Even on Trial, Harvey Weinstein Is Trying to Influence the Press
Weinstein’s ‘Proper Narrative’ Powerpoint shows how abusive men are able to control how they’re covered
Harvey Weinstein expects to retain his power. The disgraced producer, whose very public downfall catalyzed the #MeToo movement, stands accused of sexual assault and harassment by 100 women. His New York rape trial, which started this week, could plausibly put him in prison; he will also face a second rape trial in California. Yet Harvey Weinstein still believes he can get away with it, and he may not be wrong: His publicity team has been sending a victim-smearing PowerPoint document, entitled “The Proper Narrative for Addressing the Harvey Weinstein Case,” to reporters since at least July. Until this week, none of the outlets who received the document publicized its existence. If Weinstein makes his comeback, it will be because he was able to control the narrative — a privilege that’s nothing new to powerful men.
The document’s existence was first reported by Irin Carmon at New York. It is a singularly sloppy piece of work. Its “justifications” are largely just misogynistic assertions: for example, the idea that feminism is brainwashing women into believing that consensual sex is rape (“given the pressures that many women today feel from…
