Entertainment
Celebrities Support ‘Silence Breakers’ After Weinstein’s Conviction
Published
3 years agoon

- Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and a criminal sexual act by New York jury Monday but was acquitted on more serious charges.
- Since the ruling, many praised the women who testified in court and applauded the decision.
- Those who spoke out include journalist Ronan Farrow; previous Weinstein accusers Rose McGowan, Rosanna Arquette, and Ashley Judd; and President Donald Trump.
- Weinstein maintains his innocence and was briefly hospitalized for heart palpitations following the verdict. He faces more charges in Los Angeles.
Responses to Weinstein’s Conviction
After disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act, many praised his the ‘silence breakers’ who told their stories for speaking out and starting a movement.
On Monday, Weinstein was found guilty on those two charges but was acquitted on a second rape charge, as well as more serious charges of predatory sexual assault. Over 80 women have accused him of sexual assault or harassment and several took to the stands during the trial.
Journalist Ronan Farrow, who broke the story that led to the dozens of accusations in 2018, said this verdict was “the result of the decisions of multiple women to come forward to journalists and to prosecutors at great personal cost and risk.”
Today’s outcome in Harvey Weinstein’s New York trial is the result of the decisions of multiple women to come forward to journalists and to prosecutors at great personal cost and risk. Please keep those women in your thoughts today.
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) February 24, 2020
Other prominent figures in the MeToo movement who previously accused Weinstein of misconduct also praised the women who testified. Rose McGowan said she was “proud of the brave women” and that she “can finally exhale.
I'm proud of the brave women who testified, they have taken out a monster on earth. Thank you to the prosecutor & jury who said not one more. Thank you to the public for examining things more deeply. I can finally exhale
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) February 24, 2020
Ashley Judd said the women who testified “walked through traumatic hell” but did a public service in doing so.
For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you.#ConvictWeinstein #Guilty
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) February 24, 2020
I am. Thank you. I am thinking about how it took 90 women coming forward for two guilty convictions…. https://t.co/S8NehU2Itv
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) February 24, 2020
Rosanna Arquette echoed that praise and also thanked the jury. She then called for a change in the legal process of reporting these kinds of crimes.
Gratitude to the brave women who’ve testified and to the jury for seeing through the dirty tactics of the defense .we will change the laws in the future so that rape victims are heard and not discredited and so that it’s easier for people to report their rapes
— Rosanna Arquette🌎✌🏼 (@RoArquette) February 24, 2020
Others also expressed their support for the outcome. Hollywood figures like Judd Apatow, Rosie Perez, Julianne Moore, and Tatum O’Neal all took to Twitter to celebrate the verdict. President Donald Trump also spoke at a press conference saying that the convictions are “a great victory and sends a very strong message.”
“So I was never a fan of Harvey Weinstein as you know,” Trump added before speaking about the producer’s Democratic leanings. “In fact, he said he was going to work hard to defeat me. How did that work out by the way? I’m trying to figure out.”
Weinstein Maintains Innocence
While many applauded the jury’s decision, Weinstein, who faces more charges in Los Angeles, maintained his innocence.
“I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I’m innocent,” he said, according to a statement his lawyer gave to Variety. “How could this happen in America?”
Shortly after the ruling, while Weinstein was set to be transported to jail, he was taken to a nearby hospital. According to his lawyers, he was experiencing chest pains, heart palpitations, and high blood pressure. He reportedly stayed the night and is in good condition now.
Testimonies from Accusers
His ruling comes after a trial that lasted several weeks. Over the course of the trial, several women told their stories in graphic and disturbing testimonies.
Weinstein’s conviction for a criminal sexual act comes from the case of Miriam Haley, a former production assistant. In her testimony, she described what went through her mind the moment she realized she was being sexually assaulted.
“I started weighing up my options in my head, and I thought, okay, I’m not able to get away from him physically,” she said. “So I thought, I thought if I escalate this, if I scream rape, will someone hear me. If I start kicking even harder, will I have a chance to get away from him.”
“And if I do get all the way downstairs, is the driver in on it, will he be there standing guard ready to scoop me up if I get that far?” Haley added. “And I couldn’t even get away from him at all, let alone get out of the apartment. So ultimately after a while, I just checked out and decided to endure it, that was the safest thing for me to do at that point.”
Another testimony came from Jessica Mann, who testified that Weinstein raped her throughout the course of an abusive relationship, which was where the rape conviction stems from. Mann explained what the immediate aftermath of that rape felt like.
“I was scared to look at myself, but I did, and I saw that I had been crying long enough that my eyes were red and swollen at that point,” she said. “But I don’t know when I started to cry.”
She said that shortly after, Weinstein summoned her to speak to her again.
“I’m so sorry about earlier,” Weinstein said, according to Mann. “I just find you so attractive, I couldn’t resist.”
Annabella Sciorra gave testimony as a witness in the trial. While none of the charges against Weinstein pertained to her specifically, she alleges that Weinstein raped her. She said she tried to resist, but after it kept going she said. “I didn’t have very much fight left inside of me at that point.”
“It was just so disgusting that my body started to shake in a way that was very unusual,” she added. “I didn’t really know what was happening, it was like a seizure or something.”
After the verdict came in, Sciorra gave a statement to Variety about the relief that this provides for her.
“My testimony was painful but necessary,” Sciorra said. “We can never regret breaking the silence. For in speaking truth to power we pave the way for a more just culture, free of the scourge of violence against women.”
See what others are saying: (Variety) (Vanity Fair) (Deadline)
Entertainment
Max to Agrees to “Properly” Credit Writers and Directors After Facing Backlash For Lumping Them in As “Creators”
Published
1 week agoon
May 24, 2023
The company said the credits were laid out incorrectly due to “an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max.”
After film and television writers slammed Max for crediting all writers, producers, and directors as general “creators” on its platform, the company said it will be adjusting its credits display.
“We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized,” the streaming service said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Max — the new rebrand of HBO Max that incorporates Discovery content — launched on Tuesday to much criticism. Amid glitches and app-switching confusion, the biggest backlash it faced was over the choice to lump creative roles into one credit section called “creators.” As one viral tweet noted, if a user were to select the film “Raging Bull,” the service’s display would not specifically credit Martin Scorsese as the director, rather, his name would be included at random with half a dozen other people, including writers and producers.
The new HBO Max (MAX) has eliminated writer/director credits in their interface in favor of a vague "Creators." This is what Raging Bull currently looks like. It's so fucking over. pic.twitter.com/gPveQ469GB
— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) May 24, 2023
The decision was condemned by many in the industry who argued it minimizes writers and directors by not properly giving them credit where it is due. Especially amid the ongoing writers’ strike, and with directors and actors starting negotiations with studios, some took it as a slap in the face.
“The studios don’t want anyone to know our names,” writer Christina Strain tweeted. “It’s easier to pay us nothing if we’re faceless.”
The studios don’t want anyone to know our names. It’s easier to pay us nothing if we’re faceless. https://t.co/JgqKGRkJng
— Christina Strain (@christinastrain) May 24, 2023
“Another move from studios to diminish the role of writers, directors, actors and other craftspeople. Miss me wit this nonsense,” Jorge Rivera, the Vice-Chair of the Writers Guild’s Latinx Writers Committee, added.
“Creators.” Another move from studios to diminish the role of writers, directors, actors and other craftspeople. Miss me wit this nonsense. https://t.co/MN0nCzLWhh
— Jorge Rivera (@riverag3000) May 24, 2023
In a statement, Directors Guild President Lesli Linka Glatter said that Warner Bros. Discovery’s choice to “collapse” these roles into one credit “while we are in negotiations with them is a grave insult to our members and our union.”
“The DGA will not stand for it,” Glatter continued.
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm claimed the move was “a credits violation,” as well as an insult “to the artists that make the films and TV shows that make their corporation billions.”
On Wednesday, Max said it would rework its crediting.
“We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake,” the platform said.
See what others are saying: (Gizmodo) (The Hollywood Reporter) (The Los Angeles Times)
Entertainment
A Quarter of Young British Men Support Andrew Tate’s Thoughts on Women
Published
2 weeks agoon
May 22, 2023
U.K. residents at large, however, do not view him favorably.
Even under house arrest in Romania, misogynist influencer Andrew Tate still holds substantial sway over young men.
According to data from YouGov that was obtained by The Independent, 26% of U.K. men between 18 and 29 years old who know of Tate agree with his views on women. That figure was largely the same for men between 30 and 39, as 28% agreed with Tate’s opinions on the subject.
Men in their 30s were slightly more likely to agree with Tate on his thoughts about masculinity. Three out of ten supported those views, compared to just a quarter of men 18 to 29.
Those statistics only include the thoughts of men who have heard of Tate, but per YouGov, most have. In the 18 to 29 group, 93% were familiar with him, and 86% of men in their 30s knew of him.
The U.K. at large was less aware of Tate, with just 63% of British adults having heard of him. Of that group, only 6% held a positive view of him.
Tate has faced substantial backlash for his sexist rhetoric over the years. In the past, he said that men should have “authority” over their wives or girlfriends, and that women should “bear some responsibility” for being raped. He was previously banned from Twitter over his extremist views on women but has since been allowed back on the platform.
He is currently being investigated in Romania for organized crime and human trafficking. He was arrested and held in custody in December but was released to house arrest earlier this year. No formal charges have been filed against him yet and he has maintained his innocence.
Tate currently boasts a Twitter following of 6.7 million. It has grown significantly since he was enveloped in legal controversy, and many of his supporters have demanded his release.
See what others are saying: (The Independent) (Glamour U.K.)
Entertainment
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Involved in “Near Catastrophic” Paparazzi Chase
Published
2 weeks agoon
May 17, 2023
“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” a spokesperson for the couple said.
“Aggressive” Paparazzi Chase Couple in New York
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in a “near catastrophic” paparazzi car chase Tuesday night in New York City, according to a spokesperson for the couple.
In a statement, the spokesperson described the photographers as “highly aggressive.”
“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the statement added.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” it continued.
Details of the incident are still emerging, but BBC News reported that there are claims the chase involved roughly six cars driving recklessly by running red lights, driving on the sidewalk, carrying out blocking moves, going backward on a one-way road, and taking pictures while driving.
The chase happened after Harry and Meghan were leaving the Women of Vision Awards with Meghan’s mother, Doria. They did not want photographers to learn where they were staying and attempted to avoid them in what turned into a 75-minute chase on a main road in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. They eventually ducked into a New York Police Department Precinct to hide out before getting into a different vehicle.
The NYPD released a statement confirming that they assisted in protecting the couple as “numerous photographers” hindered their transport. Officials said they made it to their destination and there were no collisions, injuries, or arrests.
The couple’s spokesperson is asking the public to not share or post footage of the incident.
“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved,” the spokesperson said.
Memories of Princess Diana
The chase evokes the brutal press hounding Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was subjected to throughout her life. The paparazzi’s obsession with her ultimately resulted in her death in 1997, when she was killed in a car crash after being chased by photographers in Paris.
Since marrying Meghan and later bowing out of the Royal Family, Harry has made it explicitly clear that he fears those events could happen again. Meghan has been the subject of endless tabloid scrutiny, enduring racism and harassment from the press. Part of the reason they left the Royal Family was to keep their family protected from such attacks.
Mayor Eric Adams brought up Diana’s tragic passing while speaking about Tuesday night’s chase.
“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how [Harry’s] mom died,” Adams said while speaking to reporters. “And it would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well…I think that was a bit reckless and irresponsible.”
Adams also questioned whether or not he believes a chase could go on for two hours in a city as congested as New York, but noted that even a 10-minute chase would be dangerous. He said he will be briefed on the exact timeline and details later.
See what others are saying: (BBC News) (Associated Press) (Yahoo News)

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