TV producer: I warned 'top-level Democratic operatives' against letting Harvey Weinstein host fundraisers

At the Hollywood Reporter, producer Linda Bloodworth Thomason writes that she warned Democratic operatives about letting Harvey Weinstein host fundraisers. They ignored those warnings. Thomason also says she has no regrets about defending her good friend Bill Clinton because his issues were “none of our business.”

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As more and more women have come forward, A-listers who are normally intrepid, social injustice sniffers have scrambled to condemn Weinstein and announce that they had no idea all this was going on. Some said this despite knowing him for decades, starring in his films and being friends with accusers who starred in his films. OK. Whatever. I, myself, was a member of a “Let’s Bring Harvey Weinstein Down” lunch club, and I don’t even work in features. However, I will be the first to admit that clearly delineated moral choices can still be painfully complex where friendship is involved. One of the best friends I will ever have and a man I love dearly, former President Bill Clinton, has certainly taxed my feminist conscience, but always without diminishing my affection. I even helped write his apology to the nation for his own sexual misconduct, was sitting next to him when he delivered it, and believe to this day it was based on something that was none of our business. And yes, some may call it hypocritical, but I confess to having had no problem warning at least three top-level Democratic operatives against allowing Harvey Weinstein to host political fundraisers. A warning that evidently (and to the glee of Fox News) fell on deaf ears.

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That opening line about A-list “social injustice sniffers” seems aimed, at least partly, at Meryl Streep who was quick to announce she had no idea what Harvey was up to for all those years.

As for Thomason’s friend Bill Clinton, the idea that his behavior was merely private misconduct is laughable. He was sued and paid a settlement to one of his accusers. He was accused of lying under oath by a judge and lost his license to practice law. He worked to discredit his other accusers. And like Harvey Weinstein, he has been accused of raping a woman in a hotel room.

Thomason glosses over all of that as if it didn’t matter, even as she writes that women in the industry should be asking secretaries and personal assistants “Are you being treated OK? Is anyone harassing you? If this is happening, I promise I’ll stand right beside you.” That all sounds good but Thomason never stood by any of Bill Clinton’s accusers. As she admits, she quite literally stood by Bill.

Finally, it’s worth asking if the woman who offered three warnings about Weinstein to Democratic operatives, who joined a lunch club devoted to bringing down Harvey, and who describes Bill Clinton as one of her best friends would have mentioned any of this to Bill or Hillary directly. That would make sense, right? If she was worried enough to mention it to top operatives in the party, why not warn her friends as well? Just something to keep in mind the next time Hillary claims Weinstein’s behavior came as a shock to her.

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