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Yesterday, a former production assistant named Mimi Haleyi came out and told her story about Harvey Weinstein. You can read Mimi’s story here. The story has been widely covered in an interesting and disturbing way, and I wanted to stop for a second and really talk about the weirdness of some of the coverage. Haleyi described being sexually assaulted when Weinstein forced himself on her orally, much like Asia Argento claimed he did to her too. Haleyi describes how Weinstein harassed her and propositioned her and she tried to shut him down by telling him that she was on her period so nothing was going to happen anyway. He then forced himself on her, took out of her tampon and did… that. Here’s my question: why are people behaving like the fact that she was on her period is the worst part of this story? He literally sexually assaulted her – in many jurisdictions, what he did would be considered rape. The story here isn’t “Weinstein is disgusting because he went down on a woman who was on her period.” The story is “Weinstein sexually assaulted a woman who repeatedly said no.”

Here’s another part of the expansive Weinstein story we should talk about, courtesy of Danish actress Connie Nielsen. From Nielsen’s Variety op-ed:

As I add my name to the rapidly expanding list of women whom Harvey Weinstein has harassed, I feel a strong wish to clarify just how well-known Harvey’s actions were in our community throughout his reign as one of the most powerful players in the industry. I worked on the Harvey Weinstein-produced “The Great Raid,” where I warned a young co-star not to take Harvey up on his invitations to drinks unless the whole group was there. I had no issues on the film, nor when I met Harvey at social events around the world.

It was therefore a real shock when Harvey proceeded to put his hand on my thigh at dinner during the opening night of “Great Raid,” at which both my boyfriend and my brother were present. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it violently to hurt him and proceeded to hold it in place on his own thigh. I steered clear of him as soon as I could for the rest of the evening but soon forgot about it, until the New York Times and New Yorker pieces set off a landslide.

In the accounts I have read of Harvey’s harassment, many state they weren’t “that girl,” meaning, I presume, that they were not the kind of woman who would base her career on sexual favors. I may be naive, but it seems to me that no woman sets out to base her career on sexual favors. I cannot think of a single famous female actor who isn’t also talented, and I doubt a statistically relevant quantity of actresses exists who look to skip the work with a sexual shortcut.

The oft-mentioned “casting couch” is a term that both denigrates female actors by association and intimates their complicity in a bargain. The term glosses over the fact that propositioning someone for sex in exchange for work is sexual harassment, a crime in every state of the union. It has been mentioned many times that Harvey often bragged of the many beautiful actresses he made that “bargain” with, though of course it was no “bargain” — it was alleged rape and sexual coercion. Like other predators, Harvey is imbued with a strong dose of charisma and a hint of not so hidden vulnerability. Like them, Harvey could suss out vulnerability in his victims — the young, those whose jobs and careers were put on the line or those whose circumstances had made them vulnerable.

I doubt “that girl” is an actual norm, and as the recent revolution against Harvey’s regime of intimidation and harassment indicates, “that girl” is simply someone who gave in to coercion and harassment and is therefore the victim of a crime. “That girl” was vulnerable to manipulation, coercion or physical violence she should have never been exposed to in the first place — and she should not be shamed for that. No one knows how they would act were they equipped with different childhoods, traumas and levels of resilience. As long as we suspect female actors of being somehow complicit in their own victimization, as willing participants in their own humiliation, we shame the victim and enable the culture of silence that allows predators to act with impunity.

[From Variety]

Man, Connie Nielsen is FIRE. I love her. I love the way she broke that down. Just one week ago, I had sort of resigned myself to the idea that the Harvey Weinstein scandal would only really affect Harvey himself in the long-term, that there would be few (if any) long-term repercussions within Hollywood. But as more male executives resign and more men are being called out and more victims are coming forward, it really does feel like… there might be some bigger structural changes afoot.

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