.jpg)
Just in case there’s any lingering doubt about the limits of white male privilege, consider that, so far, nothing has really happened to Harvey Weinstein. Yes, he lost his job and destroyed whatever remained of his public image, but while more than 70 women have accused him of offenses including rape, sexual assault, and rampant workplace harassment, Weinstein has remained a free man, hanging out in a weird wig in Arizona. He has experienced few to no legal or criminal consequences—until, possibly, now.
On Sunday, New York attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman filed a civil rights lawsuit against Weinstein, his brother Bob, and The Weinstein Company they cofounded, alleging “vicious and exploitative” treatment of its employees, and “egregious violations of New York’s civil rights, human rights, and business laws,” including sexual harassment, gender discrimination against female employees, and creating a hostile, “toxic” work environment. According to The New York Times, the AG’s ongoing four-month investigation into The Weinstein Company repeat earlier reports that Weinstein used female employees to help him lure sexual targets and “two employees described having to procure injectable erectile dysfunction medication for Mr. Weinstein.” The suit went on to say the studio was “repeatedly presented with credible evidence of [Weinstein’s] sexual harassment . . . and his use of corporate employees and resources to facilitate sexual activity with third parties,” including reports to human resources, and proceeded to ignore it.
The timing of the suit is no coincidence: It comes just as The Weinstein Company—which has been in peril since the first wave of abuse allegations broke last October—was preparing to be sold to an investor group for an estimated $500 million. The sale had the potential to bail out Weinstein and the company that enabled him, and, reportedly, did not include any plan for a compensation fund for Weinstein’s victims. But the New York lawsuit now appears to have killed the sale, making it more likely that The Weinstein Company will have to file for bankruptcy. Schneiderman’s suit declares clearly that “any sale of the Weinstein Company must ensure that victims will be compensated, employees will be protected going forward, and that neither perpetrators nor enablers will be unjustly enriched,” according to a news release.
Weinstein’s legal trouble doesn’t end there. The civil rights suit comes on the heels of potential criminal consequences: Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department named Weinstein in three alleged sexual assault cases submitted to the L.A. County district attorney, which will now consider whether or not to file criminal charges against the Oscar-winning producer. That brings the total number of sexual assault cases Weinstein is facing in Los Angeles County to five, while Beverly Hills police separately submitted two cases to prosecutors last December.
In response to the newly-filed civil rights suit, Weinstein’s attorney said in a statement: “While Mr. Weinstein’s behavior was not without fault, there certainly was no criminality, and at the end of the inquiry, it will be clear that Harvey Weinstein promoted more women to key executive positions than any other industry leader.” Weinstein continues to deny all allegations of “non-consensual sex.”
By many calculations, Weinstein remains the prime predator who provoked the current #MeToo movement. Now, his case may become illustrative in a whole new way: as proof that after the revelations and investigations, that abusive men don’t just temporarily lose their jobs and their VIP status, only to bounce back a few years later Mel Gibson–style; that maybe—just maybe—some lose their companies, swim in the debt of settlement payments, and even go to jail.
