SHE SAID is the highly disturbing account of the activities of Harvey Weinstein and Brett Kavanaugh. It tells how Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey investigated the rumors about Harvey Weinstein to produce their sensational piece which published in the New York Times on 5 October 2017. This stirred up such a hornet’s nest that EIGHTY women came forward to say they had been molested or assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. Nothing like this has every happened before.
Later, the journalists investigated similar rumors about Brett Kavanaugh, interviewing Christine Blasey Ford, who recounted a traumatic experience she had when Kavanaugh tried to rape her when they were both teenagers. Subsequently, Gwyneth Paltrow hosted a meeting at her Los Angeles home for all the sources who came forward to report abuse they’d received at the hands of powerful men. These women included actress Ashely Judd, and Christine Blasey Ford.
It was thrilling to watch the unraveling of the privileged life Harvey Weinstein had in the wake of these allegations. The Weinstein Company went bankrupt, and Harvey Weinstein was forced to surrender his passport and wear an ankle bracelet. He was sentenced to 23 years for rape on 11 March 2020.
It was heartbreaking to hear the testimony of the women, summoned to Harvey Weinstein’s hotel for what they imagined to be a business meeting, only to have Weinstein meeting them half-naked, (or actually naked) demanding massages, back rubs, blow jobs. When they refused, he responded with bullying tactics, in some cases raping them, in all cases humiliating them with his outrageous requests.
If you want to know how the “Me Too” movement ignited, read this book. Five stars.
