Harvey Weinstein

[[File:Harvey Weinstein Césars 2014 (cropped) (centered).jpg|thumb|right|175px|Harvey Weinstein in 2014.]]
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'''Harvey Weinstein''' {{lived|1952}} is an [[United States|American]] former film producer, having cofounded {{wpl|Miramax}} with his brother {{wpl|Bob Weinstein}} in 1979 and later founding the now-defunct {{wpl|The Weinstein Company|Weinstein Company||,}} which was known for its attempts at [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] bait, in 2005. Today, however, he is much more famous for being a convicted sex offender, with over eighty women accusing him of [[sexual assault]],<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/harvey-weinstein-accusers-sexual-assault-harassment-696485 Harvey Weinstein Accusers: Over 80 Women Now Claim Producer Sexually Assaulted or Harassed Them], Janice Williams, ''Newsweek'' 30 October 2017</ref> with either him or {{wpl|Bill Cosby}} being considered the first domino to fall in the [[MeToo]] movement while the outrage over the disturbing nature of the accusations (as well as the enabling of his depraved crimes by those in power) lead to growing recognition among the broader public to the previously hidden epidemic of [[rape]] and [[pedophilia]] not only in Hollywood, but in wider society as a whole. As a result of the scandal, he was forced out of his company and he was sentenced to 16 years of prison in [[California]] on top of 23 more years in [[New York]].<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/entertainment/harvey-weinstein-sentencing-los-angeles/index.html Harvey Weinstein sentenced in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for sexual assault charges], Eric Levenson and Cheri Mossburg, ''CNN'' 24 February 2023</ref> He was also known to have donated to [[liberal]] causes, causing no end of embarrassment to certain [[Democrat]]s.

==Abuse of power and sex crimes==
===''American Psycho''===
Weinstein is notorious for how he used his power and influence to sexually abuse and rape dozens of women, totaling up to over 80 victims. In 2017, journalist {{wpl|Ronan Farrow}} wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning<ref>[https://simons-rock.edu/news/ronan-farrow-pulitzer-prize.php Alum Ronan Farrow’s Reporting for The New Yorker Wins Pulitzer], ''Bard College at Simon Rock''</ref> article for ''The New Yorker'' that detailed some of Weinstein's abuse, with accusations ranging from [[Rape|unwanted groping to forced oral sex]].<ref name=farrow>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories], Ronan Farrow, ''The New Yorker'' 10 October 2017</ref> Many of these incidents took place in hotel rooms, where Weinstein would lure young actresses and models under the pretext of discussing their resumes with him, only for Weinstein to offer vulgar deals of advancing their careers in exchange for sex and massages. Weinstein was also known to have used his power to blacklist actresses who had rejected his advances as well as to keep them quiet.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sexual-misconduct/peter-jackson-seems-confirm-harvey-weinstein-blacklisted-mira-sorvino-ashley-n830166 Peter Jackson seems to confirm Weinstein blacklisted Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd], Daniel Arkin, ''NBC News'' 15 December 2017</ref> Weinstein also paid off his accusers for decades in order to [[coverup|cover up]] the allegations<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades], Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, ''The New York Times'' 5 October 2017</ref> and used an army of ex-[[Mossad]] spies to go after his accusers.<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/harvey-weinsteins-army-of-spies Harvey Weinstein's army of Spies], Ronan Farrow, ''The New Yorker'' 6 November 2017</ref>

===''Raging Bull''===
His behavior towards men is little better, as he has publicly physically assaulted several of them.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/harvey-weinstein-is-also-a-jerk-that-alone-should-have-gotten-him-fired/2017/10/20/d0aee328-b4d6-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html Harvey Weinstein is also a jerk. That alone should have gotten him fired.], Emily Yoffe, ''The Washington Post'' 20 October 2017</ref> It can be surprising that Weinstein was able to last so long, especially as according to multiple of his victims his behavior was an "open secret",<ref name=farrow /> however it shows how powerful people can use their influence to get away with massive amounts of abuse.

===''Harvey Scissorhands''===
Along with his abuse towards aspiring starlets and his own underlings, Weinstein's cruelty and arrogance also extended to the various filmmakers whose movies he helped produce and distribute. This usually came in the form of drastic cuts to movies against the directors' permission as Weinstein saw fit (in the hopes of making them more "commercially viable"); often completely altering the content of films from their makers original intentions. <ref>[https://www.popmatters.com/183098-ten-examples-of-films-affected-by-harvey-scissorhands-2495646567.html Ten Examples of Films That Were Drastically Affected by "Harvey Scissorhands"], Bill Gibron, ''Pop Matters'' 24 June 2014</ref> Weinstein had become so obsessed with cutting out entire scenes from that he eventually earned the nickname "Harvey Scissorhands".<ref>https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/kevin-smith-harvey-weinstein-cut-up-my-movies-1234765810/</ref> 

However, there were a few directors who managed to push back against Weinstein ruining their movies. In 1997, when Miramax offered to distribute the English dub version of ''Princess Mononoke'' after Studio Ghibli struck a deal with [[Disney]] (which Miramax happened to be a subsidiary of at the time), Weinstein demanded that the film's run time to be cut down under the belief that American audiences prefer watching a shorter and simpler animated movie. Director Hayao Miyazaki outright refused and is famously rumored to have sent Weinstein a katana attached with a note that simply read "no cuts". Although Miyazaki has since clarified that it was his producer that sent the katana instead of himself personally, he did at least confront Weinstein in New York and proudly declared he "defeated" him.<ref>https://www.polygon.com/animation-cartoons/2020/5/26/21270413/princess-mononoke-hayao-miyazaki-movies-harvey-weinstein-katana-story-studio-ghibli</ref> This stunt only seemed to enrage Weinstein more, now demanding the film be cut down from 135 minutes to a mere 90 running time and aggressively threatened American Ghibli executive Steve Alpert that he would never again work in the industry if Miyazaki did not do the cuts he requested.<ref>https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/harvey-weinstein-threatened-studio-ghibli-mononoke-runtime-1202236275/</ref>

==Liberal donations==
For a while, Weinstein was one of the most prolific donors to liberal causes, donating over two million dollars to Democrats.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/harvey-weinstein-political-donations-2017-10 Harvey Weinstein has donated over $1 million to Democrats since 2000 – here are some of the biggest names], Allan Smith and Skye Gould, ''Business Insider'' 10 October 2017</ref> Notoriously, Weinstein was also close friends with [[Bill Clinton|Bill]] and [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/we-need-to-talk-about-hillary-clintons-disturbing-harvey-weinstein-ties We Need to Talk About Hillary Clinton’s Disturbing Harvey Weinstein Ties], Cassie Da Costa, ''The Daily Beast'' 29 February 2020</ref> As the Weinstein scandal broke at around the same time as the origin of [[QAnon]], suffice to say that it was not a good look for the Democratic Party. One of Weinstein's victims, {{wpl|Rose McGowan||,}} announced she was no longer a Democrat while campaigning for [[Larry Elder]] as a result of the abuse from liberals like Harvey,<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-04-27/rose-mcgowan-democrats-cult Rose McGowan calls the Democrats a ‘cult,’ says people should evaluate their beliefs], Christie D’zurilla, ''Los Angeles Times'' 27 April 2021</ref> after all, it's not as if [[Republican Party|Republican]]s have ever protected [[Roy Moore|sexual]] [[Donald Trump|predators]].{{lie}} Some Democrats like [[Chuck Schumer]] and [[Elizabeth Warren]] have given away their donations from Harvey Weinstein to [[charity]], but unfortunately by then the damage was done.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-give-political-donations-harvey-weinstein-away-charities  Democrats give political donations from Harvey Weinstein away to charities], ''PBS'' 6 October 2017</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hollywood values]]
*[[Jeffrey Epstein]], another large-scale sexual predator known for his connections to Bill Clinton. Released court documents have shown that Weinstein and Epstein were, at the very least, acquainted.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-creepy-phone-logs-show-calls-from-harvey-weinstein-and-schoolgirls Epstein’s Creepy Phone Logs Show Calls From Harvey Weinstein, Schoolgirls], Kate Briquelet and Noah Kirsch, ''The Daily Beast'' 5 January 2024</ref>
* {{wpl|Harvey Epstein}}, no relation to either.{{nofact}}
*[[Melvil Dewey]], the Harvey Weinstein before Harvey Weinstein

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Harvey}}
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Convicted felons]]
[[Category:Epsteinsphere]]
[[Category:Film-makers]]
[[Category:Jews]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:New York]]
[[Category:Rape]]

Categories: California, Convicted felons, Epsteinsphere, Film-makers, Jews, Liberals, Living people, New York, Rape