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It’s hard for any other stories in the entertainment realm at the moment to get any sort of cut-through from the headlines surrounding Harvey Weinstein. Today though, his power over the internet isn’t governed by the success of one of his films but rather the fall of a mogul – or a now known mongrel – and his shocking admissions and apologies for decades of sexual misconduct of women. But unlike when Weinstein first co-founded Miramax, the internet now exists meaning newspapers can no longer be supressed or damaging reports swiftly retracted, the words are out there for everyone to see. Also out there is millions of women supporting Weinstein’s victims and encouraging the writers who broke the explosive investigative story in The New York Times. Among them are Hollywood’s leading queens. Here’s what they have to say.
GLENN CLOSE: “I’m sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women. Harvey has always been decent to me, but now that the rumors are being substantiated, I feel angry and darkly sad. I’m angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the ‘casting couch’ phenomenon, so to speak, the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job.”
JULIANNE MOORE: “Coming forward about sexual abuse and coercion is scary and women have nothing to be gained personally by doing so. But through their bravery we move forward as a culture, and I thank them. Stand with Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan and others.”
JESSICA CHASTAIN: “I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an environment for it to happen again. I have no doubt that for these women this time has been, and continues to be extremely traumatic. I fully embrace and salute their profound courage, and I unequivocally support this level of very necessary exposure of someone who has behaved in reprehensible and disgusting ways. His behavior is without question disgraceful and appalling and very, very wrong. I had hoped these kind of stories were made up rumours, maybe we have been naïve. And it makes so angry. There must be ‘no tolerance’ of this degrading, vile treatment of women in any workplace anywhere in the world.”
MERYL STREEP: ‘The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported. The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes,” she said in a statement. His “behaviour is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar.”
JUDI DENCH: “Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offences which are, of course, horrifying.”
CONSTANCE WU: “Yup yup yup. All the time. And if u address it seriously, u get: “relax it was a joke.” The thing is, jokes are supposed to be, like, funny.”
