Weinstein effect

The "Weinstein effect" is a global trend in which people come forward to accuse famous or powerful men of sexual misconduct. The term came into use to describe a worldwide wave of these allegations that began in the United States in October 2017, when media outlets reported on sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. The allegations were described as a "tipping point" or "watershed moment" and precipitated a "national reckoning" against sexual harassment. USA Today wrote that 2017 was the year in which "sexual harassment became a fireable offense".

The subsequent #MeToo campaign encourages people to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault, and the two events triggered a cascade of allegations that brought about the swift removal of many men in positions of power in the United States, while tarnishing and ending political careers of additional men as it spread around the world. In the entertainment industry, allegations led to the dismissal of actors and directors alike.

Most prominently, actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K., and filmmaker Brett Ratner had projects canceled following at least six allegations each. More than 300 women accused filmmaker James Toback of sexual harassment. In journalism, allegations led to the firing of editors, publishers, executives, and hosts, including high-profile television figures such as Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, and Matt Lauer. In politics, accusations of varying degrees of severity were made against U.S. House Representative John Conyers (D-MI) and U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), both of whom resigned their seats in Congress, and Roy Moore (R-AL), who lost his 2017 bid for election to the United States Senate. Celebrity chefs Mario Batali and John Besh were also removed, as well as some financial and public relations executives.

Background

In July 2016, Fox News television host Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against the station's chairman Roger Ailes, which led to his removal and encouraged journalists to pursue rumors about the conduct of Weinstein and political commentator Bill O'Reilly. Similar revelations and a lawsuit led to O'Reilly being fired in April 2017. Both Ailes and O'Reilly denied wrongdoing.

Inception

Main article: Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations

Harvey Weinstein, the producer accused of sexual misconduct

On October 5, 2017, The New York Times broke the first reports of decades of sexual misconduct claims against film producer Harvey Weinstein. On October 10, 2017, journalist Ronan Farrow reported further allegations Weinstein had sexually assaulted or harassed thirteen women, and raped three.

Weinstein was immediately dismissed from The Weinstein Company. Weinstein had suppressed these cases through confidential financial settlements and nondisclosure agreements, as was common for celebrity sexual harassment cases, before journalists aired the story. Over eighty accusers came forward against Weinstein, including many well-known actresses.

Impact

United States

The Weinstein allegations precipitated an immediate "national reckoning" against sexual harassment and assault in the United States, which became known as the Weinstein effect; on social media, it was widely known as "#pervnado". Men and women aired claims of sexual misconduct in workplaces across multiple industries, leading to the swift international removal of many men in positions of power. On Twitter, the #MeToo campaign encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to share their stories.

On November 25, 2017, the Los Angeles Police Department reported it was investigating 28 open sex crime cases involving Hollywood and media figures. On January 1, 2018, a group of Hollywood women announced the creation of Time's Up to fight workplace sexual harassment and assault.

Entertainment

On October 10, actor Terry Crews revealed that he had been groped by an unnamed Hollywood executive at a party in 2016, declining to speak out earlier for fear of retaliation. On November 15, Crews identified his attacker as Adam Venit, head of the motion picture department of the talent company William Morris Endeavor. Venit was suspended for a one-month period before returning to work. Crews filed a lawsuit against Venit and WME for sexual assault.

By late October 2017, cases included, in the entertainment industry, Screen Junkies co-creator Andy Signore, Amazon Studios director Roy Price, Agency for the Performing Arts talent agent Tyler Grasham, Nickelodeon's The Loud House creator Chris Savino, and actor Andy Dick.

Over 300 women accused filmmaker James Toback of sexual harassment. As of November 23, 2017, the Beverly Hills Police Department has opened 12 sexual assault cases in the entertainment industry, including cases against Weinstein and Toback.

Starting in November, the number of accusations began increasing at a rapid pace:

• On November 1, 2017, six women accused filmmaker Brett Ratner of sexual harassment, canceling his work with Warner Bros. and Playboy, although he has denied the claims.
• On November 2, actor Corey Feldman announced that former assistant and actor Jon Grissom had sexually abused both Feldman and the late Corey Haim, Feldman's former close friend and costar.. He then named Alphy Hoffmann as another person who sexually molested him when he was 12.
• Actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct or assault by over a dozen men (some of whom were underaged at the time, one as young as 14) and announced that he was entering unspecified treatment; most of his projects were cancelled as a result; Spacey was replaced by actor Christopher Plummer for All the Money in the World.
• Actors Jeremy Piven, Steven Seagal, and Ed Westwick were each accused by several women; all three denied the claims.
• Actor Robert Knepper and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner each received a single accusation of sexual misconduct, which both denied. Four more women came forward to accuse Knepper the next month; he denied those allegations as well.
• Actor Dustin Hoffman was accused by actress Kathryn Rossetter of having repeatedly groped her during the 1983 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman. Two other women accused Hoffman of sexually assaulting them and one of exposing himself to a 17-year-old on the 1985 television version of Death of a Salesman, two years after the stage version cited by Rossetter. Actress Meryl Streep, who co-starred with Hoffman in the film Kramer vs. Kramer, in a 1979 interview with Time magazine described meeting him for the first time at an audition for a play he directed several years earlier: "He came up to me and said, 'I'm Dustin—burp—Hoffman,' and he put his hand on my breast. What an obnoxious pig, I thought." In November 2017, a Streep representative told E! News this was not "an accurate rendering of that meeting", adding, "there was an offense and it is something for which Dustin apologized. And Meryl accepted that."
• Director Oliver Stone was accused, by Patricia Arquette and Melissa Gilbert, separately, of acting inappropriately towards both of them.
• Comedian Louis C.K. confirmed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and apologized; he was also dropped from his projects.
• Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey was accused of sexual misconduct by two women. The allegations include soliciting nude photos of them while they were underage.
• On November 10, 2017, former actor and model Scott R. Brunton told The Hollywood Reporter that actor and LGBT activist George Takei sexually assaulted him in 1981; Takei has denied this.
• As of November 10, 2017, chef John Besh was removed from his company after accusations of sexual misconduct from 25 women.
• E!'s The Royals creator, executive producer and director Mark Schwahn was accused of sexual harassment by cast members and crew of his former series, One Tree Hill, on November 13, 2017. On December 22, 2017, Schwahn was fired from The Royals.
• Entrepreneur Russell Simmons was accused by Keri Claussen Khalighi of sexually assaulting her in 1991, when she was 17 and he was 33 or 34. Simmons denies that the encounter was non-consensual.
• On November 13, 2017, actor James Woods was mentioned on a #MeToo sign held by actress Elizabeth Perkins.

Actress Amber Tamblyn wrote an open letter to Woods, 'I See Your Gaslight', and actress Katie Aselton tweeted, "i too have a james woods story" ..."

• Writer Jessica Teich accused Richard Dreyfuss of exposing himself to her and attempting to force her to perform fellatio on him; Dreyfuss denied the allegation.
• On November 15, 2017, over a dozen women accused retired pornographic actor Ron Jeremy of rape and sexual assault. Jeremy has denied all the allegations, though he was banned from the 35th AVN Award because of the accusations.
• On November 17, 2017, it was reported Ryan Seacrest was under investigation for sexual harassment allegations by a former E! wardrobe stylist. On February 1, 2018, it was reported that there was insufficient evidence and the investigation had ended.
• Actress Aurora Perrineau filed a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department accusing Girls scriptwriter Murray Miller of sexual assault in 2012, when she was seventeen.
• On November 18, 2017, American post-hardcore band Slaves were dropped by their record label, Warner Music Group subsidiary Artery Recordings, after lead singer Jonny Craig was accused of sexual misconduct.
• On November 19, 2017, Jeffrey Tambor announced he would leave his role on Transparent after Van Barnes, a transgender actress and former Tambor assistant, and co-star Trace Lysette, also transgender, both accused him of sexual harassment. The show's creator Jill Soloway would not discuss the details of the scandal directly, instead advocating anti-harassment on-set rules. Days later, makeup artist Tamara Delbridge, a cisgender woman, accused Tambor of sexual improprieties on the set of the 2001 film Never Again. Tambor said he did not recall the incident, but apologized "for any discomfort or offense I may have inadvertently caused her." On February 15, 2018, Tambor was officially fired from Transparent.
• In November 2017, a woman accused Stallone of sexually assaulting her at his Santa Monica office in the early 1990s. Stallone denied the claim. It was the second time in a span of two years that he was accused of sexual assault as another woman the year before said that Stallone sexually assaulted her in 1986 in Las Vegas while forcing her into a threesome with his bodyguard. Stallone denied both claims, but in June 2018, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office confirmed that the Santa Monica Police Department presented a sex-crimes case against Stallone to a special prosecution task force to be reviewed.
• John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, and Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, announced on November 21, 2017 he would be taking a six-month leave of absence from Disney and Pixar after acknowledging "painful" conversations and unspecified "missteps" in his behavior with employees. According to various news outlets, Lasseter had a history of alleged sexual misconduct towards employees. On June 8, 2018, Disney announced that Lasseter would be leaving the company permanently by the end of the year, but would take a consulting role until then.
• Pinegrove cancelled their 2017–18 North American tour dates following accusations of "sexual coercion" against lead singer Evan Stephens Hall.
• On November 22, 2017, actress and singer Melissa Schuman accused Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys of raping her when she was 18, an accusation which Carter denied.
• On December 3, 2017, the Metropolitan Opera suspended conductor James Levine over sexual abuse claims that date back over several decades. On March 12, 2018, Levine was fired following the investigation.
• On December 4, 2017, a woman by the name of Timothy Heller claimed former The Voice contestant Melanie Martinez had raped and sexually assaulted her during multiple sleepovers over the course of two days.
• The following day, December 5, 2017, actor Danny Masterson was fired from the Netflix series The Ranch after being accused of rape. Masterson's character was then written out of the series. A Netflix executive was also fired after reportedly having told a woman that people at the company did not believe the allegations against Masterson; the woman was, unbeknownst to him, one of several who had come forward to accuse Masterson.
• Lee Trull, the Dallas Theater Center's Director of New Play Development, has been fired from his position after sexual misconduct allegations.
• On December 7, 2017, Bryan Singer was sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy during a yacht party in the Seattle area in 2003 and promising the teenager acting roles if he would keep silent.
• On December 9, 2017, celebrity chef Johnny Iuzzini was accused of sexual harassment by four of his former employees.
• On December 11, 2017, chef Mario Batali announced he was taking leave from his businesses after he was accused of sexual misconduct by four women.
• On December 14, 2017, Morgan Spurlock admitted to "being part of the problem". He has not been publicly accused of any wrongdoing.
• On December 19, 2017, an unnamed woman accused Silicon Valley actor T.J. Miller of sexually assaulting and punching her while both attended George Washington University in 2001. Later that day, Comedy Central cancelled Miller's The Gorburger Show after one season.
• On December 21, 2017, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony severed their ties with conductor Charles Dutoit after four women, including two-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Sylvia McNair, reported incidents of sexual harassment on his part between 1985 and 2010. Dutoit cancelled concerts scheduled for 2018 with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
• Veteran ballet dancer Marcelo Gomes resigned from the American Ballet Theatre on December 21, 2017, after the company began investigating a report of sexual misconduct levied against him.
• On December 22, 2017, Max Landis was accused of sexual misconduct by former co-worker Anna Akana. Other Hollywood personalities also accused him of similar behavior towards colleagues or themselves. MAD Magazine Editor Allie Goertz was among them and commented she "couldn't imagine someone more scared in a post-Harvey Weinstein world." Among the accusers were Zoë Quinn, Siobhan Thompson, Lexi Alexander, Anthony Burch, Mike Drucker, and others.
• On January 2, 2018, Community and Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon alluded to misconduct from himself towards, among others, Megan Ganz, a writer who worked with Harmon on Community. After the exchange, Harmon made a lengthy apology on his podcast Harmontown where he went into detail about his wrongdoings which included making advances on her and then mistreating her after she turned him down. Ganz said that she felt vindicated by the admission and accepted his apology, saying "Dan Harmon, I forgive you".
• On January 5, 2018, Ben Vereen was accused of sexual assault by several women who were a part of the 2015 production of Hair.
• During the first week of January 2018, screenwriter, film producer and director Paul Haggis was accused by four women of sexual misconduct; two accusing him of rape. Haggis denied the claims and said he believed the Church of Scientology, of which he was a member for 36 years before leaving, was behind the accusations.

Actress and writer Deborah Rennard (Haggis' ex-wife), actress and author Leah Remini and former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International and the Sea Organization Mike Rinder (Haggis' personal friends and anti-Scientology activists, hosts of the documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which Haggis has participated) defended Haggis of the accusations. The Church of Scientology denied any involvement in what it called an "absurd, paranoid and bigoted conspiracy theory."

• After the 75th Golden Globe Awards ceremony on January 7, 2018, accusations of sexual misconduct against James Franco came to light. Franco won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the ceremony.
• Actor and producer Michael Douglas said on January 10, 2018 he had heard from his lawyer the previous month (December 2017) that a woman was planning to bring to light at that time a sole allegation of misconduct against Douglas. Douglas denied the purported claim.

In January 19, 2018, journalist and author Susan Braudy accused Michael Douglas of sexual misconduct while working for Douglas in 1989, claiming that Douglas asked her to sign a confidentiality agreement soon after, and when she refused, she lost her job 6 months later. Douglas admitted to "coarse language" but denied wrongdoing in a statement.

• Three days earlier, during and after the 75th Golden Globe Awards telecast at which Douglas's father, actor Kirk Douglas (aged 101), was honored, posts on Twitter were disseminated that pointed to a series of blog comments, initiated apparently by actor Robert Downey Jr., with claims that the elder Douglas had been accused in the past of having sexually assaulted actress Natalie Wood when she was 16 years old (c. 1954).
• Actor and comedian Aziz Ansari was accused of sexual assault by an anonymous photographer who described events that occurred after the 2017 Emmy Awards. The Babe.net article in which the accusations were levied was met with mixed response among commentators and the public and disagreement over whether the described incident constituted as sexual misconduct. Critics have stated that Ansari's actions were misogynist, lacked affirmative consent, and spoke to a larger culture of harmful male expectations, while some charged his accuser with trivializing the larger movement against forms of sexual abuse and writing revenge porn.
• On January 13, 2018, actress Eliza Dushku alleged that she had been assaulted by a stunt coordinator, Joel Kramer, on the set of the feature film True Lies. This was followed by two additional allegations of sexual misconduct.
• On January 18, 2018, British singer Seal was under investigation after allegations of him sexually assaulting actress Tracey Birdsall.
• In January 2018, WWE wrestler Eric Arndt, known for ring name Enzo Amore, was accused by Philomena Sheahan of rape, allegedly committed in October 2017 at The Clarendon Hotel & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona; a police investigation is underway. On January 22, 2018, Arndt was initially suspended by WWE, before being released from the company the next day. In a statement, Arndt "fully and unequivocally" denied the accusation.
• On January 28, 2018, Scott Baio was accused by his Charles in Charge co-star Nicole Eggert of sexual abuse during the show's run more than 30 years earlier. She alleged she was only 14 years old. Baio strongly denied this, acknowledging the two had a relationship but not until she was 18 years old and the show had ended, accusing her of lying about the details. On February 13, another co-star from the same television show, former child actor Alexander Polinsky, accused Baio of having called him a "faggot" after he once jokingly jumped into Baio's lap.
• In February 2018, American singer and musician Marilyn Manson was accused of sexual harassment and racist remarks by actress Charlyne Yi.
• In February 2018, Philip Berk, former President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, was accused of sexual harassment by actor Brendan Fraser.
• On February 21, 2018, Thomas Schumacher, President of Disney Theatrical Productions, was the subject of an internal investigation at Disney into inappropriate behavior, with eyewitness accounts detailing aggressive sexual language and intimidation.
• On March 16, 2018, it was reported that John Bailey, the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was under investigation following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
• On March 17, 2018, American actress and producer Ellen Barkin accused, on Twitter, former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam of sexual misconduct, following the director's condemnation of the #MeToo movement.
• On March 21, 2018, Fred Savage was sued by costume designer Youngjoo Hwang, for alleged harassment during production of the TV series The Grinder. Savage has denied ever doing this.
• On March 29, 2018, animator and voice actor John Kricfalusi, best known as the creator of the animated TV series The Ren & Stimpy Show, was accused of preying on two aspiring animators named Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice (13 and 14 years old at the time, respectively), along with sexual harassment, statutory rape and possession of child pornography.
• In April 2018, television host and comedian Steve Harvey was sued by a former guest from his show for sexual harassment.
• In May 2018 the Women of Color branch of the Time's Up movement called for a boycott of R. Kelly's music and performances over the many sex scandals and allegations against him. In response, his management said that Kelly supports the movement in principle, but targeting him was "the attempted lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture". Kelly had been again accused of misconduct the previous month by a former partner of his, who claimed that Kelly "intentionally" infected her with a sexually transmitted disease. A representative for Kelly stated that he "categorically denies all claims and allegations". On May 10, 2018, the music streaming service Spotify announced that it was going to stop promoting or recommending music by R. Kelly, stating, "We don't censor content because of an artist's or creator's behavior, but we want our editorial decisions — what we choose to program — to reflect our values." Two days later, Apple Music and Pandora also announced that they will no longer be featuring or promoting R. Kelly's music.
• On May 2, 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published an article regarding a lawsuit filed by Rovier Carrington alledging that late Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey had raped and sexually assaulted him in 2010 and 2011. Carrington is suing both Grey's estate and Viacom, in part for obstructing his nascent career.
• On May 10, 2018, amid allegations of sexual violence against women and children, musicians R. Kelly and XXXTentacion were publicly removed from official playlists via Spotify in compliance with the streaming service's new "anti-hate" policy. Days later, Apple Music and Pandora also announced their decisions to prevent promoting or supporting Kelly's music.
• On May 14, 2018, rapper Ameer Vann was dismissed from boy-band Brockhampton due to accusations of abuse and sexual misconduct, allegedly with a minor.
• On May 17, 2018, executive producer Brad Kern exited as showrunner of NCIS: New Orleans following CBS conducting a pair of internal investigations after several of his colleagues complained about his behavior and a hostile work environment.
• On May 17, 2018, host Nev Schulman has been accused of sexual misconduct, the production of his show Catfish: The TV Show has been suspended in light of the claims.
• On May 24, 2018, actor Morgan Freeman was accused of sexual harassment, including unwanted touching, by 8 women.
• On June 13, 2018, actor and singer Jamie Foxx was accused of slapping a woman with his genitals in Las Vegas in 2002 when she denied his request to perform oral sex. The accuser revealed that she reported it to the Las Vegas Police Department the week before, but Foxx's attorney denied the accusation.
• On June 13, 2018, former Diff'rent Strokes actress Melora Hardin said that fellow actor Todd Bridges once during production of the show in 1980 when she was 12 or 13 and he was a few years older that he stuck his tongue down her throat and inappropriately kissed her. Bridges, who himself was sexually assaulted when he was 11, apologized for the incident, although he said he didn't recall that particular interaction.
• On June 14, 2018, actress Chloe Dykstra wrote an essay on Medium accusing her ex-boyfriend, whom she dated from 2012 to 2014, of inflicting 'long-term' emotional and sexual abuse. Although she didn't name the ex-boyfriend in the essay, key details and evidence by Heavy.com suggest that the man she was referring to was actor and comedian Chris Hardwick. Within hours of the report, Legendary Entertainment removed Hardwick from Nerdist, a podcasting company in which he co-founded and was the CEO for at the time.

Production

• On October 17, The Mist producer Amanda Segel accused Bob Weinstein (Harvey's brother) of sexual harassment during the production of the series. His lawyer Bert Fields has denied the allegation.
• Actor Anthony Edwards wrote an essay on the website Medium alleging producer Gary Goddard molested him and raped his best friend "for years" starting when they were 12 years old; Goddard's publicist denied the allegations.
• On November 29, 2017, Warner Bros. Television announced it had fired Andrew Kreisberg, executive producer on Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow, following allegations of sexual harassment against him.
• On February 28, 2018, Variety reported that creator Jeff Franklin was fired from Warner Bros. Television and the series Fuller House after complaints from staff members about inappropriate sexual remarks and verbal abuse. No sexual harassment reports were included in the complaints.
• In March and April 2018, the online production company Channel Awesome was accused of abusing and mistreating its content creators (most notably former content creators Allison Pregler and Holly Christine Brown), and at first unnamed producer was accused of sexual harassment and grooming. The unnamed producer was later revealed to be Justin Carmichael/Justin Carmical (a.k.a. JewWario), who had committed suicide in 2014 shortly after leaving the site.

Literature and journalism

In literature and journalism, multiple men were accused of sexual misconduct and subject to firing or suspension.

• On October 30, 2017, Mark Halperin was fired from both HBO and NBC News after being accused of sexual harassment by five women.
• Vox Media editorial director Lockhart Steele was removed in October. Two additional employees resigned after an internal investigation.
• Glenn Thrush, a political reporter for The New York Times, was suspended for allegedly groping three women.
• Ken Baker was pulled from the air by E! News while they investigated claims of sexual harassment.
• NPR news chief Michael Oreskes resigned at the request of NPR's president and chief executive after multiple women said that Oreskes had made unwanted sexual advances to them when Oreskes was Washington bureau chief at the New York Times in the 1990s, and after a current NPR employee made a similar complaint in 2015.
• New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier apologized following multiple accusations and was removed from The Atlantic's masthead. He lost funding for his upcoming magazine venture.
• After television host Charlie Rose was accused by eight women of sexual misconduct and harassment, the networks CBS and PBS suspended him. He was later fired, on November 21, 2017.

On May 3, 2018, it was reported that 27 additional women had accused Rose of sexual misconduct in a report that claims managers at CBS and PBS were told about his alleged inappropriate behavior through the years.

• On November 21, 2017, Dylan Byers posted a tweet saying that the sexual harassment scandals in media and entertainment were draining those industries "of talent". The tweet was later deleted.
• On November 28, 2017, NPR's chief editor David Sweeney separated from the company after three female journalists made formal complaints against him for sexual harassment. NPR did not provide the full details of the allegations but revealed he'd unexpectedly kissed one of the women in a company car, tried to kiss another woman while out for drinks to talk about her career, and NPR editor Lauren Hodges said he repeatedly sent her gifts and gave her unwanted attention when he was her supervisor. NPR said Sweeney was let go after a formal internal review.
• Playwright Israel Horovitz was accused of sexual misconduct by nine women, beginning November 30, 2017.
• Radio host John Hockenberry was accused of harassment, unwanted touching and bullying by several female colleagues.
• On November 29, 2017, Matt Lauer was fired from The Today Show after an accusation of "inappropriate sexual behavior".
• On November 29, 2017, Garrison Keillor was fired from Minnesota Public Radio after being accused of "inappropriate behavior", which MPR later characterized as "dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents".
• Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone, was accused of sexual harassment.
• On December 6, 2017, Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review resigned after an internal investigation was opened about unwanted sexual behavior at work including inappropriate touching. He acknowledged he had abused his position and had several inappropriate relations with subordinates including interns and writers for the magazine, however he maintains that all sexual relations and contact was consensual. He resigned from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• On December 11, 2017, journalist Ryan Lizza's employment was terminated by The New Yorker. Lizza said he had been in a "respectful relationship" with the accuser, but the newspaper and the accuser's lawyer rejected that characterization.
• On December 11, 2017, Tom Ashbrook, the host of NPR's show On Point was placed on leave by WBUR and Boston University after allegations of "creepy" sex talks and unwanted contact with 11 mostly young women and men.
• On December 11, 2017, Los Angeles TV station KTTV fired Steve Edwards, longtime co-host of the station’s morning show Good Day L.A., after he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by several current and former co-workers.
• On December 13, 2017, author and talk host Tavis Smiley was suspended by PBS for allegations regarding sex with employees and creating a hostile work environment.
• On December 22, 2017, Fox News confirmed the departure of its chief Washington correspondent, James Rosen. While no reason was given for his departure, NPR reported that it was due to a pattern of sexual harassment and misconduct.
• On January 30, 2018, Vice Media released its chief digital officer, Mike Germano, after he was alleged to refuse a woman he wanted sex from a job. He claimed he was not fired, but had already planned to leave six months ago.
• On February 13, 2018, Thirteen Reasons Why author Jay Asher was accused of sexual harassment. He denied these allegations.
• On April 26, 2018, NBC News television journalist and former anchor Tom Brokaw was accused of unwanted sexual advances towards two women. He denied the allegations.

Judiciary

• On December 8, 2017, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit judge Alex Kozinski was accused of misconduct by six women including former clerks and junior staffers. A week later, the Washington Post published a story with nine more allegations against him, including prominent accusers such as a professor and a former judge. Four of the women say he touched or kissed them without permission. He announced his immediate retirement a few days later.

Politics

Main article: 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals

Lawmakers, elected officials and political appointees also faced allegations.

• Longtime Democratic U.S. Representative John Conyers, dean of the Michigan delegation, was discovered to have settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015, leveled by a former staffer who said she was fired for refusing his sexual advances. The complainant received a $27,000 settlement paid from Conyers' office budget. Several other women came forward with allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by Conyers. Conyers stepped down from his position as the ranking Minority member of the House Committee on the Judiciary following the allegations, and later resigned.
• Democratic U.S. Representative Ruben Kihuen of Nevada was accused by his former campaign finance director of repeated and unwanted sexual advances to the point she resigned her position; Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Kihuen to resign. After a second woman accused him of sexual harassment Kihuen announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018. On or around March 7, 2018, Kihuen declared that he was reconsidering his decision to resign.
• Elizabeth Esty, U.S. Representative (Democrat from Connecticut), faced public criticism in early 2018 after news reports revealed that her former chief of staff had been accused of sexual harassment and threats of violence against staff but that she kept him on the payroll for another three months anyway and wrote him a positive letter of reference. After initially insisting she would continue to serve, Esty announced that she would not seek reelection. She cited her failure to protect women on her staff from sexual harassment and threats of violence from her former chief of staff. It had taken her three months to dismiss her chief of staff after he threatened to kill a former colleague. On April 2, 2018, Esty announced that she would not seek re-election to the Congress in 2018.
• Radio newscaster Leeann Tweeden accused Democratic U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota of forcibly kissing her in 2006 and presented a photo that appeared to show him groping her breasts as she slept; Franken issued an apology. Three other women came forward to accuse Franken of inappropriately touching them at political fundraisers in 2007 and 2008, and at the Minnesota State Fair 2010. On December 7, Franken announced his intention to resign from the Senate, later giving January 2 as the effective date of his resignation from office. Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith was named to succeed Franken, effective January 2, 2018, until a new election is held.
• On November 9, multiple women alleged that Roy Moore, a Republican candidate for the December 2017 Senate special election in Alabama, had made unwanted advances or sexual assaults on them. The alleged incidents occurred when Moore was in his early thirties and they were in their teens. One girl had been younger than 16 (the age of consent in Alabama) at the time. Moore initially admitted he had known two of the accusers but otherwise denied the allegations.
• Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold has said he would not run for re-election and has been pressured to retire early after it was revealed he'd used $84,000 of tax money to settle a 2014 claim for sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. His former communications director alleged he made unwanted sexual advances toward her, and also made sexual comments to others about her including talking to her coworkers about his "sexual fantasies" and "wet dreams" about her. When she complained about chief of staff Bob Haueter creating a hostile work environment, she was informed that was just his nature. She was fired a month after making the complaint, although no action was taken against Haueter. There is a current House Ethics Committee investigation into the event.
• Republican Congressman Trent Franks resigned after it was reported he repeatedly asked two female employees to bear his children as surrogates.
• Former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. was fired from Morgan Stanley after an accusation of harassment was made against him. A later investigation by Morgan Stanley found no proof of harassment.
• On December 4, 2017, California Democratic state assemblyman Matt Dababneh was accused of pushing Pamela Lopez into a Las Vegas hotel bathroom, exposing his penis and masturbating in front of her. Another woman accused him of creating a sexually demeaning work environment by regularly making derogatory remarks. A few days after the allegations went public, Lopez said she'd heard from other women with allegations against Dababneh that ranged from sexual harassment to assault. Soon after, he announced he would resign at the end of the year. He said it was not about the allegations, for which he maintains his innocence, but he said he simply no longer felt passionate about lawmaking.
• In mid-December 2017, Andrea Ramsey, a Kansas Democratic candidate for the US Congress, dropped out of a race after being confronted by a local journal about a 2005 sexual harassment case where Ramsey was accused of harassing a male subordinate and firing him after he rejected her advances.
• William Mendoza, President Obama’s Director of White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaskan Native Education, was accused of taking photos of women on the Washington, D.C., public transportation system without their consent while using government train benefits on taxpayer-funded time. He quit on November 25, 2016, just three days after being charged. He pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted voyeurism on January 13, 2017. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but the sentence was suspended. He also served one year of probation.
• On May 7, 2018, Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow reported in The New Yorker that Eric Schneiderman had physically abused at least four women during his tenure as Attorney General of New York. In his initial response to the allegations, Schneiderman said "In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross". Three hours after the article was published in The New Yorker, Schneiderman announced his resignation effective the next day, saying that he "strongly contested" the allegations, but resigned because they would "effectively prevent" him from performing the duties of his office.
• On June 1, 2018, Eric Greitens resigned as Governor of Missouri after various controversies, including campaign finance, open records statute violations, and sexual harassment charges. In February 2018, Greitens was arrested and indicted on felony invasion of privacy charges relating to alleged actions associated with an extramarital affair with a female hair stylist prior to his election as Governor.

Sports

• On October 18, 2017, former Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, using the #MeToo hashtag, became one of the first gymnasts since the start of the movement to accuse former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. Other gymnasts, including fellow Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas, along with nearly 250 other female gymnasts would accuse him of molesting gymnasts as young as 6 years old during treatment. Nassar pleaded guilty to all charges on January 24, 2018, and was sentenced to 40-175 years in the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.
• On October 22, 2017, former ANC MP and singer Jennifer Ferguson told South African news station News24 that she was sexually assaulted by South African soccer association president Danny Jordaan in 1993. Although Jordaan denied the allegation, Ferguson later revealed on March 26, 2018 that more women have come to her telling her that they too were assaulted by Jordaan.
• On November 7, 2017, two Israeli reporters accused International Olympic Committee member and Keshet Broadcasting founder Alex Gilady of making unwanted sexual advances. Two days later, after the IOC announced that they were investigating the allegations, Gilady resigned from Keshet. One month later though, he was kept on board for the Tokyo 2020 commission.
• On November 10, 2017, former USA Women's Soccer goalie Hope Solo accused former FIFA President Sepp Blatter of groping her in the butt while she was presenting the Woman's World Player of the Year award to teammate Abby Wambach during the FIFA Ballon d'Or Awards Ceremony in January 2013. Blatter's spokesperson called the allegation "ridiculous" and denied the allegation against Blatter on his behalf.
• On November 17, 2017, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston was accused by a female Uber driver of groping her in a 2016 incident. Winston denied the allegations, and was defended by former college teammate Ronald Darby, who said he was there with Winston.
• On December 6, 2017, a woman who worked for a sports marketing firm led by NFL Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment when he told her to wear thong underwear and share his bed during business trips.
• On December 11, 2017, the NFL Network and ESPN suspended five on-air commentators and a senior executive after allegations of sexual harassment. Jami Cantor, a former NFL Network employee, accused NFL Network analysts Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor and Heath Evans of sexually harassing and groping her. ESPN suspended Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis for sending inappropriate comments to Cantor. McNabb and Davis were officially fired on January 5, 2018.
• On December 17, 2017, Sports Illustrated reported that "at least four former Panthers employees have received ‘significant’ monetary settlements due to inappropriate workplace comments and conduct by Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, including sexually suggestive language and behavior, and on at least one occasion directing a racial slur at an African-American Panthers scout." According to the article, Richardson regularly asked women in the team offices to "turn around so he could admire their backsides" on Casual Friday, among other "disturbing" office behavior. Later that day, it was announced that Richardson intended to sell the Panthers franchise at the conclusion of the 2017 season.
• On December 29, 2017, a Twin Cities photographer accused Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sanó of sexually assaulting her in 2015 after an autograph session. Sano denied the allegation.
• On December 29, 2017, TMZ Sports reported that Detroit Pistons guard Avery Bradley had settled a confidentiality agreement with a reality TV star who accused him of a sexual assault incident during the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland while he was with the Boston Celtics, claiming she was passed out when the incident occurred. Bradley denied the allegation against him.
• On January 2, 2018, Rich Rodriguez was fired as Arizona football head coach after a former administrative assistant at the school's Department of Athletics accused him of multiple instances of sexual harassment, which she first reported in a claim to Arizona in October the previous year before filing again to the Arizona attorney general's office on December 29, and also accused him of creating a hostile work environment for years. Rodriguez admitted that he had a "consensual extramarital affair with a woman who is not affiliated with the University," but denied the allegation of harassment against him. Two weeks later on January 21, the same accuser filed a second claim against him, his wife and the university, seeking $8.5 million in damages and also accusing him of "slander, defamation and false light, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress."
• On January 17, 2018, WNBA guard Layshia Clarendon of the Atlanta Dream filed a civil lawsuit against the regents of her former school, the University of California, alleging sexual assault from longtime Cal-Berkeley assistant athletic director Mohamed Muqtar during her freshman year at the school and blaming the regents for being neglect of her claims. After being accused by seven women, including Clarendon, of sexual abuse over a span of 20 years, the school placed him on leave in February before firing him on May 17, 2018.
• On January 27, 2018, ESPN Outside the Lines reporter Paula Lavigne reported that there was a widespread attempt to hide allegations of sexual assault at Michigan State University and it's athletics department dating back several years in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal. Among notable MSU stars involved in the case were several former football and basketball players who played at the school, including NBA G-League guard Adreian Payne and former player turned student assistant coach Travis Walton. MSU President Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis had both resigned prior to the release of the report. Several investigations have been conducted against the school since.
• On February 2, 2018, former Houston Texans employee Kristen Grimes sued the team alleging sexual harassment from former director of football operations Jason Lowery, in which she claimed he continuously pursued a relationship with her when she was hired until she left the franchise. The Texans stable later admitted it did not investigate the situation properly when it was first reported to them in November 2016.
• On February 8, 2018, a Tucson, Arizona couple, Ron Bell and his girlfriend Jennifer Pendley, filed a lawsuit against Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Josh Pastner, accusing him of sexually assaulting Pendley in February of 2016 while he was still coaching at Memphis. Pastner, who had filed a defamation suit against them the month before, said that there was "zero truth" behind the allegations.
• On February 13, 2018, a 2016 lawsuit from former Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh against guitarist Shaun White regarding sexual harassment began resurfacing on social media while he competed for his third Olympic gold medal in the Men's Snowboard Superpipe event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea. White dismissed this in a press conference after his victory as "gossip" before apologizing in an interview with NBC's Today show the next morning.
• On February 16, 2018, a report by the Orange County Register revealed that USA Swimming hid hundreds of sexual assault allegations against multiple female swimmers. As a result, two program directors Susan Woessner and Pat Hogan resigned a week later as investigations continued.
• On February 20, 2018, several former Dallas Mavericks employees revealed in a Sports Illustrated report of sexual misconduct involving former President and CEO David Ussery and Mavs.com beat writer Earl Sneed, calling the workplace "hostile". Mavericks owner and Shark Tank personality Mark Cuban revealed that the team will investigate the matter, but Ussery and Sneed both denied the allegations. However, it was later revealed two weeks later on March 6, 2018 in a report from the Willamette Week that Cuban himself was investigated for a sexual assault incident that took place in April 2011, in which a female patron said he groped her while taking a picture with him in a Portland bar called the Barrel Room. Despite seven photographs submitted to Portland police, two of which Portland Police Detective Brendan McGuire called "significant", authorities ended the investigation as there was not enough evidence to prosecute Cuban for the incident. Cuban denied the allegation, but the NBA revealed two days later that they were investigating the incident.
• On March 2, 2018, top American volleyball coach Rick Butler was accused in a lawsuit by multiple female athletes of sexually abusing them as teenagers spanning four decades, and deceived them from joining the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Aurora, Illinois. Two months later, during testimonies in Springfield, Illinois on May 15, several of the accusers alleged that he threatened them to stay silent or face consequences.
• On March 9, 2018, US Figure Skating suspended coach Richard Callaghan, who coached Tara Lipinski to an Olympic gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, after several male figure skaters accused him of sexual assault within the last two decades.
• On March 12, 2018, Korea's Ski Association banned mogul skiers Choi Jae-woo and Kim Ji-hyon for life after fellow female athletes accused them of sexual harassment during a World Cup event in Japan. Choi and Kim had both recently competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where Choi made it to the finals in the men's mogul competition while Kim was eliminated during qualifications for the event.
• On March 14, 2018, Baylor University suspended three football players as a result of sexual assault on two members of the school's women's equestrian team. The victims said the incident took place on November 12 in an apartment complex in Waco, Texas after Baylor had lost to Texas Tech in a football game the previous night. Baylor head coach Matt Rhule defended the handling of the investigation.
• On March 28, 2018, former University of Cincinnati volleyball player Shalom Ifeanyi filed a lawsuit against the school alleging she was kicked off the team because head coach Molly Alvey told her she did not meet the "biased image," and claimed she was racially and sexually harassed from her because she called her Instagram photos "too sexy."
• On April 3, 2018, Idaho University placed athletic director Rob Spear on administrative leave amid multiple investigations into the leadership of the university when it comes to the handling of a botched sexual harassment complaint. The announcement came after he and Vandals football coach Paul Petrino were under fire for a mishandling of a complaint from former diver Mairin Jameson and long distance runner Maggie Miller of harassment against former wide receiver Jahrie Level in April 2013.
• On April 4, 2018, water polo coach Bahram Hojreh, who ran a club affiliated with USA Water Polo, was charged with sexual abuse of seven underage players during one on one coaching sessions, with the incidents occurring between 2014 and January this past year, with four of his accusers 15 or younger. Hojreh was recently suspended by the Southern California regional board of USA Water Polo and had his membership in the national program revoked when allegations of his misconduct began to surface earlier that year.
• On April 4, 2018, former USA Taekwondo coach Jean Lopez was banned permanently after the U.S. Center for SafeSport found him guilty of a "decades long pattern of sexual misconduct." Three women, including Heidi Gilbert, who was coached by Lopez to a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2002, had accused him prior of sexual assault dating as far back as 1997, with one of them filing a report in 2006. Gilbert said that her incident with him happened on the same night after she had won her weight class.
• On April 6, 2018, Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington was charged by prosecutors with misdemeanor assault after an investigation regarding a sexual assault incident against a fellow female student on August 29, 2017.
• On April 10, 2018, several former and current pro cheerleaders from the NFL, NBA and NHL told the New York Times they have had to endure years of sexual harassment and groping from fans during games, practices and other events. Many say that the leagues and their teams are aware of it, but do nothing about it.
• On April 13, 2018, Irish rugby players Stuart Olding and Paddy Jackson were terminated from their contracts with the Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster and Ireland after a long court battle detailing allegations between the two of them of rape by a woman in Jackson's house on June 28, 2016. The two had recently been acquitted of the charges prior to their removal. Several other players from the IRFU were also noted for sexual misconduct.
• On April 27, 2018, Virginia Tech football assistant defensive coach Galen Scott resigned following emails to school administrators revealing allegations that he had been using recruiting tips to have an inappropriate extramarital relationship while he was on his job duties.
• On May 1, 2018, Russ Brandon resigned as President of the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabers and Pegula Sports and Entertainment after an internal investigation was conducted alleging inappropriate behavior and personal misconduct against several female employees.
• On May 2, 2018, several former cheerleaders of the Washington Redskins accused their squad's director and administrators of "pimping them out" and utilizing them as "sex toys" as some of them said they were required to go topless while others wore only body paint in a 2013 photo shoot in Costa Rica while men got an up-close view of the shoot. Some also said that their passports were taken by Redskins officials, depriving them of their identification, and were forced to become personal escorts at a nightclub.
• On May 3, 2018, Brazilian TV station Globo revealed that at least 40 male gymnasts accused former national coach Fernando de Carvalho Lopes of sexually abusing them while training them at his São Paulo club in the past two decades.
• On May 3, 2018, Ohio State University revealed that they had begun conducting an investigation against former school physician Richard Strauss, who died in 2005, on allegations of sexual assault against several former male student athletes ranging from eight sports, including football, hockey, wrestling, fencing, cheerleading, gymnastics, swimming and volleyball.
• On May 7, 2018, two time Olympic Taekwondo gold medalist Steven Lopez, the brother of suspended coach Jean Lopez, was temporarily suspended by the U.S. Center of SafeSport and USA Taekwondo after a lawsuit filed against the US Olympic Committee, USA Taekwondo and both Lopez brothers revealed new allegations of sexual misconduct against women by both brothers.
• On May 8, 2018, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson resigned in the wake of an investigation regarding improper conduct towards women while on the job. Brunson, who is the father of 2x NCAA basketball champion for the Villanova Wildcats and incoming NBA rookie Jalen Brunson, was recently acquitted in 2015 from charges of sexual assault from an April 2015 incident against a message therapist, who he admitted to having an affair with.
• On May 9, 2018, a 1996 indictment against Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia was discovered alleging a sexual assault incident involving he and a friend, Greg Dietrich, against a female student during Spring Break at the South Padre Island beach in Texas on March 15, 1996. Documents revealed that the incident took place while they were students in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the case was dropped on January 26, 1997 after the accuser refused to testify. In response, Patricia said he was "falsely accused".
• On May 10, 2018, then USA Rugby head coaching candidate Eugene "Loffie" Eloff was revealed in discovered records to have been suspended 10 years by the U.S. Center of SafeSport in November 2017 after a months long investigation of multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
• On May 22, 2018, a former Houston Texans cheerleader filed a lawsuit against the franchise alleging low pay, and failure to act on several other cheerleaders' complaints of body-shaming by their squad director Altovise Gary and sexual assault by fans.
• On May 25, 2018, another Idaho University athletic staff member, diving coach Jim Southerland, less than a week after he was named the WAC co-diving coach of the year, was handed an interim suspension by the U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Diving after his ex-wife, Patti McEuen, revealed that he had an improper sexual relationship with a diver between the age of 17 and 20 in 2010.
• On May 28, 2018, 2007 Formula One world champion and Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen filed an extortion and harassment complaint against a Montreal woman, alleging she is falsely accusing him and a fellow member of sexually assaulting her while she was working as a waitress during the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix in 2016. The woman, Cassandra Talula Dias-Greizis, had mentioned the incident in a blog twice before without mentioning him by name before informing Raikkonen six days earlier that she was returning her compensation and going public with her story.
• On May 29, 2018, St. Louis University baseball player Parker Sniatynski, who was part of the team's Atlantic 10 championship and was to compete in the NCAA Baseball Division I Regional Championships, was suspended by the team and university "for violating team policy" and could face complete expulsion from the school after two women accused him of two separate sexual assault incidents, one in September of 2017 and the other January 12 earlier in the year.

Other

• On October 21, 2017, following a sexual harassment scandal involving Tyler Malka, owner of NeoGAF, most of its moderation staff resigned. The website went offline soon after.
• Fashion photographer Terry Richardson was banned by Condé Nast.
• Steve Jurvetson stepped down from his role at DFJ Venture Capital after the firm conducted an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
• Benjamin Genocchio, executive director of The Armory Show, was relieved of his position after longstanding allegations of inappropriate behavior were published in November 2017.
• On November 2017, Daniela Soleri published an account of sexual abuse committed by her late father Paolo Soleri, an Italian architect known for the concept of "Arcology" and as the lead architect of the experimental community Arcosanti in Arizona. Daniela Soleri alleged that her father persistently molested her during her childhood and attempted to rape her when she was 17 years old. Paolo Soleri had been dead for five years at the time Daniela came forward. The Cosanti Foundation Board responded with an official statement, noting that Daniela's "decision to speak out about her father's behavior towards her helps us confront Paolo Soleri's flaws, and compels us to reconsider his legacy."
• Peter Martins, the choreographer for the New York City Ballet was suspended following allegations of sexual misconduct. Martins announced his retirement on January 1, 2018.
• On December 20, 2017, artist Chuck Close apologized in The New York Times after two models accused him of sexual harassment.
• On January 11, 2018, Samantha Ainsley alleged that in 2012 University of California, Berkeley Professor James F. O'Brien had made lewd comments to her and groped her in a night club in Singapore. O'Brien has denied the allegations.
• On January 15, 2018, Vogue dropped photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber after both were accused of sexual harassment. Testino was accused by 13 male assistants and models who worked with him; Weber was accused by 15 men.
• On January 28, 2018, real estate businessman Steve Wynn resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee after he was accused by dozens of people of sexual misconduct in which he denies the allegations. On February 6, 2018, he stepped down as CEO of Wynn Resorts.
• On January 29, 2018, Republic Records president Charlie Walk was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee named Tristan Coopersmith, while Walk was still working at Epic Records. Walk resigned from his position as a judge on Fox's talent show The Four: Battle For Stardom, and Universal Music Group (which owns Republic) suspended him. Walk has hired attorney Patty Glaser, who also represented Harvey Weinstein, to fight his sexual misconduct claims. Walk officially exited Republic Records on March 28, 2018.
• On January 31, 2018, model Kate Upton accused Guess founder and fashion designer Paul Marciano of sexual misconduct during a fashion shoot in 2010.
• On April 30, 2018, Swedish operatic baritone Håkan Hagegård was accused of sexual harassment.

Other countries

The Weinstein effect was felt across the world.

• In the United Kingdom, allegations of sexual misconduct against many British politicians became a public scandal involving dozens of women accusers across decades and political parties. It led to the resignations of Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, Cabinet Sectary (de facto deputy Prime Minister) Damian Green and Welsh minister Carl Sargeant (who took his own life, four days after his dismissal). In January 2018, reports of sexual harassment at the high-society Presidents Club charity dinner caused another scandal.
• In Canada, accusations against Just for Laughs comedy festival founder Gilbert Rozon led to his resignation, and 15 people accused Quebec radio host Éric Salvail of sexual misconduct. Broadcaster and former baseball player Gregg Zaun was fired.
• Canadian actor and director Albert Schultz was accused of sexual misconduct by four professional actresses who worked with him at the Soulpepper Theatre Company, where he was founder and artistic director. Those who accused him were Kristin Booth, Diana Bentley, Hannah Miller and Patricia Fagan. Schultz resigned his position as artistic director on January 4, 2018.
• At the end of October 2017, prominent Hungarian theater director and former head of the Comedy Theatre of Budapest, László Marton was accused with sexual assault by multiple actresses. Subsequently, the theater initiated the termination of Marton's employment. In November 2017, Miklós Gábor Kerényi, the artistic director of the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre was accused of sexual harassment by former students and actors, and was dismissed from his position.
• Hong Kong-based British movie executive Bey Logan was accused by a number of women of sexual misconduct. Logan, an associate of Harvey Weinstein, denied all allegations.
• On December 2, 2017, actor Geoffrey Rush stepped down as President of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts following allegations of "inappropriate behavior" during an Australian stage production of the Shakespeare play King Lear. Rush claims the allegations are untrue and sued The Daily Telegraph for making false accusations.
• New Zealand actor Rene Naufahu pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault relating to six women who attended private acting lessons conducted by him in Auckland between 2011 and 2013. In January 2018 he was sentenced to one year of home detention. Naufahu had an earlier conviction for common assault and wilful damage arising from an altercation in a Christchurch bar in 2001, for which he was fined by the court.
• Australian television presenter Don Burke was accused of sexual misconduct by several women. He denied these and said, "The Harvey Weinstein saga in Hollywood started a witch hunt."
• The allegations against Weinstein prompted Björk to accuse Lars von Trier of sexually harassing her during the production of Dancer in the Dark. von Trier said "That was not the case. But that we were definitely not friends, that's a fact.”
• In Australia around late October, barrister, author and producer Charles Waterstreet (whose life and career was the inspiration for the drama-comedy series Rake) was accused of sexually harassing law student Tina Ni Huang during a job interview in August 2017. Waterstreet has denied these accusations.

• In Ireland in November 2017, Michael Colgan made Irish headlines after seven women who had worked at the Gaiety Theatre spoke to The Irish Times claiming they were sexually abused and harassed by Colgan while they were working in the theater. Colgan responded with a public apology for anyone who felt uncomfortable, although he has disputed the claims that are sexual in nature. No police reports have been filed by the accusers. The investigation began in January 2018.
• In November 2017, 2,000 women working in the Swedish music industry signed an open letter claiming that they had been sexually abused during their careers. The signatories included singers Robyn and Zara Larsson and the folk duo First Aid Kit.
• In the Philippines, artists and online personalities expressed messages of support to Weinstein's victims. Several netizens came forward to share their experiences with artists and local band members who allegedly committed sexual misconduct.
• Ramin Gray, artistic director of the ATC Theatre, was accused of sexual harassment by eight women after calling the search for "the Weinstein of British theatre" an honourable one.
• In France, political organizations close to the Socialist Party, in particular the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF), were accused of systemic sexual harassment. The French daily newspaper Le Monde published in late 2017 two articles on alleged sexual harassment and predation supported by former UNEF presidents, Jean-Baptiste Prévost and Emmanuel Zemmour. In an editorial, more than 80 UNEF female members and militants came forward to accuse the Union of "sexual violence".
• In Norway, Trond Giske, the deputy leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, resigned from his political positions on 7 January 2018 after being accused of an extensive pattern of sexual assault and sexual harassment of young women, and of taking advantage of his political positions to make unwanted sexual advances. The accusations came in the context of the international debate in the aftermath of the Weinstein affair, and dominated Norwegian media for several weeks from December 2017.
• In India, law student Raya Sarkar set up a Google Docs, accepting anonymous testimonials to sexual abuse taking place within universities in India. Up to 59 academics from 29 colleges were named, some of whom were prominent figures. Sarkar's list sparked a debate on whether anonymous testimonials recollecting campaigns were fair, and on whether due process could be subverted. Several prominent academics, including Ayesha Kidwai and Nivedita Menon, issued a letter of response to Sarkar's list.
• In Australia, on January 8, 2018, stage and screen actor Craig McLachlan was accused of sexually assaulting Christie Whelan Browne, Erika Heynatz and Angela Scundi in 2014 during an Australian tour of The Rocky Horror Show. The revelations forced McLachlan to drop out of a current tour of Rocky Horror.
• In January 2018, preliminary charges were filed against Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan in two cases of rape alleged by women who sought his counsel. Ramadan denies any wrongdoing and has filed his own counter-suit asserting false allegations against the two alleged victims.
• In February 2018, several women, including Josefina Pouso, Mariela Anchipi, Karina Mazzoco, Virginia Godoy, Ursula Vargues and Emilia Claudeville, accused Argentine television presenter Roberto Pettinato for sexual harassment and abuse. They stated that he would "suck" their necks without their permission until he made them cry, and humiliate them in front of other people with whom they worked. Pettinato refused to talk to Argentine media about the accusations, and afterwards left Argentina for Paraguay, alleging that he was going to start a television show in the country, but reports from both countries summarized that Pettinato left Argentina to become a "media exile" due to the accusations.
• In March 2018, Ahn Hee-jung, a prominent South Korean politician was accused of multiple rapes by his aide. He announced resignation afterwards.
• On March 9, 2018, after being accused of sexually assaulting eight women, Korean actor Jo Min-ki was found dead in an underground parking lot.
• In March 2018, Dubstep DJ Datsik was accused of sexual assault spanning multiple years, resulting in public backlash and cancellation of all Datsik appearances at upcoming shows and festivals. He officially stepped down from his label Firepower Records.
• On April 26, 2018, Tatsuya Yamaguchi, a member of the Japanese pop group Tokio, resigned from the band. Yamaguchi apologized for kissing and engaging in indecent behavior with a teenage girl.
• In France, film director Luc Besson has been accused of rape after an unnamed 27-year-old woman filing a complaint on May 18, 2018.
• On June 14, 2018, German broadcasting company WDR fired drama chief and TV producer Gebhard Henke after he was accused by ten women of sexual harassment.

Analysis

American journalists in conversation at NPR spoke of the series of allegations feeling like a tipping point for societal treatment of sexual misconduct. They distinguished the moment from prior sexual misconduct public debates by the public trust in the accusers, who in this case were celebrities familiar to the public, rather than the accusers in prior cases, in which the accusers were unknown and became famous for their testimony. Social media provides a platform for women to share their experiences and encouragement at a scale that had not existed during prior public debates. The state of California is considering legislation to ban secret sexual harassment settlements.

Two columnists of the USA Today expressed doubt that the trend of public opinion would hold, citing open, public cases with few consequences: R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, and Donald Trump. The Weinstein effect also caused multiple sources to question the place of Bill Clinton within the Democratic Party due to the sexual assault allegations against him.

See also

• Operation Yewtree, a high-profile British sex crime investigation which led to an increase in reported crimes, and resulted in well known personalities receiving prison sentences.
• Post-assault treatment of sexual assault victims
• USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal
• Roman Polanski sexual abuse case
• Woody Allen sexual assault allegation
• Bill Cosby sexual assault cases

Further reading

• Allsop, Jon; Ho, Karen K. (November 1, 2017). "Global media confronts its own Weinsteins". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
• Almukhtar, Sarah; Buchanan, Larry; Gold, Michael (November 10, 2017). "After Weinstein: A List of Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct and the Fallout for Each". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
• Astor, Maggie (November 19, 2017). "Jeffrey Tambor Leaves 'Transparent' After Sexual Misconduct Allegations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
• Bennett, Jessica (November 5, 2017). "The 'Click' Moment: How the Weinstein Scandal Unleashed a Tsunami". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
• Bowles, Nellie (November 10, 2017). "Men at Work Wonder if They Overstepped With Women, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
• Edwards, Stassa (November 9, 2017). "This Is What a News Cycle That Holds Sexual Predators Accountable Looks Like". Jezebel. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
• Hess, Amanda (November 10, 2017). "How the Myth of the Artistic Genius Excuses the Abuse of Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.