Harvey Weinstein is just a rude little man who is abusing his power
THERE is something very satisfying about chickens coming home to roost, which is allegedly what has happened this week to Harvey Weinstein.
The New York Times has just released a backlog of apparent secret sexual harassment cases involving the powerful Hollywood producer, some of which go back years.
Kiss The Girls star Ashley Judd was one of a number involved in a series of pretty disturbing incidents they claim involved Weinstein.
He allegedly lured women to his hotel room then, while he was clad in little more than a dressing gown, badgered them to give him a massage or watch him shower.
And on Friday American news reporter Lauren Sivan also spoke out, claiming he took her to the empty kitchen of a Manhattan restaurant and tried to kiss her.
After she knocked back his advances, she says he pulled down his trousers and masturbated.
Female workers at his London office also became targets of his predatory behaviour, according to the claims.
One of the most shocking parts of this story is the suggestion that what apparently went on was an “open secret” in the film industry.
In fact, by the sound of it, just about everyone in the business knew there could allegedly be a sordid price to pay to work with the great Harvey Weinstein.
It’s almost as if women wanting to succeed in movies had come to accept that progress came with a sort of sex-pest tax.
If the allegations are true, what seems to be emerging is a depressingly familiar pattern.
A serial predator with such colossal amounts of power that people think they have no choice but to put up with grotesque advances if they want a career in Hollywood.
Weinstein now plans to sue for “false and defamatory statements” in the article.
But earlier, in reaction to the claims, the portly producer had apparently tried to defend himself by explaining he “came of age in the Sixties and Seventies”, the implication being that he knows no better.
It’s funny though, isn’t it? I know the whole concept of the “casting couch” was far more rife in the Seventies than it is today.
But even if that kind of behaviour was acceptable a few decades ago you’d think that a clever man like him would be able to grasp the pretty basic notion that — Times. Have. Changed.
I had the misfortune to meet Harvey Weinstein at a Bafta party a few years ago.
He was incredibly rude, vaguely interested in me but completely blanking my husband who, clearly, he had decided was a “nobody”.
Then the minute someone better came along he just walked off leaving me mid-anecdote. Charming!
He struck me then as a rude little man luxuriating in his position of power. Unfortunately, all too often it is men like that who run the show.
So the bravery of the women who have decided to put their careers and reputations on the line by speaking up is phenomenal.
Tinseltown is a very small place and the phrase: ‘You’ll never work in this town again”, springs to mind as a possible consequence.
Superstars such as Meryl Streep and Gwyneth Paltrow, who have won awards for starring in Weinstein movies, have stayed quiet.
What the women who have been brave enough to speak up are doing is taking one for the team.
They are going public partly in a bid to make the world a better place for women.
Which is more evidence, if any is needed, that if women want the world to change then they have to do it for themselves.
Thank God people are making their allegations against him now, rather than waiting until he is dead.
Still, isn’t it a shame that he has allegedly gone merrily on, unpunished, for so long?
Over the past decades, Weinstein has allegedly managed to keep the recipients of some of his unwelcome advances quiet with cash.
But this week his luck has run out. I hope this public humiliation will be enough to banish him from the spotlight for good.
I for one will watch with interest to see what will happen now that Weinstein, one of the industry “greats”, has been claimed to be a dirty old man, no better than a grubby little flasher.
Maybe, just maybe, he will never work in this town again. If the allegations are true, here’s hoping!
— SAY what you like about Theresa May and her accident-prone speech on Wednesday but even the hardest heart must admire how determined she was that the show must go on.
She is the ultimate public servant, putting the needs of the country before her own.
But she’s also a typical woman, battling on despite illness. How many of us have put on a brave face when all we want to do is stay in bed under the duvet?
Her speech showed real determination.
One of the greatest characteristics of success is finding your backbone, putting one foot in front of the other and carrying on — even when it seems easier to just crawl under a rock and stay there.
BECKER'S WATCHES ON TICK...
APPARENTLY Boris Becker is planning to sell his Wimbledon trophies and auction four luxury watches after racking up millions of pounds in debts.
According to German newspapers he is £54million in debt and facing having homes and personal property repossessed.
Seriously, £54million debt?
Other than luxury watches, what the hell has he been spending his money on?
Davina's so thong it's right
THERE is something very appealing about the idea of growing old disgracefully – especially if Davina McCall is anything to go by.
This week she posted a photo of herself looking pretty magnificent with the caption: “First foray into thong bikini at... 50. This might look like I’m showing off... I am.”
And by golly who can blame her?
Frankly, if I looked like that, and if I had worked as hard as Davina to get the figure she has, I’d be walking down the street in a thong – I wouldn’t just save it for the beach!
Unfortunately, if I did that at the moment I’d get arrested for inflicting GBH on the eyes of the public – but I digress.
Davina, a mother of three, has spent the past decade or more really putting the hours in to achieve proper physical fitness.
She works out pretty much daily and often runs miles. But she also eats properly and clearly enjoys life.
The result is she is the epitome of what we should all aspire to be whether we are in our twenties or our seventies – she has a fit, strong body that happens to also look great.
I say this, by the way, from the comfort of my elasticated waistband, which is the other option for those of us approaching our fifth decade who can’t quite be ar*ed to go the gym. Sigh.
THINK we have a long way to go when it comes to equality? Spare a thought for our sisters in Saudi Arabia.
Despite a royal decree declaring women will finally be allowed to drive cars as of next June, many women fear they will be prevented from doing so by their male “guardians”, who have the authority to make most decisions for their wives, sisters and daughters.
The concept of having a “male guardian” is archaic.
That country needs to drag itself into this century and stop oppressing women.
Frankly, the men need to grow up. If I was a woman in Saudi Arabia I would get in my car and keep driving until I reached civilisation.
Airbrush stroke of genius
NO ONE could say this has been a quiet news week.
So it’s not really surprising that a new French law seems to have slipped under the radar.
But I reckon this is actually a “eureka” moment for us all.
Because, from now on in France, any commercial photos of models who have been made to look thinner – or thicker – by digital editing must be labelled “photographie retouchée” (retouched photo).
Failure to comply means a fine of more than £33,500 or 30 per cent of the money spent on the ad.
French Health Minister Marisol Touraine summed it up, saying: “Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour.”
I hope this new French law is the start of something bigger.
PS: Unlike Kelly Brook, I have never been airbrushed as I’m not really pushing my looks as my key feature.
It’s my brain that’s on show, not my ar*e... and thank heavens for that!
— HARD not to feel for Jozef Urban, the 31-year-old marathon runner whose tackle popped out of his running shorts at the Kosice Peace Marathon on Sunday.
He was in the final stretch of the race, in the largest city in eastern Slovakia.
On the upside, I’m guessing he won by a length?
PRISONER'S AWARD IS NONSENSE
EDMUND BRUTON, jailed indefinitely in 2011 after drinking antifreeze then driving his car at 80mph into his ex-girlfriend’s home in a jealous rage, has won a settlement of just under £74,000 – after prison guards illegally opened his mail.
He has since created a “how to” guide for other inmates to sue jail chiefs.
Meanwhile, serving soldiers are being awarded £2,888 for damage such as permanent facial numbness or blast injuries to their ears after doing battle for their country.
Seriously, what’s wrong with this bloody country?
Is it just me that thinks our priorities are messed up?
