Michael Moore Speaks Out on Weinstein: We Can Seize the Moment to Bring Down ‘White Male Hierarchy’

Filmmaker Michael Moore has now spoken out on Harvey Weinstein in a lengthy Facebook post saying now is an opportunity “to create a world without Harveys.”

Moore had this to say specifically about his own past interactions with Weinstein:

Why do we live in a society where men do not intervene when they witness the mistreatment of women? I have intervened on more than one occasion and I have fired men who sexually harass women. Harvey Weinstein knew better than to behave inappropriately toward women in my presence. I’m guessing successful sociopaths like him who get away with it for years are very, very careful not to let the kind of men who would stop them dead cold ever get a glimpse of who they really are. I don’t live in Weinstein’s Hollywood world and I make documentaries, so I can’t speak to the culture he created and seemed to thrive in. I AM the only director that I know of who’s actually taken Weinstein to court (for being a thief, which requires a different set of sociopathic skills, but, like sexual harassment, you can probably find them at a few Hollywood studios).

His statement does not mention the reports from back in May that his upcoming Trump documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 was acquired by the Weinstein Company. He was one of several notable filmmakers whom The Guardian said did not respond to requests for comment a few days ago about Weinstein.

“All of us (men) must share the responsibility for allowing a society to exist where women do not feel safe,” Moore continues. “A society where, when they are abused, they do not feel safe to tell their stories without fear of retribution and without shame. A society that doesn’t badger, blame or scoff at women when they tell their stories. Or how they tell their stories. Or “how long” it took them. They carry a burden that most of us (men) never have to experience. If you can’t empathize with that or understand what they are dealing with, then maybe you’re part of the problem.”

He says this should be a moment where everyone can stand together to “end the abuse of women in our industry”:

The New York Times investigation into the repugnant and abhorrent behavior of Harvey Weinstein (and the Weinstein Company) is a profound cultural/social/political moment that I believe could actually ignite a historic change in our society. What if we seized this moment and bring down, once and for all, the white male hierarchy which has ruled our way of life in America since the first boatload of religious zealots arrived on Plymouth Rock?

Moore proposes a list of ways Hollywood can take immediate action to end abuse. You can read his full Facebook post here.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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