Entertainment

Who are the Women Supporting Weinstein?

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After months of continued support of Harvey Weinstein, actress Lindsay Lohan is under fire once again.

In new remarks related to the #MeToo movement, Lohan said she doesn’t condone “attention-seekers.”

“If it happens at that moment, you discuss it at that moment,” Lohan said during an interview with The Times, a British publication. “You make it a real thing by making it a police report.

Noting that she has never been a victim of sexual assault, she added, “I going to really hate myself for saying this, but I think by women speaking against these things, it makes them look weak when they are very strong women.”

After backlash over her statements, she apologized for ‘any hurt and distress caused” by her remarks.

Lohan had defended Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein on Oct. 17, 2017, in a now-deleted Instagram post, saying that she “feels very bad for Harvey Weinstein.” She also cited Weinstein’s wife, saying “Georgina needs to take a stand and be there for her husband.”

In 2017, film producer Harvey Weinstein came under fire when over 80 women made allegations of sexual misconduct against him. The scandal was the jumping off point for a widespread conversation in Hollywood about sexism, inclusivity, and sexual assault in the film industry, lending weight to movements like #MeToo.

Since then, Weinstein has been officially charged with several counts of rape and sexual harassment, including accusations of sex trafficking. But that has not stopped Lohan and many others from defending him.

“I don’t really have anything to say,” Lohan told the times this week. “I can’t speak on something I didn’t live, right?”

 

 

“If it happens at that moment, you discuss it at that moment,” Lohan said. “You make it a real thing by making it a police report. I’m going to really hate myself for saying this, but I think by women speaking against all these things, it makes them look weak when they are very strong women. You have these girls who come out, who don’t even know who they are, who do it for the attention. That is taking away from the fact that it happened.”

Lohan has not been the only celebrity to come to the defense of Weinstein. Fashion designer Donna Karan told the Daily Mail last October, “How do we present ourselves as women? What are we asking? Are we asking for it by presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality?”

In a nude demonstration outside of the US Embassy in Moscow, five Russian women held up signs that read, “Harvey gets me excited”, “Hands off Harvey” and “I love Harvey”. According to REN TV, the two ringleaders of this demonstration had previously been arrested for filming a sex tape under the instruction of “sex guru”, Alex Lesley, who referred to the women as “slave girls.”

Russian Women Protest Embassy

Lohan apologized for her comments on the #MeToo movement shortly after a social media backlash, saying “I feel very strongly about the #MeToo movement and have the utmost respect and admiration for the women brave enough to come forward and speak out about their experiences. Their testimony has served to protect those who can’t speak, and give strength to those who have struggled to have their voices heard.”

Some say that the explanation for much of Weinstein’s support can be traced back, in some cases, to unfinished business that these supporters might have in their histories of abuse. As writer Anna Fitzpatrick says:

 

 

 

 

 

As defenders and detractors debate, however, Harvey Weinstein will definitely have his day in court soon. A federal judge has recently declared that Weinstein will stand trial for sex trafficking violations: a trial that could set legal precedents to come.

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