In the fall of 2017 Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of the New York Times spawned the #metoo movement when their story of Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual abuse allegations broke and began the movement to challenge and change what women endured from powerful men in the workplace.
Prior to the Harvey Weinstein case, women were expected to accept that “boys will be boys,” and sexual harassment was just part of being a woman. The story they broke on October 5, 2017, finally began to tear down the power structure that protected men like Weinstein and intimidated women into silence for decades.
The film stars Carey Mulligan as Twohey and Zoe Kazan as Kantor and follows the two journalists through the events that ultimately lead to Weinstein’s downfall.
“She Said” recently opened at the Michigan Theater and State Theatre with a special screening on November 28th that includes reporters Kantor and Twohey in person. The special screening will be held at the Michigan Theater Auditorium.
Investigative Journalists
Kantor is a prize-winning investigative journalist and best-selling author who focuses on truths about power, gender, technology, politics, and culture. Before the Weinstein story, her work with David Streitfeld, investigating publishing practices at Amazon’s corporate headquarters, led to the company changing its human resources policies, eliminating employee rankings, and introducing paternity leave. She is also a contributor to “CBS Good Morning.”
Twohey is also a prize-winning investigative reporter with her work for the New York Times focusing on the treatment of women and children. Before her coverage on the Weinstein case, she uncovered an underground network of parents giving away adopted children they no longer wanted to strangers they met on the internet. The practice was called private re-homing and was done without government oversight which put these children at great risk. Her series called “The Child Exchange” prompted states to pass new laws to protect children.
In Conversation
Together Kantor and Twohey wrote “She Said,” published in June 2020, on which the movie is based. The book and subsequent film take us through the events that led to the breaking of the Weinstein case, actresses and employees who came forward, and long-buried legal allegations further complicated by onerous legal settlements.
They had no way of knowing the Pandora’s box of sexual harassment and abuse that would be opened as more women came forward with their own stories. Over the next year, men from every industry would be outed for mistreatment of female colleagues. Now we face the question of how to handle this massive societal shift. Has too much happened or not enough?
Don’t miss the chance to hear these Pulitzer Prize winning journalists discuss their work, book, and the film “She Said” Monday, November 28, at 5:30 pm at the Michigan.
The showing will have free admission for University of Michigan students. A valid U of M student ID will be required at the door.