"In public, [Harvey Weinstein] presents himself as a liberal lion, a champion of women and a winner of not just artistic but humanitarian awards."

"In 2015, the year [Lauren O’Connor wrote a searing memo accusing Weinstein of sexual harassment and other misconduct], his company distributed 'The Hunting Ground,' a documentary about campus sexual assault. A longtime Democratic donor, he hosted a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton in his Manhattan home last year. He employed Malia Obama, the oldest daughter of former President Barack Obama, as an intern this year, and recently helped endow a faculty chair at Rutgers University in Gloria Steinem’s name. During the Sundance Film Festival in January, when Park City, Utah, held its version of nationwide women’s marches, Mr. Weinstein joined the parade. “From the outside, it seemed golden — the Oscars, the success, the remarkable cultural impact,” said Mark Gill, former president of Miramax Los Angeles, which was then owned by Disney. 'But behind the scenes, it was a mess, and this was the biggest mess of all,' he added, referring to Mr. Weinstein’s treatment of women."

From the searing NYT article "Decades of Sexual Harassment Accusations Against Harvey Weinstein," by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.

Here's how searing it looks on Drudge:



Hillary looks rather fabulous there, doesn't she? Positively actressy. Kittenish!

The Times publishes Weinstein's absurd response:

I came of age in the 60’s and 70’s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.

The Roman Polanski excuse.

I have since learned it’s not an excuse, in the office - or out of it. To anyone.

I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed.

I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.

Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment. My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons. Over the last year I've asked Lisa Bloom to tutor me and she's put together a team of people. I've brought on therapists and I plan to take a leave of absence from my company and to deal with this issue head on. I so respect all women and regret what happened. I hope that my actions will speak louder than words and that one day we will all be able to earn their trust and sit down together with Lisa to learn more. Jay Z wrote in 4:44 "I'm not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children." The same is true for me. I want a second chance in the community but I know I've got work to do to earn it. I have goals that are now priorities. Trust me, this isn't an overnight process. I've been trying to do this for 10 years and this is a wake-up call. I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt and I plan to do right by all of them.

I am going to need a place to channel that anger so I've decided that I'm going to give the NRA my full attention. I hope Wayne LaPierre will enjoy his retirement party. I'm going to do it at the same place I had my Bar Mitzvah. I'm making a movie about our President, perhaps we can make it a joint retirement party. One year ago, I began organizing a $5 million foundation to give scholarships to women directors at USC. While this might seem coincidental, it has been in the works for a year. It will be named after my mom and I won't disappoint her.

The line I find most absurd is: "Over the last year I've asked Lisa Bloom to tutor me and she's put together a team of people." Are the "people" all women? "I've brought on therapists...." How many damned people have to join forces to turn you into a decent human being? It's like the credits at the end of a movie: You think, does it really take that many people?

And the idea that he's going to make it all up to us by going after the NRA and Trump — disgusting. And to drag his mother and his Bar Mitzvah into it. A Bar Mitzvah signifies that you became a man when you were 13 years old and you became responsible for your actions. It's 52 years later, and you're assembling a team to help you figure out the basics of human behavior and you're trying to distract us with accusations against the NRA and the President of the United States. Grotesque.

Here's IMDB's list of all of the movies he's responsible for, in case you want to change your interpretation of anything you consumed over the years, contributing to the empowerment of this man. So many of them are aimed at women: "The English Patient," "Emma," "The Wings of the Dove," "Shakespeare in Love," "Chicago," "The Reader."