Harvey Weinstein scandal laid bare in new book

In early October 2017 a journalist for Variety approached Harvey Weinstein to ask about rumours of an upcoming bombshell article in The New York Times. A number of women had reportedly come forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct, which Weinstein denies.  “That story sounds so good” he quipped, “I want to buy the movie rights.” Given the tsunami it unleashed, it’s hard to imagine the Weinstein story might never have happened. But the revelations of allegations about one Hollywood movie producer which he continues to deny and which eventually snowballed into a cultural movement were largely the result of a tough and complicated battle by two journalists, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor. She Said is a fascinating tale of their investigative journalism in action, the ultimate story-behind-the-story filled with so many twists and obstacles that it often reads, somewhat ironically, like a Hollywood screenplay. 

Twohey and Kantor won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting, which began in May 2017 with an email exchange between Kantor and the actress Rose McGowan. Both journalists came to the story with years of experience in uncovering gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct. Twohey had just returned from maternity leave after “the most bruising reporting stretch of her career” looking into allegations made by multiple women against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Kantor had worked on several major gender discrimination stories which helped change legislation for women in the workplace. After investigating Weinstein, she would go on to report on Christine Blasey Ford’s case against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, detailed later in the book. 

But even for two experienced journalists, She Said makes it clear what a hill they had to climb with the Weinstein story. They were well aware that if they could not back up their evidence with “names, dates, proof and patterns” then it could be dismissed as a “he said-she said”, exposing the victims to further distress. There was also the matter of working out how to connect with some of the most famous actresses in the world, women protected by armies of publicists and assistants whose job it was to rebuff approaches, and persuade them to share their stories. Unsurprisingly, most refuse to get on the phone. 

Gwyneth Paltrow proves to be a major early victory, connected to Kantor by Lena Dunham and her Girls co-producer Jenni Konner who have heard stories about Weinstein and offer up their services as a “two-woman celebrity switchboard”. Paltrow comes across well in the book, candid about her experiences with Weinstein as his Oscar-winning golden girl back in the Nineties. She offers to use her wide celebrity network to dig for other accounts of his behaviour, texting famous friends and even asking Kantor and Twohey “for pointers on the protocols of investigative journalism”. When someone appears to alert Weinstein to this, he shows up early to a party at her Hamptons home, seemingly staking out the living room as Paltrow hides upstairs. 

But this carefully balanced account also gives equal weight to the stories of Weinstein’s persecuted staff members, such as former assistant Rowena Chiu, who wore two pairs of tights as protection, or Zelda Perkins, whose job it was to wake up the naked producer every morning, where allegedly he would sometimes “try to pull her into bed with him”. When Twohey doorsteps a former employee she is told: “I’ve been waiting for this knock on my door for 27 years.” 

The story would be difficult enough to work on without the apparent sabotage tactics employed by Weinstein and his lawyers. The book paints a picture of a volatile man, growling threats down the phone one moment, attempting flattery the next. It’s a strangely intimate turn of events when, in journalistic obligation, they run the details of the story by the man himself before publication. “I’m already dead,” he tells them, “I’m going to be a rolling stone.” 

Though the story helped kick-start #TimesUp and #MeToo, the authors are hesitant about cheering on the flood of accusations that followed, like the anonymous claim made against comedian Aziz Ansari. “It was hard to tell if his behaviour was overeager, clueless or worse,” they write. We also see, in the subsequent story of Blasey Ford, the real impact coming forward can have on a victim’s life. Ultimately, whatever the outcome, there are no winners. 

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey​ (Bloomsbury, £30), buy it here.