It seems like every day, someone new is coming out with condemnations of Harvey Weinstein.
The latest? He was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Saturday, the same day Kate Winslet told the Los Angeles Times that she deliberately did not thank the disgraced movie producer in 2009, when she won the lead actress Oscar for “The Reader.” The film was financed and produced by the Weinstein Company, and her first movie, “Heavenly Creatures,” was made in 1994 for Weinstein’s Miramax Films. Winslet said that she was not sexually harassed by Weinstein, but that he was “bullying and nasty” on a business level and that she was forceful in speaking out against him in her 20s, but in her 30s she felt it unnecessary to bring up his behavior again.
Winslet is joining a growing list of actresses with complaints against Weinstein, including Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mira Sorvino. Allegations of despicable behavior from Weinstein have shed new light on the dark side of Hollywood and on the dynamic of powerful executives exploiting actors trying to build a career.
But questions have risen about the tradeoffs of staying quiet about incidents of sexual harassment, exploitation and bullying in the entertainment industry. How practical is it for an actor to speak out about these types of indiscretions? What would be the consequences of refusing to be harassed if you’re an actor, and would that be worth the price of standing up to a Hollywood power player?
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