That Harvey Weinstein Interview and Bad Men Clickbait
It was bad, but not unexpected these days.
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I spent yesterday at Disneyland and while taking a break to get some food I saw decided to scan social media. It was a few seconds in that I saw The Hollywood Reporter had posted an "exclusive" interview from Rikers with disgraced producer/sex pest Harvey Weinstein. Being in a location surrounded by small children compelled me to keep my comments in check but it just made me ask aloud: "Why the hell are the trades so interested in hearing what Weinstein has to say?"
Weinstein has been in prison since 2020 where he's serving a 23-year sentence for rape and assault in New York and was sentenced to a separate 16-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles. But for the last three years there's been a desire to interview him. At one of my previous jobs a female reporter actually pitched sitting down with Weinstein because they were, according to her, on friendly terms. The outrage from other people in the room put an end to that quickly and it never developed.
I'm interested less in what Harvey Weinstein has to say – you can read THR's piece but it all boils down to "I'm not responsible and the women knew what they were getting into" – and more why entertainment journalists are interested in talking to him? Also, in a landscape where trust in journalism is being eroded on the daily, why the desire to roll out the welcome mat by giving bad, criminal men a platform?
