Dozens of Mr. Weinstein’s former and current employees, from assistants to top executives, said they knew of inappropriate conduct while they worked for him. Only a handful said they ever confronted him.
Mr. Weinstein enforced a code of silence; employees of the Weinstein Company have contracts saying they will not criticize it or its leaders in a way that could harm its “business reputation” or “any employee’s personal reputation,” a recent document shows. And most of the women accepting payouts agreed to confidentiality clauses prohibiting them from speaking about the deals or the events that led to them.
The Times furthers that:
Across the years and continents, accounts of Mr. Weinstein’s conduct share a common narrative: Women reported to a hotel for what they thought were work reasons, only to discover that Mr. Weinstein, who has been married for most of three decades, sometimes seemed to have different interests.
As for Weinstein himself, he got some bad advice for his apology, beginning it with an excuse (which he says is not an excuse) about how he “came of age in the 60’s and 70’s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.” He has also put a spin on why he comissioned Ms. Bloom’s services, saying:
Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment. My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons. Over the last year I’ve asked Lisa Bloom to tutor me and she’s put together a team of people. I’ve brought on therapists and I plan to take a leave of absence from my company and to deal with this issue head on. I so respect all women and regret what happened. I hope that my actions will speak louder than words and that one day we will all be able to earn their trust and sit down together with Lisa to learn more.
If I were advising handsy Harvey, here’s how my statement would read, “I’m clearly sick and in need of help. I’m disgusted by my behavior, and I deeply apologize to each and every woman I’ve harmed. You will not hear from me until I’m healed.” That’s all I would say. As for the culture of the 60’s, that’s akin to saying, “everyone else was doing it,” which I imagine would not fly with Harvey’s children either. Consent, respect, and fidelity (Harvey is a married man) were alive and well in the 60’s and the only thing that’s changed is accountability and social media. That being said, it’s astounding that he got away with this so long.