She Said

Kantor and Twohey termed Weinstein’s predatory mode of operation “The Pattern.” Their investigation revealed that the producer had a standard method of isolating, harassing, and assaulting women actors and employees. This pattern of abuse took place over several decades. He invited women to hotel rooms under the pretense that they would discuss potential career opportunities. Weinstein frequently appeared in a bathrobe or nude and asked the women for massages and/or to engage in other sexual activity. He then forced many victims into settlement nondisclosure agreements to cover up what had occurred, and their careers suffered in the aftermath.

Settlement nondisclosure agreements (also known as NDAs, confidentiality agreements, or settlements) are legal agreements that end a dispute through monetary payment and the promise of confidentiality. In She Said, these agreements frequently help perpetrators of sexual harassment or abuse cover up their crimes by legally silencing their accusers. Harvey Weinstein, for example, made such payments to numerous women he victimized. Nevertheless, Kantor and Twohey obtained evidence of these settlement agreements, and some of Weinstein’s victims broke their agreements to speak on the record about their experiences, thus exposing his decades of predatory behavior.

Sexual assault is an umbrella term that includes various forms of unwanted and nonconsensual sexual contact, including rape (defined by the FBI as forced penetration), nonconsensual groping, and other types of unwelcome and involuntary sexual acts. Offenders might use physical force, threats and tactics of intimidation, or forms of coercion like emotional blackmail or psychological manipulation to overcome a victim—usually someone the perpetrator knows. According to the Times investigation, Harvey Weinstein not only sexually harassed female actors and employees but also sexually assaulted some women. He used all the strategies listed above to carry out his assaults.