Harvey Weinstein’s lecherous, assaultive, and degrading treatment of women went from being an open secret in Hollywood to open kimono for the rest of the country the very moment Hollywood producer and comedian Seth MacFarlane announced the Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominations back in 2013.
After announcing the nominees, MacFarlane quipped, “Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend you find Harvey Weinstein attractive.”
WATCH: Seth MacFarlane jokes about Harvey Weinstein being a creep at the 2013 Oscar nominations…
All of Hollywood knew about this problem. pic.twitter.com/8USOf82dvF— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) October 11, 2017
He revealed that he “took a hard swing” at Weinstein because in 2011, a friend of his was victimized by him.
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) October 11, 2017
Yet everyone in Hollywood knew about Weinstein’s casting couch/rape room. Some women succumbed to the powerful Miramax and The Weinstein Company producer. Others didn’t and were sexually assaulted, as we found out in Weinstein’s New York City trial.
Weinstein was found guilty of sexual assault and third-degree rape. He faces an L.A. criminal trial soon, where 90 women have filed complaints against him, including well-known actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, and Salma Hayek.
The old saying goes that “politics is just show biz for ugly people” and Weinstein was operating in both orbits. His Hollywood power was also the center of gravity for Democratic politics inside the beltway. Barack Obama even allowed his daughter, Malia, to intern for Weinstein in 2017. So much for good parental instincts or getting a head’s up from insiders.
Biggest mystery of @nytimes Weinstein story: How exemplary parents like Obamas let their daughter work there. The stories were out there.
— Frank Rich (@frankrichny) October 6, 2017
Weinstein may have either beguiled or befuddled Democrats, but he for sure bundled millions of dollars for their candidates. And he used his Democratic activism and his “woke” Hollywood friends to give him political cover.
Dinesh D’Souza certainly thinks that Democrats got special treatment from the media reporting on Weinstein, noting, “If he were a Republican, we’d be reading, ‘Trump associate and GOP donor Harvey Weinstein.’ But since he was a Democratic donor and buddy of the Clintons and Obama, he’s just ‘Harvey Weinstein.’ A small but revealing instance of #FakeNews at work!”
If he were a Republican, we’d be reading, “Trump associate and GOP donor Harvey Weinstein.” But since he was a Democratic donor and buddy of the Clintons and Obama, he’s just “Harvey Weinstein.” A small but revealing instance of #FakeNews at work! https://t.co/eYOzPuwPIJ
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) February 18, 2020
Here are just a few ‘woke’ politicos – all Democrats – who have received Weinstein’s dirty dollars over the years:
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton’s Political Action Committee
Senator Chuck Schumer
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Senator Cory Booker
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Senator Pat Leahy
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Former Senator Harry Reid
Former Senator Barbara Boxer
Former Senator Chris Dodd (retired)- 1/2 of the Kennedy/Dodd “waitress sandwich”
Former Senator Al Franken (#MeToo)
Former Senator John Kerry
Howard Dean
DNC Services Corporation
Democratic Party
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Weinstein gave more than $1,000,000 since 2000 to the candidates and was responsible for attracting much more from friends to give to a variety of committees and PACs run by candidates and the Democratic Party.
You’ll have a hard time, however, finding Democrats’ reactions to their old fundraiser and buddy Weinstein being convicted because, in all likelihood, they won’t be asked by the incurious media.
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