In the book She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey narrate an unbiased exposé on the decades of sexual harassment by the renowned film producer Harvey Weinstein. The book details a series of countless acts of sexual misconduct by the producer and a large extent of cover-ups by Weinstein and his organization. Megan and Jodi take up a third-person perspective in the book to tell the tale of their investigative work into Harvey Weinstein’s transgressions.
In light of the allegations of sexual misconduct by the presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, a lot of women had come out talking of similar incidences by men in powerful positions. Among these rumors were a few of Weinstein’s misconduct. Upon hearing correlated stories from different sources, Jodi saw an emerging pattern surrounding Weinstein and the numerous female employees he had hired over the years. Joined by her colleague Megan, the two reporters set out to look for more evidence starting with an interview with the actress Rose McGowan. The conversation with the actress revealed that the Hollywood industry demoralized women and a lot of them had to demean themselves to retain their jobs and reputation. However, McGowan did not go on the record in the reporter’s original piece.
Eventually, Jodi and Megan got into contact with several famous actresses like Ashley Judd, Gwyneth, Amy Israel, and former company assistants who all spoke of the same sexual harassment by Weinstein. The more victims they interviewed the more the reporters were shocked by the extent of misconduct by Weinstein and his company. It was clear that Weinstein had an immoral habit of luring young women into his room and pressuring them into sexual favors. Weinstein also made perverted comments about women’s physical appearance. After harassing these women, Weinstein would work swiftly with the help of his organization to silence these women. Settlement contracts were drawn up by his team of lawyers and the victims forced to sign them to protect their careers and reputation.
Jodi and Megan went ahead to contact Weinstein’s accountants, lawyers, and board members who revealed that indeed the producer had been harassing his employees for years and the company took part in covering these crimes. Most of the individuals who knew of Weinstein’s abuse were afraid of exposing the prominent producer because of his influence in the industry. Weinstein was a respected producer and in the end, it would be their word against his.
Nevertheless, many of these victims of assault did not go on record for they feared the producer’s impact in their lives, careers, and mental well-being. After numerous interviews, Jodi and Megan came across a memo by a former literary scout of the Weinstein Company, Lauren O’Connor, the memo detailed the toxic treatment of the female employees in the company. However, Lauren was pressured into silence and the memo disappeared. In the days before they published their findings, the Times asked for the producer’s statement in response to the accusations. Weinstein denied all these allegations and the exposé went public. After the publication, many women around the world became inspired to tell their stories of assault hence the formation of the #MeToo movement which empowers women globally.
