It’s been a rough past couple of weeks in the Hollywood industry when it comes to sexual assault. Screen Junkies’ Andy Signore was recently fired for inappropriate sexual conduct, Ain’t It Cool News’ Harry Knowles is stepping away after also receiving sexual accusations and, perhaps the story that received the biggest headlines out of them all, Harvey Weinstein has been ousted by many women for having committed over 30 years of sexual misconduct.
On Oct. 8, Weinstein was officially terminated from his own production company — The Weinstein Company. The statement read:
“In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company — Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar — have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately.”
Ever since the allegations against Weinstein have been made, many celebrities and those inside the business have publicly stated their disgust with the news. When speaking with Huffington Post, academy award winning actress Meryl Streep said: “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.”
Streep went on: “One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew. Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally. I didn’t know about these offenses: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom or other inappropriate, coercive acts. And if everybody knew, I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.”
Dame Judi Dench also spoke out with Newsweek, saying “I was completely unaware of these offenses which are, of course, horrifying, and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out.”
Then there’s Glenn Close, who went the extra-mile to give a lengthy statement to The New York Times about her anger and the changes she wants to see. “I’m angry,” said Close “not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the ‘casting couch’ phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job.”
Hundred of others have also voiced their sadness over their news, trying to cope with the recent events and offering support to the victims:
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. While all these recent developments in the industry have been terrible and heartbreaking to hear, the support that the community provides is at least somewhat reassuring. For every one monster lurking in the shadows, there are ten allies. Allies who are becoming more and more alert to the injustice that is happening. And, we can at least take some comfort in knowing that maybe — hopefully — this will lead to change from within.