ONTD Original: All of Weinstein's Men
Behind every abusive asshole is a support system that enables such behavior. Harvey Weinstein has had much support in the industry for decades. From the agents who set up meetings to tabloid journalists who killed stories about Weinstein in exchange for stories. This post highlights those who knew about the allegations and those who supported Harvey.
Bob Weinstein & Co
The Weinstein Company was well aware of Harvey's misconduct and the allegations against him. The New York Times reported that Bob Weinstein was involved in at least three settlements dating back to 1990. Ronan Farrow also reported that Weinstein PERSONALLY paid off two settlements against his brother. Bob Weinstein has also been accused of sexual harassment by Amanda Segel, a TV producer. Many of the Harvey loyalists on the board of directors quit after the allegations surfaced. Dirk Ziff, Paul Tudor Jones, and Tim Sarnoff did not sign off on the press release released by the board of directors at the time of the allegations. Harvey's loyalists caped for Harvey in every way despite Harvey misusing company funds. Ziff, Jones, and Sarnoff have given no reason for why they left the board of directors.
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan dated from 2006-2009. Rodriguez was well aware of what happened with Rose before they were made public. Despite knowing that Weinstein allegedly raped McGowan, he still collaborated with Weinstein on a number of projects. Rodriguez stated that he didnt want to jeopardize any legal settlements she had with Weinstein. He also claims that he casted her in Grindhouse, Weinstein production, as a "fuck you" to Weinstein.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino is one of the few men who admitted to knowing about Harvey's behavior and not doing more than he did. He said there was more to it than just rumors. He knew that Weinstein did a couple of these things. Mira Sorvino, Tarantino's girlfriend at one point, told Tarantino about the allegations when they first occurred. He also heard from another actress who had the same story and was aware of McGowan's settlement with Weinstein. Tarantio still continued to make films with Weinstein which he now regrets. He dismissed what Sorvino initially told him because he thought Weinstein had a "particular" interest in her and thought he would leave her alone since Tarantino was dating her.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt was dating Gwyneth Paltrow at the time when she was sexually harassed by Weinstein. Pitt confronted Weinstein about it at a party and threatened to beat him up (lol). Pitt confirmed the incident to the NYT. Angelina Jolie, his ex-wife, has also accused Weinstein of sexual harassment. Brad Pitt still chose to work with the producer on Inglorious Basterds and Killing Them Softly.
Ben Affleck
One of the best things in 2017 was the continued demise of Ben Affleck. Ben's predatory actions were covered in a previous post. Ben may play dumb but it is clear he knew about Weinstein's actions on two separate occasions. When the news first broke, Ben claimed he didn't know about Weinstein at all and Rose McGowan called him out on twitter for it. McGowan accused Weinstein of rape and says that she told Ben Affleck about the incident. Rose claims that Ben said "I told him to stop doing that" when she told him about the assault. Gwyneth Paltrow also accused Harvey of harassment and Affleck was aware of that incident as well.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon admitted that both him and Affleck were aware of Paltrow's allegations against Harvey because Ben was the one who told him about it. Damon called Harvey an asshole but says that he's never witnessed such behavior. Sharon Waxman, founder of The Wrap, claimed that she investigated such allegations against Weinstein back when she was a reporter for NYT in 2004. Waxman stated that the piece was cut from the paper due to TWC presence as an advertiser for the newspaper and the meddling of Russell Crowe and Matt Damon. She alleges that Damon and Crowe called her directly to refute the claims. Damon denied the claims and Waxman later endorsed his comments.
CAA and others
At least 8 agents from CAA were aware that Weinstein had threatened female clients or sexually harassed them. Despite knowing all of this, the agency still worked with Weinstein and arranged meetings for female clients with him. Courtney Love stated that she was banned by CAA after speaking out against Weinstein. The report also states that agents and managers still sent female clients Weinstein's way despite his behavior and told them to stay silent if anything went wrong. Mia Kershner, a client of CAA at the time, was meeting Weinstein about a possible film in NYC. Weinstein wanted to exchange sex for the film opportunity. Kershner told her agent, manager, and his boss about the incident and was told to forget about it as it was pointless. CAA issued an apology after the report and has set up a fund for victims of harassment. CAA partner, Bryan Lourd, was asked about Weinstein's alleged harassment. Lourd cited client confidentiality but it was reported that Weinstein compla
ined to Lourd about Ronan Farrow's article. Lourd tried to arrange a meeting between the two which ultimately didnt work out. Farrow has left the agency since the news about Lourd and Weinstein came out.
Tabloid Journalists
Weinstein had a close relationship with tabloid journalists. He would often offer stories in exchange for reporters killing stories about his misconduct. Weinstein had an alliance with the publisher of the National Enquirer. He used the Enquirer to gather intel on his accusers and to help kill negative stories about him. Weinstein also worked with Peter Bart, one of the most powerful journalists in the industry. Bart had a hand in killing any negative story about Weinstein and his production company. Former reporters and editors at Variety called Bart his "greatest protector".
Army of Spies
In a jaw dropping article written by Ronan Farrow, it was alleged that Weinstein hired private security agencies to gather information on actresses and journalists that were trying to expose him. Weinstein hired Kroll and Black Cube. Kroll is one of the largest corporate intelligence agencies in the world and Black Cube is run by former officers of Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies. Two private investigators from Black Cube met with Rose McGowan and used false identities. They pretended to be womens rights advocates and even acted as they had an allegation against Weinstein. They met with journalists to find out which women were talking to the press. Journalists directed by Weinstein and private investigators interviewed these women and reported the details back to Weinstein.
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