She Said – A Gripping Account of the Harvey Weinstein Scandal and its Enormous Impact

“The Weinstein Story was a solvent for secrecy, pushing women all over the world to speak up about similar experiences. The name Harvey Weinstein came to mean an argument for addressing misconduct, lest it go unchecked for decades, an example of how less severe transgressions could lead to more serious ones.”

On October 5, 2017, New York Times published a shocking expose of influential Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long history of sexual harassment, power abuse, and cover-ups. Times reporters’ – Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey – relentless investigation of the Weinstein’s disgusting misdeeds (Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker also simultaneously broke the Weinstein story) among other things became the catalyst for #MeToo Movement, first on social media (millions of women shared their experiences of sexual harassment), and later led to protests, asking deeper questions about sexism, gender inequality in the contemporary workplaces and society. In She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, Kantor and Twohey chronicle how they set out to investigate Harvey Weinstein, highlighting how their investigative methods, free from sensationalism or ideological fervor, dealt the monumental challenges of ‘real reporting’.

The investigative reporters’ work was bestowed with 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. But Kantor and Twohey’s reporting, like every other news, did not happen in a vacuum. In fact, She Said opens with describing the stormy sociopolitical climate (following the 2016 release of Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s now-infamous ‘Access Hollywood’ tape) and the precedent set by Times’ Emily Steel and Michael Schmidt who published an investigative report on Fox News host Bill O’Reilly’s history of sexual harassment. Megan Twohey has already worked on the story concerning Trump’s treatment of women and his tax history, whereas Jodi Kantor has reported on structural gender biases in the work places (particularly in the corporate culture).

Kantor writes that, “Gender is not a topic, but a kind of investigative entry point.” The entry point in the case of Harvey Weinstein is provided by actress Rose McGowan’s tweet (in which she alleged that she had been raped by a high-profile Hollywood producer; assumed as Weinstein). McGowan didn’t take the matter beyond the tweet, and some dismissed her as a failed actress trying to seek some attention. But even before McGowan’s tweet, there were rumors of the producers’ predatory, sleazy behavior. When Megan Twohey teamed-up with Kantor on Weinstein story, they tried to center their story on the horrific experiences the A-list stars such as Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow endured while working with the producer. The actresses were still uncertain about going on-the-record. But then Kantor and Twohey decided to broaden the scope of their story (on the insistence of their editor, Rebecca Corbett) by tracking down former female employees who worked at Miramax and TWC; the women who supposedly came in close contact with the producer’s ugly side.

As Kantor and Twohey collects stories of these women, a disgusting pattern seems to emerge. The assault follows with threats and payoffs. But although the reporters were made aware of gruesome accounts, they couldn’t report it, since they had no one on the record. The list of women abused by Weinstein was bound by confidentiality agreement. Some are just terrified by the prospect of standing against a powerful film producer. Soon, Kantor and Twohey themselves are warned of Weinstein’s mode of operation, whose clandestine tactics and team of fierce lawyers do everything in their power to stop the story going public. In this process, the Times reporters learn how the wealthy repeat offenders like Weinstein exploit the weak sexual harassment laws. The journalists observe that, “Some advocates for women profit from a settlement system that covers up misdeeds.” Even female lawyers who are supposed to be the defenders of women’s rights are proven to be part of this system that aids high-profile abusers (silence in exchange for money).

She Said excels in offering a blow-by-blow account of how the reporters gradually pieced together all the evidence – from on-record testimonies of abused women sharing their experiences to including all the incendiary E-mail and legal documents. The persistent yet delicate tactics Twohey and Kantor employs to persuade the women to come forward is also impressively noted. The most thrilling parts of the book involve the journalists’ & editors’ confrontation with unruly Weinstein and his suave lawyers. In one episode, we read the showdown on phone between Weinstein and Times executive editor, Dean Baquet. By the end of this exchange, it’s made clear that the producer’s years of bullying and harassing is coming to an end (although it can’t be surely said if he is ever going to spend some time behind bars). She Said, however, doesn’t end with the beginning of Harvey Weinstein’s downfall. It goes beyond chronicling the nuts and bolts techniques of investigative reporting and looks at the huge social impact of the story Kantor and Twohey broke.

In the third half of the book, the reporters jump to Christine Blasey Ford story. Mrs. Ford reported an alleged high school sexual attack on her by Supreme Court judge nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who eventually was confirmed in office. Although Kantor and Twohey only reported the Ford story from a distance, they offer a detailed account of how the events unfolded. This might be less compelling compared to Weinstein allegations, but the authors include the event to fit into the timeline, which starts with Trump, Bill O’Reilly and culminated in #MeToo Movement. Kantor and Twohey also addresses the backlash the movement received after it was labeled as ‘witch-hunt’ directed against men. They emphasize on the need to verify and check the allegations (a sort of structural change in the workplaces), and how the movement has become extremely divisive (“In a way, those who felt #MeToo had not gone far enough and those who protested that it was going too far are saying some of the same things: There was a lack of purpose or clear enough rules. The public did not fully agree on the precise meaning of words like ‘harassment’ or ‘assault’, let alone how businesses or schools should investigate or punish them.”)

She Said has a kind of cathartic epilogue which focuses on the gathering of 12 women who had been part of Twohey and Kantor’s reporting at one time or other. The gathering takes place at actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s house. Former junior employees in Weinstein Company and McDonald’s worker Kim Lawson are part of this small circle. The episode wasn’t as strongly written (the authors hint at the obvious class differences of the women), but it stresses on the need to displace the culture of secrecy and compliance through simple communication and upholding a sense of camaraderie.