Oprah Winfrey says Harvey Weinstein's behavior "hideous"
NEW YORK -- Oprah Winfrey says Harvey Weinstein's behavior is "hideous" and she agrees with others who also blame enablers in Hollywood.
She took to Facebook to say she hasn't "been able to find the words to articulate the magnitude of the situation." Winfrey cited a statement from filmmaker and former head of Focus Features, James Schamus, that the scandal is a "story of one predator and his many victims; but it is also a story about an overwhelming systemic enabling" by underlings and others in the entertainment industry.
I’ve been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein’s hideous behavior and haven’t been able to find the words to...
Posted by Oprah Winfrey on Thursday, October 12, 2017
Winfrey said that thanks to the brave voices of women who have accused Weinstein, "many more will now be emboldened to come forward EVERY time this happens." She added: "I believe a shift is coming."
Meanwhile on Friday, Weinstein is reportedly trying to keep his job as a major Hollywood producer.
It appears Weinstein isn't going away quietly, apparently believing his firing was a contract violation, CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan reports.
According to TMZ, his 2015 contract says if Weinstein "gets sued for sexual harassment or any other 'misconduct' that results in a settlement or judgment against TWC [The Weinstein Company]," Weinstein has to reimburse the company for settlements or judgments in addition to a fine out of his own pocket and then could keep his job.
A source familiar with the contract tells CBS News that interpretation is incorrect.
As the headlines make national news, women gathered outside the District Attorney's office Wednesday in New York, which decided not to bring charges against Weinstein in 2015 after he admitted to groping a woman and apologized for it on audio tape.
"It's really a microcosm of our larger society," Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women of New York (NOW), said.
The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission says 1 in 4 women experience workplace harassment, but up to 94 percent of alleged victims don't file complaints.
Actress Rose McGowan, who has been spearheading a movement against TWC, tweeted Thursday that "HW raped me" --apparently a reference to Weinstein -- and asked women to boycott Twitter on Friday following her account's suspension Wednesday.