No other story has impacted recent social culture to the length as the Harvey Weinstein case has. The former movie producer responsible for releasing movies such as Pulp Fiction, and The King’s Speech was found guilty on multiple counts of sexual misconduct.
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The story first made waves back in 2017 when The New York Times and The New Yorker reported on multiple acts of sexual misconduct, including rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein. These allegations did not only affect Weinstein, but it also put into light the wider issue of powerful men in media, business, and politics abusing their power through sexual misconduct. This wave of allegation would lead to the creations of the #ME TOO movement.
According to the timeline of events, https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-harvey-weinsteins-path-york-city-rape-sexual/story?id=67708458
The first reported allegation dates back to 2015 when Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez reported to the New York Police Department (NYPD) detectives that Weinstein groped her during a business meeting at his office. Other celebrities such as Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan would recall their encounters with Weinstein. However, they would not call him by name. It wasn’t until October 2017, when the articles were published with a story about Judd publicly accusing Weinstein of propositioning her in 1997. After the article posted, other women started coming forward with their stories accusing Weinstein of multiple counts of sexual misconduct, resulting in an astonishing 80 different allegations spreading through multiple years. After a few failed lawsuits, Weinstein was arrested on May 25, 2018, on multiple cases of first and third-degree rape for one victim and first-degree criminal sex act.
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During this time Harvey Weinstein was taken out of his position as head of The Weinstein Company. Celebrities such as George Clooney, Jenifer Lawrance, and even Hilary Clinton condemned his actions.
On February 24, 2020, Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of two felonies, criminal assault, and rape in the third degree, but acquitted of rape in the first degree. While there are still other cases pending against Weinstein, this does mark an important step forward.
The fall of Weinstein has a long reach across different platforms. With other celebrities speaking out against their sexual accusers. One of the highest-profile cases was Kevin Spacey’s sexual allegations resulting in the end of Spacey’s career after it was discovered that he sexually abused younger male actors. As divisive as it has been, the #ME TOO is one of the most important social movements of the last five years. The strength that it took to speak out against a corrupt system and the people that control it. This accomplishment was honored as the “Silent Breakers,” were announced as 2017 New York Times People of the Year.
Another high profile case influenced by the rise of the #ME TOO movement was the chargers brought up against Jeffrey Epstein. The former financier was arrest back in 2019, over allegations of sex trafficking. Despite the evidence against him, it was the call for social change that allowed the investigation against him to continue and overall find him guilty.
#Me Too is more than just a trending topic, but it also serves as a way to fight against an oppressing system. A place where people abuse by men who believe themselves to be untouchable can speak out and let their voices be heard.
As Stephanie Zacharek, Eliana Dockterman, and Haley Sweetland Edwards wrote in their New York Times Article, ” Like the “problem that has no name,” the disquieting malaise of frustration and repression among postwar wives and homemakers identified by Betty Friedan more than 50 years ago, this moment is born of a very real and potent sense of unrest. Yet it doesn’t have a leader, or a single, unifying tenet. The hashtag #MeToo (swiftly adapted into #BalanceTonPorc, #YoTambien, #Ana_kaman and many others), which to date has provided an umbrella of solidarity for millions of people to come forward with their stories, is part of the picture, but not all of it. “