# Harvey Weinstein accused of multiple cases of sexual harassment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073 "2017-10-05T23:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/161 "2017-10-11T16:49:03Z")
I’m not making it a moral imperative. I’m making it a PRACTICAL imperative. They either do it, or things go back to the way they were after a decent interval. The cold, hard fact about this case is that the NY Times outed Weinstein, this is NOT a case of Hollywood policing itself. Now that he’s down, he’s getting kicked, but even that is more about self preservation for many people in the industry than anything else. Ben Affleck has been called out big time on his attempt to be on the “right” side of this issue while actually being a part of the problem. Hollywood by it’s nature is good at making things look important through drama and publicity, but anyone can see that all this drama is meant to protect the status quo. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/162 "2017-10-11T17:19:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Yeah, I think it’s just the old-school guard who are perpetuating the casting couch these days, and even then most complaints will likely be from instances decades old. It is dying out It would be great if this were true, but what are you basing this on? Apparently one of the reasons people are willing to publically accuse Weinstein now is because he doesn’t have the same power to destroy careers as he once did. (My source for this is NPR’s coverage of the issue.) Who’s to say there isn’t a younger version of Weinstein whose abuses won’t come out for another decade or two? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/163 "2017-10-11T17:21:37Z")
And I didn’t have to wait long for proof that nothing is changing: > **[Kate Winslet Breaks Her Silence on ‘Disgraceful and Appalling’ Harvey...](https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/kate-winslet-harvey-weinstein-reaction-reader-1201885465/)** > > Winslet next stars in Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel,” set for release December 1. Kate Winslet Breaks Her Silence on ‘Disgraceful and Appalling’ Harvey Weinstein Sex Abuse Allegations Winslet next stars in Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel,” set for release December 1 ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/164 "2017-10-11T17:33:08Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And I didn’t have to wait long for proof that nothing is changing: > > [Kate Winslet on Harvey Weinstein: "Disgraceful and Appalling"](http://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/kate-winslet-harvey-weinstein-reaction-reader-1201885465/) > > Kate Winslet Breaks Her Silence on ‘Disgraceful and Appalling’ Harvey Weinstein Sex Abuse Allegations > Winslet next stars in Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel,” set for release December 1 Do you have any cites that Woody Allen has ever benefited from the casting couch? ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/165 "2017-10-11T17:33:55Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I hope survivors come forward and tell their stories as well, but don’t think that you can know what kind of courage it requires. You’re falling into the trap of assuming you can reason out how these sorts of feelings can or should work. You can’t – no one who hasn’t experienced it can (I can’t either). By all means try to help make an environment in which people feel more comfortable telling the truth, but don’t try to make it a moral imperative that victims of abuse must take certain actions. The problems of abuse are due to abusers, not due to any action or inaction by abused people. I hope people come forward, but the only moral imperative in this situation is for abusers to stop abusing people, and those who cover for the abusers to stop doing that as well. I wish I could explain better - I can say that once, when I was backed into a corner and was going to have to tell my chain of command about one incident (and it wasn’t a secret, in that one the offender was arrested, charged and convicted), I prayed that I would get into a car accident on the way into work. _I would rather have suffered physical injury than talk about what that incident was making me feel_. I am not “weak” (at least most people don’t think so), but coming forward about this stuff is incredibly hard, and I will never think less of someone that decides not to. I always try to support and empower those that come to me, but I certainly can’t make them face this pain. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/166 "2017-10-11T17:46:26Z")
I agree with that completely. The facts are what they are, but I certainly sympathize. I’ve been no braver. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/167 "2017-10-11T18:09:15Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Kate Winslet Breaks Her Silence on ‘Disgraceful and Appalling’ Harvey Weinstein Sex Abuse Allegations > Winslet next stars in Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel,” set for release December 1 Setting aside any compare/contrast of the allegations – The movie releases in 41 days. What exactly did you expect Winslet to do? Go set fire to all the finished copies? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/168 "2017-10-11T18:15:28Z")
No, if she had a problem with sexual predators she wouldn’t be doing Woody Allen movies. That goes double for Polanski. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/169 "2017-10-11T18:15:50Z")
Looks like wife Georgina Chapman is [leaving him](http://people.com/style/harvey-weinstein-wife-georgina-chapman-inside-split/), allegedly to protect her own brand (a smart thing to do IMO). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/170 "2017-10-11T18:17:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, if she had a problem with sexual predators she wouldn’t be doing Woody Allen movies. That goes double for Polanski. Again, any cite that Woody Allen is actually a sexual predator that doesn’t come from Mia Farrow. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/171 "2017-10-11T18:24:29Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Setting aside any compare/contrast of the allegations – The movie releases in 41 days. What exactly did you expect Winslet to do? Go set fire to all the finished copies? How about not make a movie with a pedophile? > [@madsircool](#): > > Again, any cite that Woody Allen is actually a sexual predator that doesn’t come from Mia Farrow. From the horse’s mouth: > [@](#): > > when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains. > > For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like. I didn’t like how often he would take me away from my mom, siblings and friends to be alone with him. I didn’t like it when he would stick his thumb in my mouth. I didn’t like it when I had to get in bed with him under the sheets when he was in his underwear. I didn’t like it when he would place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out. I would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me. [https://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/](https://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/172 "2017-10-11T18:25:52Z")
Dylan Farrow as well. Now granted, it is possible that Allen is innocent, and I do not think that Allen should be driven out of Hollywood. But I do think that industry people who are serious about fighting sex abuse should consider him damaged goods. That’s the only way to deter people like Weinstein. And given the testimony I’ve seen, I believe it is probable that Allen did it. Now Polanski, he’s just a damned rapist and should never make a movie again, much less get a standing ovation at the Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/173 "2017-10-11T18:32:10Z")
> [@treis](#): > > How about not make a movie with a pedophile? > > From the horse’s mouth: > > [An Open Letter From Dylan Farrow - The New York Times](https://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/) As I said, a non Farrow source. Pedophiles don’t limit themselves to a single family. Bitter lying women use this to discredit out of favor lovers. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/174 "2017-10-11T18:41:48Z")
I think you’re making WAY too broad a statement there, as some will actually limit themselves to one person in a family even though they have multiple kids to choose from. But it’s true that most do not, so this is a piece of doubt in the Allen case. But I’ve heard Dylan’s story many times, sounds like a classic escalation which may have come to a head when Allen and Farrow separated and got into a custody battle. And sure, the custody battle made Farrow’s accusations suspicious, but Dylan has stuck to her story, which makes me come down on the side of Dylan. And I think that’s where most people should fall, especially in an industry where this kind of thing is considered not terribly unusual. ---
**Author:** ![ebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@ebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebb)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/175 "2017-10-11T19:00:19Z")
For anyone who’s still a wee bit confused as to what constitutes sexual harassment, Samantha Bee has provided a helpful FAQ: > **[Workplace Etiquette FAQ for Harvey Weinstein or Any Other Giant Piece of Shit](https://medium.com/@fullfrontalsamb/workplace-etiquette-faq-for-harvey-weinstein-or-any-other-giant-piece-of-shit-365b48084d5a)** > > The modern workplace can be confusing what with our seemingly ever-changing norms and customs. At Full Frontal, we know you want to do a… ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/176 "2017-10-11T19:00:23Z")
[Woody Allen’s response](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/woody-allen-speaks-out.html). A few excerpts: > [@](#): > > I naïvely thought the accusation would be dismissed out of hand because of course, I hadn’t molested Dylan and any rational person would see the ploy for what it was. Common sense would prevail. After all, I was a 56-year-old man who had never before (or after) been accused of child molestation. I had been going out with Mia for 12 years and never in that time did she ever suggest to me anything resembling misconduct. Now, suddenly, when I had driven up to her house in Connecticut one afternoon to visit the kids for a few hours, when I would be on my raging adversary’s home turf, with half a dozen people present, when I was in the blissful early stages of a happy new relationship with the woman I’d go on to marry — that I would pick this moment in time to embark on a career as a child molester… > [@](#): > > Even the venue where the fabricated molestation was supposed to have taken place was poorly chosen but interesting. Mia chose the attic of her country house, a place she should have realized I’d never go to because it is a tiny, cramped, enclosed spot where one can hardly stand up and I’m a major claustrophobe. The one or two times she asked me to come in there to look at something, I did, but quickly had to run out. Undoubtedly the attic idea came to her from the Dory Previn song, “With My Daddy in the Attic.” It was on the same record as the song Dory Previn had written about Mia’s betraying their friendship by insidiously stealing her husband, André, “Beware of Young Girls.” > [@](#): > > Notwithstanding, Mia insisted that I had abused Dylan and took her immediately to a doctor to be examined. Dylan told the doctor she had not been molested. Mia then took Dylan out for ice cream, and when she came back with her the child had changed her story. > [@](#): > > Last week a woman named Stacey Nelkin, whom I had dated many years ago, came forward to the press to tell them that when Mia and I first had our custody battle 21 years ago, Mia had wanted her to testify that she had been underage when I was dating her, despite the fact this was untrue. Stacey refused. I include this anecdote so we all know what kind of character we are dealing with here. > [@](#): > > I very willingly took a lie-detector test and of course passed because I had nothing to hide. I asked Mia to take one and she wouldn’t. Quite a piece of work Mia Farrow is. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/177 "2017-10-11T19:02:17Z")
You’re probably going to crucify me for this but isn’t there a dichotomy between US culture and _other_ - Winslett can’t conceive of it happening because no one would think to try anything on with her, and the Italian went straight to the police and wore a wire. The American women took money from him. I read one young British actress felt violated because he wore a bath robe in his hotel room. I wonder if he was more cautious outside his own culture. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/178 "2017-10-11T19:04:58Z")
The sound and fury from the right is thunderous. A remarkable departure from the silence when the accused were Trump, Ailes et al. It’s heart-warming to see such wholehearted condemnation. I wonder what’s changed in the past few months. ---
**Author:** ![Luv40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Luv40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luv40)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/179 "2017-10-11T19:07:12Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Clinton has been accused of rape, exposing himself, and forcing himself on women. If you believe the accusations then he definitely is a sexual predator. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Clinton wasn’t a sexual predator, and that was never the issue. Trump was, and that was the central issue. Clinton didn’t get elected despite such allegations, because there weren’t any. Trump got elected despite video proof of them. If you’re trying to make some point about how the two sides judge their politicians, I can’t help you if you can’t see this blatant difference. > > My point in any case is that Harvey Weinstein is far less important to the national psyche than the current occupant of the most important leadership position in the nation. And his actions _ **are** _ being condemned, as they should be. Trump is boorish and his “locker room talk” is repulsive, but Bill Clinton has been accused of sexual assault several times and his accusers have never backed off of their claims. If the accusations of Mr Weinstein are true, he should go to jail for sexual assault. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073/180 "2017-10-11T19:09:38Z")
> [@ebb](#): > > For anyone who’s still a wee bit confused as to what constitutes sexual harassment, Samantha Bee has provided a helpful FAQ: > > [Workplace Etiquette FAQ for Harvey Weinstein or Any Other Giant Piece of Shit | by Full Frontal | Medium](https://medium.com/@fullfrontalsamb/workplace-etiquette-faq-for-harvey-weinstein-or-any-other-giant-piece-of-shit-365b48084d5a) She makes it sound easy. Yes, it’s very easy to not be a piece of shit. It’s a lot harder to not make a faux pas that can cause an incident. Many companies define sexual harassment barely at all, saying it’s “in the eye of the beholder”. Which is true, but actual disciplinary offenses should have bright lines. One interesting thing she did say was, “Don’t touch your coworkers”. This is probably good advice and I myself don’t ever touch people who aren’t family or close friends. But some people, many actually, are casual touchers. The kinds of people who like to put a hand on the shoulder, many women who like to put her hand on your hand while she tells you something, and of course the omnipresent back slappers. Not touching anyone is probably a good rule for professionalism, but there is a clear seperation of sexes issue here, since guys are always touching each other and girls are always touching each other. Which gives guys a personal advantage with other guys and leaves women at a disadvantage, much as in the case of private meetings that many male managers won’t do with female co-workers now. So we should probably stop touching each other and definitely stop fraternizing after work. and we still haven’t solved the issue of how to handle things when a person unintentionally says something racially or sexually charged out of ignorance, slip of the tongue, or lame attempt at a joke. Oh yeah, jokes at work. Bad also. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-weinstein-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-sexual-harassment/798073.md?page=10)