rowena Chen, a former assistant of Weinstein's, reveals in an op-ed in the New York Times that she was assaulted while working for him;
● December 11, 2019: Weinstein is fined by the state of New York for tampering with the electronic ankle bracelet he was required to wear while out on bail;
● December 11, 2019: Another tentative agreement to settle civil suits between The Weinstein Company and nearly 30 actors and former employees is reached for $25 million. Not all women agree to the suit's terms and intend to challenge it;
● January 6, 2020: Weinstein's trial begins in a criminal court in New York City. Six accusers testify that Weinstein had sexually assaulted or raped them. The defense calls various witness, but Weinstein himself does not testify;
● February 13-14, 2020: After a roughly five-week trial, closing arguments from the prosecutor and defense teams are delivered; Weinstein's lead defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, doubts the accusers' motives, while Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi calls Weinstein "master of his universe" and accuses him of seeing the alleged victims as "ants that he could step on";
● February 18, 2020: Jurors retreat to weigh evidence;
● February 24, 2020: The jury finds the former film mogul guilty of two of the five charges: predatory sexual assault and rape, carrying a possible sentence between five and 29 years;
