Breaking the sexual harassment story
On October 5, 2017, two New York Times reporters – Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey – wrote a bold but painstakingly recounted allegations from a string of women that they had suffered sexual abuse by Weinstein while he was running the movie company that carried his name, although he maintained that any sexual contact was consensual. Their article sparked the #MeToo movement and social media uprising. “After we broke the story, we watched with astonishment as a dam wall broke” wrote the authors. Before the revelations emerged Weinstein went to extraordinary lengths to intimidate people to keep the saga secret, displaying the unpredictable, explosive and abusive rage which was the hallmark of his career.
She Said had create intense media buzz in America, since it covers the downfall of Weinstein and features Hollywood celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Brad Pitt and Rose McGowan.
She Said reveals well known celebrity lawyers Lisa Bloom who have protected clients, including Weinstein from their accusers while also helping other women advance claims against other men.
The book focuses on how the authors broke the abuse story and handled the victims, an investigative journalism including gender politics and corporate expose.
The authors throw light into the female victims and for the first time reflect on what they learnt. They do so by recognising the #MeToo movement remains mired in complexity. Some observers think that too many guilty men have escaped justice, while others fear that the campaign has judged people without due process. “The old rules on sex and power had been partly swept away, but it was not clear what the new ones would or should be” they write.
The book underplays the degree to which America’s legal system prevented the Weinstein company board.
The story reveals the difficult, dispiriting nature of investigative journalism and highlights the difficult moral choices produced by investigations. Should the journalists put pressure on an abused woman to speak out in the public interest? “the US had a system for muting sexual harassment claims, which often enabled the harassers instead of stopping them”.
The public and private company boards need mechanisms to remove powerful executives who spin out of control –even, or especially, if they own a large part of the company, are protected by powerful lawyers and willing to use dirty tricks against directors ( as Weinstein allegedly did).
She Said helps to start and maintain #MeToo momentum in a fair and balanced way, at companies and other institutions but there is still much further to go.
Movie Mogul Weinstein knew his world of power was about to crumble and was fighting to prevent that. She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. Penguin $28/ Bloomsbury £20, 320 pages.