Five years ago, a long-overshadowed movement, the all-important MeToo, saw the light. Specifically, the “boom” was on October 5, 2017, when the New York Times published an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against a Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein. considered untouchable despite rumors spreading about his abuse.
In the investigation, two journalists from the newspaper revealed that many assumed—or once lived—that there were producers in the movie world who promised to help certain actresses advance their careers in exchange for sexual favors. and one of them Harvey Weinstein. Producer tried to touch a few actresses in hotel rooms and even forces them to stare at her naked. And all under the abuse of power that he can use in the world.
After months of investigation, the media Uncover Hollywood’s great black spot. It was such a scandal that Weinstein was fired from the eponymous ‘The Weinstein Company’, which he founded with his brother Bob Weinstein.
This is the one who has no other choice, tried to apologize for what he had doneIn the 1960s and 1970s, “the rules of conduct and workplaces they were differentHis lawyers also tried to lighten the gravity of events, but Weinstein was the first piece he had to put in place for the MeToo movement to explode.
The movement followed the path it was supposed to take, and the fall of the untouchable producer was dizzying. But this was not the end.
Five days later, another article, this time in The New Yorker, reaffirmed the accusations of the Miramax research co-founder. this time they Three actresses who claimed they were raped by Weinstein. And as the days went by, women lost their fear of talking about their traumatic experiences with the producer. more than 80 womenaccused him of sexual harassment or rape, including famous actresses.
The birth of the MeToo explosion
But as we know, ‘MeToo’ went viral as a result of a tweet. an incoming message actress Alyssa Milano “If you have been sexually harassed or attacked, write ‘me too’ [yo también] in response to this tweet“. And the avalanche of witnesses did not last long.
In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, the hashtag has spread around the world: #quellavoltache in Italy (where this time), #EnaZeda in Tunisia (me too), #AnaKaman in Egypt.
Alyssa Milano herself helped spread the movement, but The original #MeToo was already created eleven years ago, in 2006 African-American activist Tarana Burke.
Burke used this expression as a empathetic connotation especially for victims of sexual violence in marginalized societies, connecting with each other and speaking out to the world. “At first I panicked,” Burke said when he saw his slogan appear on the nets. “I had a fear inside of mebecause something that was a part of my life (…) was going to be used for a purpose that I did not foresee at the beginning.”
But Milan immediately gave the activist back what was his. “What the MeToo campaign really does and what Tarana Burke allows all of us to do is, refocus on victims“He explained in an interview in Good Morning America.
“It’s just the beginning, and I’ve been saying from the beginning it’s a movement, not just a moment,” Burke said with Milano during the Today Show in 2017.
last sentence
Weinstein sentenced to prison in 2020 23 years in prison for sexual assault and rape. Journalists who uncovered the atrocities were prestigious Pulitzer Prize winners Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Ronan Farrow.
Always defending his innocence, Weinstein argued that the trial against him was unfairamongst other things, because several women who had condemned the alleged abuses were allowed to testify even though these particular charges were not prosecuted in the process.
And in a 166-page synopsis, the Hollywood producer’s defense thinks these women shouldn’t be heard, and says: testimonies impressed the juryIt ended with his character being put on trial, not for the alleged acts Weinstein was accused of.
Other abusers in Hollywood
Weinstein was the most well-known, but he wasn’t the only one the movement came up with. With MeToo, many actresses felt empowered to condemn other characters in the movie world, such as James Franco, who was accused of sexual misconduct by three actresses in 2018. Louis CK -reported for sexual harassment by five women-, Charlie Rose -reported by eight women- and Roy Moore, among others.