Dear Meryl Streep,
You are the queen of Hollywood. You are poised, talented, elegant, and an idol to all. You are deeply rooted in the entertainment industry, starring in over fifty major productions throughout your career. You have worked with the biggest stars and producers; but you did not know anything about Harvey Weinstein’s filthy sexual harassment habit? In your well-planned public statement, you walked the fine line of supporting the “intrepid women who raised their voices” while also stating that you “didn’t know about these…offenses” (Ali). But for someone who is arguably one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and a colleague of this man, it’s hard to believe you knew nothing of it. Yet, looking at your activism for women’s rights in the past, you seem like the type who would stand with the victims if you did have previous knowledge of the assault.
Harvey Weinstein is being hit with dozens of charges of sexual harassment, ranging from the 1970s to present day 2017. To start off, Cynthia Burr, a well-renowned actress, was one of the earlier victims. She recalls Weinstein coming onto her in an elevator in a hotel, then “[forcing her into] oral sex in a hallway.” She kept the secret for years until she built a name for herself, scared “nobody would have believed [her].” A few years after that incident, Hope Exiner d’Amore suffered being pinned down and raped by Weinstein in a different hotel. In 2004, Ashley Matthau had Weinstein “[masturbate] while straddling her” on a bed after being promised a job in one of his upcoming productions. Matthau was approached by Weinstein a few days later who begged her to stay silent and offered her a bribe. In 2010, two women, Dominique Huett and Mimi Haleyi, came forward on the same day about having “oral sex…forcibly performed on [them]” (Gabler).
Meryl, you have worked on major films with this man, such as The Iron Lady and August: Osage County, but somehow had no idea that he was sexually abusing your other coworkers (Ali). In fact, you were said to have “happily worked for [Harvey Weinstein]” by Rose McGowan (Ali). These accounts of sexual harassment were happening before, during, and after you worked with Weinstein. Other stars much smaller than yourself have been making jokes about Weinstein and his revolting habits for years. On the television show 30 Rock, one of the characters brags about “[turning] down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions” while her friend warns her that “you can’t stop [Weinstein],” alluding to his harassment and immense power in the business (Fey). At the 2013 Oscars, Seth MacFarlane congratulated the nominees on “no longer [having] to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein” while the audience uncomfortably chuckled (“85th Academy Awards”). Obviously, the Hollywood community knew about Weinstein. The question is: how did you not know about Weinstein?
Unfortunately, Weinstein is not the only sexual predator you have worked with in the past. You worked on the movie Manhattan with Woody Allen in 1979. Throughout Allen’s career, it has always been rumored that he was a pedophile. Rumors became factual when his stepdaughter Dylan Farrow detailed Allen sexually abusing her as a child in an open letter (how ironic). Farrow recalls being raped in her attic, being touched in “weird” ways, naked cuddling, and many other inappropriate instances (Farrow). In continuation, you worked with Kevin Spacey on the movie Heartburn in 1979. Around this time, Spacey drunkenly forced himself on fourteen-year-old Anthony Rapp at an after-party for a movie premiere. More recently, eight of Spacey’s colleagues from the show House of Cards have detailed him as “predatory,” mentioning “nonconsensual touching and crude comments…targeted [at] staffers who were typically young and male.” One assistant described a time when Spacey “put his hands down [the assistant’s] pants” while driving a car. Spacey continued being aggressive and sexual until the assistant vocalized how uncomfortable he was (Melas). Though seeing that you didn’t speak out against these men, it seems as if you weren’t aware of their offenses either.
Now, Meryl, you are known for using your voice. You often promote equality, women’s rights, and vocalize your disgust with President Trump. You use your voice and platform for good, which you should. But why have you not spoken out about all of these sexual predators? Why have you not revealed the disease of sexual harassment in your industry before? From your actions and status in Hollywood, it shows that may have known about the sexual abuse going on. Now, you may not have known about these assaults. Since you are an open feminist and activist for women’s rights, it would make sense that you would fight against these pigs if you did have knowledge of their crimes at the time. Maybe you did find out about these men at the same time the rest of the world did. Maybe these assaults were well-kept between abuser and victim for all of those years.
Some say those who ignore the problem are the problem. In this case, you are a part of the problem if you had previous knowledge of these abuses. If all stars ignored the sexual harassment issue and never shared their stories, predators would have unbelievable control over Hollywood (even more than they do now). These victims need stars like you to rally for them, speak out against predators, and end harassment in your workplace. You need to do more than compliment victims for speaking out in one comment on the Weinstein scandal. You need to stand behind and fight for each victim who bravely shares their story. Your time to speak out is now, after you’ve been enlightened about the assaults, and know both sides of the story. Now is the time where you can help the victims take down their abusers once and for all. Without the help of stars, sexual harassment will continue to fester and corrode Hollywood. Therefore, it is all up to you, Meryl. Do you want to be a part of the problem or the solution? Do you want to start a movement, or do you want to stay removed from the situation?
Sincerely,
Samantha Spence, a concerned fan
Works Cited
Ali, Yashar. “Exclusive: Meryl Streep Responds To Rose McGowan’s Criticism.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Dec. 2017.
Ali, Yashar. “EXCLUSIVE: Meryl Streep Speaks Out Against Harvey Weinstein.” HuffPost, HuffPost News, 9 Oct. 2017.
“85th Academy Awards.” Mischer, Don, director. Oscars, 24 Feb. 2013.
Farrow, Dylan. “An Open Letter From Dylan Farrow.” New York Times, New York Times Company, 1 Feb. 2014.
Fey, Tina. “Kidnapped by Danger.” 30 Rock, season 6, episode 14, 22 Mar. 2012.
Gabler, Ellen, et al. “New Accusers Expand Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Claims Back to ’70s.” New York Times, New York Times Company, 30 Oct. 2017.
Melas, Chloe. “’House of Cards’ Employees Allege Sexual Harassment, Assault by Kevin Spacey.” CNN Media, Time Warner, 3 Nov. 2017.
