She Said

Activist Tarana Burke founded this feminist movement in 2006 to facilitate discussions about sexual assault and abuse of women of color. Originally an online movement that spread via social media, #MeToo gained significant attention following the revelations of Harvey Weinstein’s years of predatory behavior and sexual harassment. The movement gained the mass media’s attention as hundreds of women used the hashtag to share their stories, including some of the famous women whom Kantor and Twohey interviewed during their Weinstein investigation. The #MeToo movement continues to stimulate an international discourse that questions accepted patriarchal norms and challenges systemic misogyny.

Kantor and Twohey termed Weinstein’s predatory mode of operation “The Pattern.” Their investigation revealed that the producer had a standard method of isolating, harassing, and assaulting women actors and employees. This pattern of abuse took place over several decades. He invited women to hotel rooms under the pretense that they would discuss potential career opportunities. Weinstein frequently appeared in a bathrobe or nude and asked the women for massages and/or to engage in other sexual activity. He then forced many victims into settlement nondisclosure agreements to cover up what had occurred, and their careers suffered in the aftermath.