In 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s investigation into Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior led to a seismic shift in the way we talk about sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood and beyond, work which earned them a Pulitzer Prize. Now, the two New York Times journalists have compiled and expanded on that research in a new book coming out today, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement. In it, they detail the process of earning the trust of their sources, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan, and add new info from sources who were previously off the record.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the journalists reveal the extent of the involvement of prominent feminist attorney Lisa Bloom, who began representing Weinstein in anticipation of the story breaking. While Bloom has since called her decision “a colossal mistake” and claims that she took on the job in order to help him apologize, Kantor and Twohey reveal a disturbing truth.
“These records we obtained show a much different story: that this was somebody who was aware of some of the serious allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault against Weinstein, and that she signed up for a much darker role.”
In a memo published on Twitter by Yashar Ali, Bloom explicitly betrays her allegedly feminist values, even going so far as to say to Weinstein: “I feel equipped to help you against the Roses [McGowan] of the world because I have represented so many of them.” In the memo, Bloom details her strategy to call out Rose McGowan as “a pathological liar,” aiming to plant negative articles about her and fix the results of his Google search so that more negative coverage will live behind a firewall. She advises Weinstein that his company should take steps to look proactive about gender equality in the workplace, a further reminder to us all that corporate feminism won’t save us and many of these so-called “feminist” gestures by big companies are often just ploys to save their own asses. Bloom, noted for her work defending victims against Bill O’Reilly and Bill Cosby, is now currently defending two victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
I’ve read @jodikantor @mega2e‘s book ‘She Said,’ which comes out today
It’s a triumph & it exposes predators AND enablers
That’s why asked them if I could post the entire memo Lisa Bloom sent to Harvey Weinstein
Please read it & order their book today: https://t.co/cvVuK9cT9a pic.twitter.com/eNpxVRA3ef
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) September 10, 2019
The Guardian reports: “Bloom said her mission in representing the alleged Epstein victims was ‘to deliver justice that was denied when jail authorities allowed Epstein to kill himself.'”
Bloom sure seems to have a twisted view of who deserves justice, entirely dependent on who’s shelling out for her alleged $895 an hour for her services. All the more disheartening? She’s not the only one of Weinstein’s lawyers currently taking on the Jeffery Epstein case. David Boies, whose law firm “contracted with a private-investigation outfit called Black Cube to stage an undercover surveillance operation targeting journalists and alleged Weinstein victims” is representing Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Rose McGowan has called for Bloom to be disbarred.
Header photo: The View/YouTube
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