Shortly after the Cosby case, allegations started coming out about Miramax executive and Weinstein Company co-owner Harvey Weinstein. Harvey was one of the biggest names in Hollywood, having been responsible for the rise of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino. Like Cosby, Weinstein most likely prided himself on the power he had over other other people, particularly their careers.
Given his place in the Hollywood social ladder, it would be nearly impossible for an actor, actress, or director to garner credibility in the system without encountering Harvey Weinstein or working with him. This power was something he exploited and used for sexual pleasure. A piece by The New Yorker, From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories, took testimony from at least ten of Weinstein’s victims, each one providing their stories in graphic detail. Lucia Evans, an aspiring actress at the time she met Weinstein stated that she was forced to give Weinstein oral sex during a private meeting. She stated, “I said over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t.’... I just sort of gave up. And that’s the most horrible part of it, and that’s why he’s been able to do this for so long to so many women: people give up, and then they feel it’s their fault,” (The New Yorker).
His influence in the industry acted as a barrier for many women to make their voices heard. Recently, there’s been a paradigm shift with over eighty women coming out with allegations against Weinstein. Even months later, news sources aren’t able to get an accurate account given how many accusations come out on an almost daily basis.
Since the Weinstein scandal, nearly every male celebrity in Hollywood has been accused of some form of sexual assault in one way or another. Jeffrey Tambor, Aziz Ansari, Louis C.K., Andrew Kreisberg, Steven Seagal, Brett Ratner, Dustin Hoffman, and even Hollywood royalty like Kevin Spacey are being outed and held accountable for their actions. While this paradigm shift has allowed victims to speak out against those who have wronged them, it’s also brought about many questions.
Why is this shift happening now? Most importantly, though, how deep does this well go? If people like Bill Cosby and Kevin Spacey can give a public image of elegance or warmth and then molest women and children behind closed doors then how can this system be trusted? How can one separate the shocking acts from the performances and art these people produce? It would appear that, according to CNN, this shift wasn’t caused by the message but the people who pushed the message about a corrupt Hollywood structure. Julia Carpenter of CNN Money writes, “Experts say that the previous power dynamic — the famous man accused by the less famous woman — only bolstered a false narrative, one that discredited women’s stories,” (CNN Money).
In the Weinstein case, it appears that famous women like Gwyneth Paltrow or Cara Delevingne gave their stories first which gave other, lesser known voices, the opportunity to do the same.
On the other hand, some can argue that exposing the corruption within the entertainment industry doesn’t entirely solve the problem. Since Weinstein and Cosby, there have been several stories about sexual exploitation going back to Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1950s and 60s. Some of these stories, like those of Terry Crews and Corey Haim, shine more light on men and children who are sexually exploited through this system as well.
Given Crews’ size and general public image of masculinity, few would have expected him to be the victim of a sexual crime. When he was assaulted at the peak of the Weinstein scandal he was thankfully given a platform to expose his assailant and move forward, a luxury most other victims have had. Corey Haim, on the other hand, was assaulted as a child and never exposed his harasser out of fear for his own life. He told his best friend Corey Feldman who had assaulted him before his suicide but refused to go public.
When looking at the early days of film, particularly the rise of the talkies and the slow death of the silent movie, it’s obvious where this toxic behavior came from. The industry was run by greedy men who were at the top of their industry and who were willing to exploit whoever they could. Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby are not the villains of this story, they’re simply small fish in a much larger pond. The legacy of MGM, the company that Weinstein himself was a part of practically his entire career, is built on the same tactics he employed during his time there. Louis B. Mayer is one of many individuals who started this toxic cycle.
According to Variety he would, “threaten to ruin careers or those of their loved ones,” (Variety) if a woman under his employ didn’t comply to what his demands, whether sexual or professional. Unfortunately, the line between the two were often blurred. Judy Garland would often find herself in situations where Mayer, “held meetings with the young woman on his lap, his hands on her chest,” (Variety). The piece Casting-Couch Tactics Plagued Hollywood Long Before Harvey Weinstein by Variety goes in-depth and shows that women aren’t the only victims for this, nor were they ever the only victims. Young girls, young boys, and gay men were often coveted and exploited by closeted Hollywood elites who often weren’t exposed until after their death.
As the public now stands over the crumbled Hollywood structure, staring at the cracked and rotten foundation now seems to be the perfect time to go about fixing the issue. Many women in Hollywood have taken the liberty of creating a hotline for other women or individuals who find themselves victimized. The ideal way to prevent another Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein is to de-normalize the toxicity within Hollywood’s power structure.
If the children who will one day grow into the future studio executives know the social and legal consequences of sexual abuse there’s more chance of those individuals straying from that kind of behavior. However, this makes one wonder: what causes this kind of behavior? Why were the actions of Mayer and those who succeeded him normalized within the system?
