Rachel Weisz, the Academy Award-winning actress and wife of Daniel Craig, is skeptical about the recent outcry over sexual harassment in Hollywood.
Speaking with the Evening Standard this week, Weisz told her interviewer that Harvey Weinstein’s downfall had less to do with morality and much more to do with “economics.”
“My friend Sophie Dix has been talking about this since the 1990s. She would tell anyone who would listen her story, for the last 20 years. And no one seemed to care,” she said.
Sophie Dix accused Weinstein of sexual assault when she was 22 years old. She called the incident “the single most damaging thing that’s happened in my life,” yet nobody seemed to care about her story. Dix is 48 years old and, after over 20 years of being “met with a wall of silence,” is only now receiving recognition.
“I think his power was on the wane…It’s about economics — they weren’t turning over the big bucks any more. That’s not an optimistic thing to say, but this is all about power and money,” Weisz continued.
It’s been widely reported that Hollywood has had a sexual abuse problem for years — and it’s peculiar that the issue is only being picked up on now. Many prominent actresses have vowed to end the silence by wearing black to awards shows and raising money for the “Time’s Up” foundation. However, many argue that it’s too little too late.
Accusations have been lobbed at powerful women in Hollywood, such as Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet, for allegedly knowing about harassers like Weinstein but turning a blind eye for business’s sake.
OPRAH
Like so many of the smug, sanctimonious black dressed sisters (what a sacrifice they made) at the Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey was only too happy to fondly embrace Harvey Weinstein until he fell from grace. pic.twitter.com/LzOPrzt7Lx— Man in Black (@69mib) January 14, 2018
When Meryl Streep was pressed on her silence about Weinstein, she sharply shot back at her interviewer, “I don’t want to hear about the silence of me. I want to hear about the silence of Melania Trump. I want to hear from her. ”
Perhaps Rachel Weisz has a point. While Hollywood and media elites may not be great at defending themselves against accusations that they value money over morality, they’re certainly good at the game of vernacular ping pong.
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