Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Sheryl Sandberg discusses Facebook’s work with Congress, a linguist explains what “vocal fry” is and how it hurts women and—you guessed it—a lot of Harvey Weinstein. Have a relaxing weekend.
• Just the facts. A week ago, when news of the numerous sexual harassment allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein first broke, I asked readers of this newsletter how we in the media can prevent “scandal fatigue.”
What I heard from many of you is that the constant onslaught of stories and opinion pieces makes it difficult to understand what actually happened and to whom—and that you wish you could find it all in one place. (One reader suggested a diagram, but I’m sorry to say my artistic skills are not up to par.) So, without further ado, here are the basics:
Women who have made public allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein (so far):
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Ashley Judd, actress
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Emily Nestor, former temp at The Weinstein Company
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Lauren O’Connor, former employee of The Weinstein Company
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Laura Madden, former employee of The Weinstein Company
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Zelda Perkins, former employee of Miramax
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Gwyneth Paltrow, actress
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Rosanna Arquette, actress
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Judith Godrèche, actress
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Angelina Jolie, actress
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Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, model
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Katherine Kendall, actress
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Tomi-Ann Roberts, psychology professor and former aspiring actress
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Dawn Dunning, costume designer and former aspiring actress
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Kate Beckinsale, actress
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Mira Sorvino, actress
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Sophie Dix, actress
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Florence Darel, actress
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Claire Forlani, actress
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Cara Delevigne, model
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Lea Seydoux, actress
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Heather Graham, actress
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Emma de Caunes, actress
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Jessica Barth, actress
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Laura Sivan, journalist
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Romola Garai, actress
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Louisette Geiss, actress and screenwriter
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Sarah Ann Masse, actress
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Liza Campbell, writer and artist
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Zoë Brock, writer
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Louise Godbold, nonprofit director
The women above accuse Weinstein of one or multiple of the following actions:
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Exposing himself in front of them
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Asking them to undress
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Touching them sexually (e.g. groping breasts)
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Asking them to kiss him—or other women
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Masturbating in front of them
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Offering them jobs in exchange for sexual acts
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Threatening to take away jobs if they refuse his advances
Women who have made public allegations of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein (so far):
Asia Argento, actress and director, per The New Yorker:
“After she reluctantly agreed to give Weinstein a massage, he pulled her skirt up, forced her legs apart, and performed oral sex on her as she repeatedly told him to stop.”
Lucia Evans, former aspiring actress, per The New Yorker:
“‘He forced me to perform oral sex on him.’ As she objected, Weinstein took his penis out of his pants and pulled her head down onto it. ‘I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t,” she said. ‘I tried to get away, but maybe I didn’t try hard enough. I didn’t want to kick him or fight him.’ In the end, she said, ‘He’s a big guy. He overpowered me.'”
Rose McGowan, actress. In 1997, Weinstein paid her a $100,000 settlement after an incident in a hotel room during that year’s Sundance Film Festival. She had not revealed what happened until Thursday evening, when she sent a series of Tweets to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (one of which is below):
“I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof.”
Excerpts from Harvey Weinstein’s response via Twitter to allegations of harassment (it has since been deleted from the platform):
“I came of age in the ’60s and ’70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.”
“I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.”
“Jay Z wrote in 4:44 ‘I’m not the man I thought I was, and I better be that man for my children.’ The same is true for me.”
“I’ve decided that I’m going to give the NRA my full attention.”
Harvey Weinstein’s statement to reporters after the allegations of assault came to light:
“I gotta get help, guys. You know what, we all make mistakes. Second chance, I hope.”
Statement to the Times by Harvey Weinstein representative:
“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. He will not be available for further comments, as he is taking the time to focus on his family, on getting counseling and rebuilding his life.”
Statement to the The New Yorker by Harvey Weinstein representative:
“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.”
• It’s not just Hollywood. While everyone’s eyes have been on Lalaland, the science community is grappling with a sexual harassment scandal of its own. Boston University is investigating allegations against David Marchant, a professor who leads the Antarctic Research Group at the school, by two of his former graduate students. They say Marchant verbally and physically harassed them during research expeditions in Antarctica two decades ago. Science
• Spasibo, Sandberg. Sheryl Sandberg on Thursday confirmed reports that the House Intelligence Committee will be publicizing thousands of Facebook ads linked to Russia that appeared during the 2016 election. In addition to the ads, the social network will be handing over the pages they link to and supporting data to Congress, the company’s COO said. Fortune
• A win in India. India’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that sex with an underage wife constitutes rape. The decision overturned a previous clause that permitted men to have sex with a married girl as young as 15. Under the new ruling, girls who are raped by their husbands can bring charges within one year of the offense. Time
• Vocally fried. You’ve probably heard of “up-talk,” that tendency of some people—mostly young women—to finish their sentences as if they are asking a question. The opposite phenomenon is called “vocal fry,” in which the speaker lowers his or her voice at the end of words and phrases. In this fascinating WSJ video, a language scholar explores what causes the sound and why women are more likely to be criticized for it. WSJ
• Not Mrs. Franken. In a speech at Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar recounted an experience that many women in the room could relate to—being mistaken for a powerful man’s wife. In her case, that man was her junior Senator, Al Franken, the one-time comedian and Saturday Night Live performer. When she tried to explain that she was actually also a Senator: “How cool is this, husband and wife senators!” Fortune
• It’s not a race (even when it is). Amelia Boone is a corporate attorney at Apple and one of the world’s top obstacle racers. Stephanie McMahon is World Wrestling Entertainment’s chief brand officer and a former wrestler who once pinned The Rock. Yet when it comes to competition, both women offer the same piece of advice to MPWs: Ignore it. “When I focus on other people, I spiral into a very bad headspace,” Boone said. Fortune
• Helena on health. Helena Foulkes, EVP of CVS Health and president of CVS Pharmacy, spoke at the Summit about the company’s pivot to being a health company and discontinuing the sale of tobacco products. “There is no doctor who would say any amount of smoking is okay,” Foulkes said. What about soda and candy? “As it relates to food, we’ve been working with partner companies”—she mentioned PepsiCo in particular—”about the notion of nudging people to healthier options.” Fortune
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Looking for previous Broadsheets? Click here.
The Rock Test: a hack for men who don’t want to be accused of sexual harassment Medium
How surrealism enriches storytelling about women The Atlantic
People are totally over men saying they are horrified by sexual assault because they have a daughter BuzzFeed
Do androids dream of colossal women? New York Magazine
