Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
One year ago tomorrow, with a stunning New York Times exposé — "Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades" — the feared mogul became the first of many prominent men to fall as the #MeToo movement became a cultural force.
The big picture: Allegations about past sexual behavior have ranged from corner suites to the silver screen to the brink of the Supreme Court. Thanks to a $22 million Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, a dollar-store cashier and aspiring signer are among the women teamed up with top-notch lawyers to pursue #MeToo-style sex harassment cases, AP reports.
Among the powerful to face a reckoning:
- Harvey Weinstein: First accused October 5; Fired October 8
- Mark Halperin: First accused October 26; Book deals and contributor contracts dropped October 26
- Kevin Spacey: First accused October 29; Booted from "House of Cards" November 3
- Garrison Keillor: First accused in October; Fired November 29
- Roy Moore: First accused November 9; Defeated December 12
- Louis C.K.: Accused November 9; FX Networks/Productions cut ties November 10
- Al Franken: Accused November 16; Announced resignation December 7
- Russell Simmons: Accused November 19; Stepped down from companies November 30
- Charlie Rose: First accused November 20; Fired November 21
- Matt Lauer: Accused November 29; Fired November 29, after internal complaints November 27
- Shervin Pishevar: Accused November 30; Left company December 5
- Trent Franks: Accused December 8; Resigned effective January 31
- Mario Batali: Accused December 11; Announced he was “stepping away” December 11
- Steve Wynn: Accused January 27 2018; Resigned February 6
- Jeff Fager: Accused July 2018; Fired September 12, 2018
What's next: There is a real debate over how much due process the accused should receive in the court of public opinion, especially with the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh, who is expected to receive a final Supreme Court confirmation vote this weekend.
- Emily Yoffe for The Atlantic: "If believing the woman is the beginning and the end of a search for the truth, then we have left the realm of justice for religion."
- Constance Grady and Anna North for Vox: "It’s important to consider the right of accused men to defend themselves, but it’s also important to consider the rights of survivors, and the right we all have to be led and governed by people who treat women — indeed, who treat all people — with respect."
Be smart: In a piece about the changes in Hollywood one year later, the L.A. Times notes: "[T]he most significant effects of the Weinstein scandal may be less tangible, unfolding not in press releases or screaming headlines but in the hearts and minds of people in the industry and in their day-to-day workplace interactions."
Axios' Haley Britzky contributed to this story.