#MeToo founder Tarana Burke welcomes Harvey Weinstein’s guilty verdict, credits ‘voices of silence breakers’
On Monday, February 24, after four and a half days of jury deliberation, the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was found guilty in a New York City courtroom of committing a “criminal sexual act” and third-degree rape by a jury of seven men and five women. He was, however, acquitted of two counts of predatory sexual assault.
Tarana Burke, the activist who in 2006 founded the #MeToo movement, issued a statement in the wake of Weinstein’s conviction. Burke wrote: “Today, a jury confirmed what we all know: Harvey Weinstein committed sexual assault. This wouldn’t have been possible without the voices of the silence breakers in and outside of the courtroom, the survivors who courageously testified, and the jurors who, despite an unrelenting and unethical defense strategy, voted to find an unremorseful Harvey Weinstein guilty.”
Burke said that the jury worked with an “incredibly narrow and unjust set of laws governing sexual assault”, and that though he was not convicted on all counts, Harvey Weinstein would have to “answer for his crimes”.
She further wrote, “Harvey Weinstein operated with impunity and without remorse for decades in Hollywood. Yet, it still took years, and millions of voices raised, for one man to be held accountable by the justice system,” adding that for some, this has been a “Hollywood battle between famous actresses and a larger-than-life producer”. She added that many were now tired and had begun asking “whether we should care about these Hollywood celebrities”.
“We would do well to ask ourselves how many of these women’s names we can actually remember, beyond the boldface few? Certainly, Harvey’s name will be seared in our collective memories, but many of the survivors will be quietly taking stock of the impact,” Burke said, reminding everyone of how many careers had been derailed and destroyed by Weinstein’s transgressions. “How many people could have spoken up, but didn’t? All in the name of protecting a violent sexual predator.”
She said that the Weinstein case is a reminder that “sexual violence thrives on unchecked power and privilege”, that no matter what industry one belongs to, “we all have to deal with the specter of sexual violence derailing our lives”.
Her statement ended with, “And, though today a man has been found guilty, we have to wonder whether anyone will care about the rest of us tomorrow. This is why we say MeToo.”