If you wanted a dose of the hypocrisy that kept Harvey Weinstein and some of the other abusers going all these years, a front row seat at the Women’s Media Awards would have been a good start.
Hillary Clinton, Ashley Judd, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and other media powerhouses had a strong message for men and women alike. As the marquee honoree at the annual Women’s Media Awards, former Secretary of State Clinton, put it best: “I don’t intend to be silenced.”
Yes. Silencing is reserved for the women her husband abused.
Fonda and Judd called for women to seize the moment and focus on making lasting change. Judd, one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, was fresh off her first TV interview since speaking out about the producerto the New York Times. Her accusations in many ways set off a tsunami of women coming forward with their own horror stories of abuse at the hands of Weinstein, director James Toback, and other prominent figures.
“I was sitting around last Sunday with Gloria [Steinem] on FaceTime, and she was reminding me of the typical strategy sexual predators stick on us. They deny us, attack us, and reverse the order of victim and defender,” Judd said. “We’ve been able to talk about shame … and, especially in groups of strong females, we’re able to take that shame and put it back where it belongs, on the sexual predator.”
Hillary was a Harvey pal. And Harvey had helped fund a chair in Gloria Steinem's name. And yes, that's still happening.
Rutgers University officials say they have no plans to give back a high-profile donation from Harvey Weinstein as the film mogul battles allegations that he has sexually harassed women for decades.
Weinstein contributed $100,000 to the state university as was one of the lead donors to the school's new Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies.
"Harvey Weinstein and the H. Weinstein Family Foundation contributed a gift of $100,000 in honor of his late mother, who shared Gloria Steinem's hopes for female equality. We can think of no better use of this donation than to continue this important work," said Karen Smith, a Rutgers spokeswoman.
And the hypocrisy train keeps steaming along.