Hollywood’s Silence About Weinstein, The Hypocritical Reactions, And The False Narrative About This Being Men’s Problem.

Harvey Weinstein is, in case you hadn’t noticed, in a world of hurt right now. And far be it for Lena Dunham to not want to pile on, particularly if it’s a chance for her to rip on other men. I mean, men are the devil, obvs. She’s written a piece for the New York Times (which, by the way, is also in a world of hurt now that James O’Keefe has it), and in it, she questions the silence by men in her industry – wondering why they kept Weinstein’s apparently notorious behavior under wraps.  Hannah wrote about this earlier right here, but I’m going to take this further, y’all.  Buckle up.

Lena starts out by describing the countless times she and her actress friends have experienced “everyday sexism” in their interactions with male colleagues/directors/producers, and more overt advances. And she writes that while Judd Apatow, who directed her TV series Girls, always showed her respect, she was the victim of sexual harassment by a director just last year:

Last year, I was sexually harassed by a director of a show, not my own, and not on a set, and the response by the powers that be was to defend him, question the women ferociously and take ages before letting him go from the network. It was a move based less on his skill than on some ancient loyalty. It’s that kind of behavior that normalizes this abuse of power.

Note: she doesn’t name that director.  If he was let go, and she doesn’t want to “normalize the abuse of power” then why does she see fit, even now, to protect him?

Lena writes that Weinstein is just one example of many men in Hollywood who’ve subjected women to abuse and harassment, and that his behavior was “silently co-signed for decades by employees and collaborators” and “is a microcosm of what has been happening in Hollywood since always and of what workplace harassment looks like for women everywhere.”

She writes:

This isn’t anything new. Woody Allen, whose daughter has said, over his denials, that he sexually abused her as a child, is still getting the hottest young stars to work with him. Roman Polanski, whose victims continue to come forward, is considered a visionary worth fighting for, and I recently had a male star tell me that working with him would “obviously be the ultimate.” (In fact, Mr. Weinstein himself gathered Hollywood to sign a letter asking that Mr. Polanski’s charges be dropped and he be allowed to return to America.)

I wanna address the point that seems to keep getting lost in this discussion. Polanski and Woody Allen aren’t just continuing to be successful because of men working for them. Typically, successful movies require people of both sexes to be cast in them.  It’s women who continue to willingly subject themselves to known perverts who are also “silently co-signing” their behavior.

Lena doesn’t understand that, though, because even though she’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no man, and she’s an empowered feminist, by golly she needs protection and support from MEN, because it’s THEIR silence that’s to blame here.

But here we are, days later, waiting for Mr. Weinstein’s most powerful collaborators to say something. Anything. It wouldn’t be just a gift to the women he has victimized, but a message to the women who are watching our industry closely. They need a signal that we do not approve of the abuse of power and hatred of women that is the driving force behind this kind of behavior.

Now here’s where it gets super interesting. You may recall that Lena was a HUUUUUGE Hillary supporter. Her love for Hillary was and is utterly boundless. She writes:

In the fall of 2016, I performed at a benefit for Hillary Clinton organized by the Weinstein Company. I had heard the rumors. I felt that going onstage under his aegis was a betrayal of my own values. But I wanted so desperately to support my candidate that I made a calculation. We’ve all made calculations, and saying we’re sorry about those calculations is not an act of cowardice. It’s an essential change of position that could shift the way we do business and the way women regard their own position in the workplace. I’m sorry I shook the hand of someone I knew was not a friend to women in my industry.

 

Men of Hollywood, what are you sorry for? What will you refuse to accept anymore? What will you say to fill the void and change the standard? Are you afraid because you heard the whisperings but accepted a role or a position on a host committee or a glass of Champagne and a pat on the back? Are you embarrassed because you’re in a photo with him smiling broadly or because he gave money to your organization or introduced you to your girlfriend or earned you your Oscar nomination? Are you operating under the assumption that this is very sad but that it is not your problem?

 

It is, unfortunately, all of our problems. It is the problem of the agents who sent their clients to meet with a man they knew was a predator, who shuffled them onto his sets. It is the problem of producers who turned a blind eye. It is the problem of actors who heard whispers but walked back to their trailers to play fantasy football. It is the problem of industry media that would not report their findings because they feared losing their place in Harvey Weinstein’s good graces. It is not, as some have suggested, the problem of the women who are afraid to come forward with their own stories or who settled financially with Mr. Weinstein.

Oh yes it IS, Lena. And you continue to perpetuate the problem by NOT NAMING THE DIRECTOR you say harassed you just last year. You can apologize for making a “bad calculation” by attending Weinstein’s Hillary benefit, and you can demand that “Men of Hollywood” do the same for their miscalculations, but that doesn’t make it any less a problem for WHOEVER is keeping silent. Male, female – it doesn’t matter.

Lena concludes:

Hollywood’s silence, particularly that of men who worked closely with Mr. Weinstein, only reinforces the culture that keeps women from speaking. When we stay silent, we gag the victims. When we stay silent, we condone behavior that none of us could possibly believe is O.K. (unless you do). When we stay silent, we stay on the same path that led us here. Making noise is making change. Making change is why we tell stories. We don’t want to have to tell stories like this one again and again. Speak louder.

And yet, she doesn’t name the director she accuses of harassment last year. What a complete hypocrite.

Let’s break this down further.  Too many women often have no problem using their sexuality as a tool to get what they want, because they know that scumbags like Harvey Weinstein are eager to take the bait.  George Clooney even admitted as much when he said that rumors floating in the 90s were that certain actresses had slept with Weinstein to get parts in movies.  And you’d have to be a fool to think that those rumors weren’t true.  OF COURSE Harvey Weinstein is a disgusting pig who abused women.  But any woman who willingly slept with him to advance her career is every bit as complicit in maintaining this kind of culture.   I do not put any blame on any woman that Weinstein abused or harassed or assaulted.  But I do blame women who willingly used their sexuality on purpose and with purpose to gain favor with him.  They too, contribute to the culture.   We shouldn’t pretend that women are all delicate, innocent flowers who never manipulate men using their sexuality.

Also, Lena seems to have had no issue supporting the wife of a known sexual predator when she campaigned for Hillary Clinton.  Hillary spoke out against her husband’s victims, denigrating them, and Lena hasn’t said a word about that.  Why the double standard? How many of the people currently demanding a boycott of Marchesa (Weinstein’s wife’s clothing line) – because supporting that line shows tacit support of a sexual predator – had no problem voting for Hillary?

Every hour now, it seems, new accusations against Harvey Weinstein are surfacing, and from big names like Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.  Gwyneth Paltrow continued to work with her “Uncle Harvey” even after being harassed by him, because her career was more  important than her principles, apparently.  At least Jolie decided that she’d never work with him again once she experienced similar harassment.  The same can’t be said for Ashley Judd, who is now being praised for being “brave” even though she worked on two of his films after she said he harassed her.  Gwyneth and Ashley were both well-established actresses at that point.  They could have chosen, like Jolie did, to refuse to work with Weinstein again.  But nope.

If we’re honest, we have to admit, openly and without hesitation, that women who continued to work for him are complicit in helping sustain the culture that allowed him to continue to harass.   So too, are the women like Rose McGowan, who accepted a pay-off in exchange for her silence.  They basically took hush money, knowing that he’d continue to do to others exactly what he did to them.

Women aren’t off the hook here.  Not by a long shot.  You know why?  Because EQUALITY.  Feminists want equality?  They need to accept their role in helping this culture continue to thrive.  And for Lena to write a whole article blaming men for their silence, after she only names directors who’ve ALREADY BEEN NAMED BY OTHERS (Polanski, Allen), isn’t brave or courageous.  It’s total cowardice.  She doesn’t name the person who supposedly harassed her last year,  who’s already been fired, and she’s bitching to MEN about their silence?  Please.  Her “miscalculation” of speaking at Weinstein’s benefit for Hillary shows that his money for her candidate meant more than her principles.

So much for that last line of “Speak louder.”

GAWD.