The list of Hollywood members accused of sexual misconduct increased last week when numerous actresses and female film crew members came forth and accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of such behavior. Unlike actors accused in the past, Weinstein's reputation was almost immediately affected. He has been removed from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences — an organization Bill Cosby is still a member of — and fired from his film production company, the Weinstein Company.
The #MeToo campaign
The uproar over these allegations caused the #Metoo campaign to go viral.
Actress Alyssa Milano began the campaign when she tweeted a note from a friend on Sunday.
"If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote, 'Me too' as a status," reads the note, "we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem."
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017
Users began to post the status on different social media platforms and state they have also been sexually harassed or assaulted.
According to the New York Times, within the first 24 hours, 500,000 Twitter users used the hashtag including celebrities such as singer Lady Gaga and actress Evan Rachel Wood.
As of Tuesday, 12 million posts have been created on Facebook and 1 million tweets with the hashtag have been sent out, according to ABC News.
Milano has not formally stated the campaign was created in response to the Weinstein accusations.
Allegations against Weinstein
An investigation conducted by the New York Times found women have been accusing Weinstein of sexual misconduct over the past three decades.
Weinstein has reached eight settlements with some of the accusers. Additionally, a recently discovered video of actress and singer Courtney Love making a charge against Weinstein went viral. Love accused the Creative Arts Agency of ridiculing her after she made the accusations in 2005, according to the New York Times.
Vanity Fair is reporting 46 women and counting have accused Weinstein of such behavior.
Actress Ashley Judd said 20 years ago Weinstein invited her to his hotel room for breakfast. Judd found Weinstein in a bathrobe and said he asked her for a massage or if she would watch him shower. Judd told the Times she said no several times, but Weinstein continued to bargain with her.
In a statement to the Times, Weinstein said he apologized for the pain his behavior has caused. He said he would be taking a leave of absence and will be working with therapists "to deal with this issue head-on."
