The Weinstein effect is a trend in which women come forward to accuse famous or powerful men of sexual abuse, harassment or misconduct.[1] The term Weinstein effect came into use in October 2017, when media outlets began reporting on alleged sexual abuse perpetrated by movie producerHarvey Weinstein.[2]
The effect gave rise to the Me Too movement. That movement encourages people to share any experience of sexual harassment or sexual assault. The two events caused a cascade of allegations. The allegations brought about a fast removal of many men in positions of power in the United States.[citation needed]
In July 2016, Fox News television host Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against the station's chairman Roger Ailes, which led to his removal and encouraged journalists to pursue rumors about Weinstein's conduct and political commentator Bill O'Reilly. Similar revelations and a lawsuit led to O'Reilly being fired in April 2017. Both Ailes (who died in May 2017) and O'Reilly denied any wrongdoing.[6]
Harvey Weinstein, the producer convicted of sexual misconduct
Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times said the Weinstein scandal precipitated a "national reckoning" against sexual harassment and assault in the United States,[9] which became known as the Weinstein effect.[6]USA Today wrote that 2017 was the year in which "sexual misconduct became a fireable offense".[6]
Women and men aired claims of sexual misconduct in workplaces across multiple industries, leading to the swift international condemnation or removal of many men in positions of power. On Twitter, the #MeToo campaign also encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to share their stories.[6][10]
In the journalism industry, allegations led to the firing of editors, publishers, executives, and hosts, including high-profile television figures such as Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, and Matt Lauer.[13] In politics, accusations of varying degrees of severity were made against U.S. House Representative John Conyers (D-MI) and U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), both of whom resigned their seats in Congress, and Roy Moore (R-AL), who lost his 2017 bid for election to the United States Senate.[13] Celebrity chefs Mario Batali and John Besh were also removed.[13]
In technology, the Weinstein effect went underway when Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was investigated after being accused of violating the company's anti-fraternization policy over a consensual relationship he engaged in with an employee. Regardless, although this incident was ultimately not counted as sexually violent, and with the #MeToo movement still in effect, Krzanich was ousted as Intel's CEO on June 21, 2018.[16][17][18]
Two supporters of the #MeToo movement were also accused. CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves was one of Hollywood's most prominent supporters of the movement and a founding member of the "Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace", formed in late 2017 to "tackle the broad culture of abuse and power disparity".[19][20][21][22][23] On July 27, 2018, six women, including actress Illeana Douglas, accused him of sexually harassing them.[19] On August 19, 2018, an article published in The New York Times detailed allegations that Asia Argento sexually assaulted Jimmy Bennett, a then-17-year-old actor and musician, in a California hotel in 2013, and arranged to pay $380,000 to her accuser.[24][25][26] Bennett was under California's age of consent, which is 18 years of age, and says he was given alcohol under the age of 21.[26][27][28] Argento was a leading Weinstein accuser and prominent #MeToo movement leader.[26][27][28]
American journalists in conversation at NPR spoke of the allegations feeling like a tipping point for societal treatment of sexual misconduct.[31] They distinguished the moment from prior sexual misconduct public debates by the public trust in the accusers, who in this case were celebrities familiar to the public, rather than the accusers in prior cases, in which the accusers were unknown and became famous for their testimony. Social media provides a platform for women to share their experiences and encouragement on a scale that had not existed during prior public debates.[31] The state of California is considering legislation to ban closed door sexual harassment settlements.[6]
Two columnists of the USA Today expressed doubt that the trend of public opinion would hold, citing open, public cases with few consequences, such as R. Kelly (the column was made before Surviving R. Kelly aired and Kelly's subsequent arrest in early 2019) and Donald Trump.[6] The Weinstein effect also caused some to question the place of Bill Clinton within the Democratic Party due to the sexual misconduct allegations against him.[32][33][34] Journalist Jenny Nordberg published a New York Times article in protest against the prosecution and conviction of actress Cissi Wallin, one of the many accusers of journalist Fredrik Virtanen, and her criticism of the difficulties the Me Too movement faces in Sweden.
^
Flanagan, Caitlin (November 2017). "Bill Clinton: A reckoning". TheAtlantic.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
.svg){kind=small}
