Patricia McGee `20
Managing Editor
Annie Paxton `21
News Editor
On Oct. 2, seven Visitation students and faculty gathered at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue for an author talk featuring two New York Times reporters, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, hosted by the local bookstore Politics and Prose.
In 2017, Kantor and Twohey published a story that detailed Hollywood director and businessman Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long history of alleged sexual assault and abuse of women, sparking widespread interest in the budding #MeToo Movement. Their new book, “She Said,” takes a closer look into the details of the investigation, their publishing process, and reveals the complacency of Weinstein’s associates despite their knowledge of his abuse.
Eighty women have come forward with reports of being assaulted by Weinstein, including actresses and many of his former assistants. Kantor and Twohey broke their story through countless interviews with actresses and Weinstein employees. The journalists also followed a trail of coverups and payoffs, including company memos and legal filings.
Many of the women who shared their stories broke contracts they had signed with Weinstein from the payoffs, which allowed him the capacity to sue, placing the women in extremely vulnerable position. Documentation of payoffs starting as early as 1990 to as late as 2015 were given to Kantor and Twohey. Without these documents, the sources may not have been considered reliable, preventing the women from publishing sooner.
Since the investigation related to sexual assault and harassment, both Twohey and Kantor were often faced with the hardship of breaking open stories that had personal consequences from the victims. During the talk, Twohey said, “I can’t change what happened to you in the past, but together if we work and if we work arm in arm we may be able to take your pain and put it to some constructive purpose.” This became the opening sentence to any potential victims to establish a sense of trust.
Library Director Elizabeth Burke led the group to the event. The St. Bernard Library often purchases tickets for Politics and Prose events. Tickets are usually discounted to students and transportation is often offered, making talks such as these extremely accessible.
The talk was facilitated by Bob Woodward, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author, who drew criticism from the audience and social media for interrupting Kantor and Twohey on multiple occasions, as well as for refusing to accept their explanations of Weinstein’s driving force behind his assaults. Woodward insisted that Weinstein was driven by sex, while Kantor explained, “This story is an x-ray into power, and how power works.”
Following the talk, Cece Swartz `20 commented on Woodward’s pushiness: “The only one who knows why Weinstein did what he did, is Weinstein.”
What do the authors hope their readers takes away from the book? “I hope men read it,” said Kantor.
The Wicket 