'Not everybody knew about these offences,' says the Hollywood star
Meryl Streep has called Harvey Weinstein "disgraceful over the sexual harassment allegations made against the Hollywood producer.
The Academy Award-winner issued a statement to The Huffington Post, revealing she was not aware of Weinstein's behaviour before the allegations were made public.
Streep has collaborated with Weinstein on numerous projects, including August: Osage County and The Iron Lady, even once referring to him as a "God.
Weinstein has been accused of sexually harassing numerous women over the past few decades, the producer having reportedly paid eight individuals to keep the story quiet.
Many critics, including Donald Trump Jnr, have been vocal about Hollywood not discussing the Weinstein situation. The Daily Beast even used an image of the producer with Streep for an article titled: "Hollywood's Loud Silence on Harvey Weinstein's Sexual Harassment Allegations.
Streep's full statement reads: "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.
"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 other offences: 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.
"The behaviour is inexcusable but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.
Since the allegations were published, Weinstein has been fired from The Weinstein Company. They said: "His employment is terminated, effective immediately.
Edited by flameofdarkness - 6 years agoI am usually not very vocal on social media, but I am making an exception today, since as a woman, what I am seeing right now terrifies me.
This is concerning the matter surrounding two of the biggest stars in our industry. I have, fortunately, had the opportunity to work with one of them. However, I am not writing this as a co-star or even as a friend. I am writing this as a woman and a concerned citizen of the country, and I will try to get my point across as succinctly and as objectively as possible.
I am no legal expert. And I am not privy to the details of the case. I know what has been reported in the media, and I am all for good, honest reporting. However, somehow, the tussle has turned into a gender war, with a certain faction of the society having already declared the man guilty. People have presumed that since he is a man, he must be the guilty party, since that is how it has always been. Men have oppressed women in one way or another for centuries, and it's being presumed that it is the same in this case, too.
And that's dangerous. Whatever happened to innocent, until proven guilty? Whatever happened to letting the law take its own course? Yes, a lot of times, at least in this country, we have take to the streets to get justice. But that's not the case here. The police is investigating, and both the parties are privileged enough that they can represent themselves in court and fight this out legally. Sadly, our law and order is sort of classist, but let's not digress.
Here is why this vilification of a man based on make-believe evidence is dangerous. If the gender-card is allowed to take precedence over facts and objectivity, it will be a serious blow to the on-going efforts of getting women an equal standing with the opposite sex. If this baseless trial-by-media is allowed to continue, where one party has been presumed to be guilty, there is a good likelihood that people might lose faith in this equal-rights-for-all movement that has picked up momentum in India only in recent years.
I am not exonerating anyone here. I am also not suggesting malice by any one party. All I am saying is, let's not make it a fight between genders. Let's keep it a fight between two people who may or may not have corresponded in the past. Let the facts be unearthed and until then, let's reserve our judgements.
Just because this is a fight between a man and a woman does not mean it has to be a fight between genders. Making everything a gender issue can easily distract us from addressing legit sexist issues that plague our society.