Statement on Harvey Weinstein’s Guilty Verdict

NEW YORK, NY (February 24, 2020)—The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America, East regarding today’s guilty verdict against Harvey Weinstein:

The New York jury’s guilty verdict against Harvey Weinstein should remind all of us about the critical issues that have reshaped the consciousness, and perhaps the conscience, of the entertainment industry in the two-plus years since brave journalists – and even braver survivors – made his behavior known. The revelations about Weinstein’s horrific conduct tapped a deep vein of rage among women in the industry which reverberated across the rest of society. All of us were forced to confront the awful reality that power imbalances are routinely sexualized. Careers and bodies are not safe.

We at the Writers Guild of America, East recognize that the only effective way to ensure that people can work in an environment free from sexually inappropriate conduct is to undertake the long, difficult task of rebalancing power. When a relatively small number of people, mostly men, wield such a high degree of authority over the working lives of other people, the consequences have proven to be dangerous, destructive, and profoundly unjust.

Today’s guilty verdict sends a strong message, but the criminal justice system cannot, by itself, remake the way people do their jobs and build their careers. Doing so will require conscious effort by all of us – the labor movement, managers and executives, community organizations and elected officials.

ABOUT WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, EAST
The Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, news and new media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit wgaeast.org.