The #MeToo movement took shape following the dam-breaking revelations of sexual abuse by former Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein. Following Weinstein’s very public fall from grace, a number of other prominent figures in Hollywood and in the political world were also targeted and fell on the word of their accusers.
According to the left, accusers not only had the right to be heard, they had the right to be believed in their accusations. The idea was that “all women have a right to be believed,” not just heard. It was on this theory that a variety of accusers managed to bring down everyone from Weinstein to Kevin Spacey, from now-former Senator Al Franken (D-MN) to California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D), and from disgraced talk show hosts Matt Lauer to Charlie Rose.
The rabid embrace and rapid expansion of the #MeToo movement was alarming. Not only did I think it was going too far, but progressive talk-show host Bill Maher labeled the warlock hunt #MeMcCarthyism.
The fervor seems to have died down in recent months; however, two very interesting and conflicting recent events suggest that the #MeToo movement is shifting into a new phase.
The #MeToo crowd is thrilled to its core that former all-American family man and beloved father-figure has been convicted of sexual assault. Meanwhile, Tom Brokaw, accused of “unwanted sexual advances” is being defended by some of the biggest #MeToo agitators.
Bill Cosby’s conviction was met with a sense of victory and joy amongst #MeToo scalp-hunters (I agree with Neo that Cosby is probably guilty of a range of sexual crimes, but the self-righteous glee of these #MeToo warriors makes my skin crawl).
While the feeding frenzy over Cosby’s #MeToo conviction continues unabated, something very strange is happening with the accusations leveled at NBC titan Tom Brokaw.
Brokaw has been accused by two women of improper sexual contact; Linda Vester and another, as yet unnamed, accuser.
Linda Vester had a reputation for covering tough stories. As a war correspondent for NBC News in the ’90s, she spent three tours of duty in the Middle East and took two assignments in Africa.But as it turned out, her biggest battle at work wasn’t in the field. She says it was as a victim of sexual harassment by Tom Brokaw, the legendary newsman who manned the anchor desk for “NBC Nightly News” for 22 years and hosted “Today” and “Meet the Press.”In a series of interviews with Variety conducted over several months, Vester alleged that Brokaw physically tried to force her to kiss him on two separate occasions, groped her in a NBC conference room and showed up at her hotel room uninvited. Two friends who Vester told at the time corroborated her story with Variety, and she shared her journal entries from the time period. Brokaw, who has been married to Meredith Auld since 1962, has never before been publicly accused of sexual harassment.
Brokaw, upon learning of Vester’s allegations, penned a passionate defense of his life’s work and career in which he admits to “personal and private mistakes” but insists that Vester wasn’t one of either.
In response to Vester’s and the anonymous woman’s allegations, Brokaw withdrew from a commencement speech engagement at Sacred Heart University.
NBC News’ Tom Brokaw has withdrawn from a planned commencement speech to university graduates in May following claims by a former television network correspondent that the longtime news anchor made unwanted advances towards her, Sacred Heart University said on Friday.“This morning Tom Brokaw informed us of his decision to withdraw as our undergraduate commencement speaker,” Sacred Heart President John Petillo said in a statement ahead of the Connecticut university’s May 13 ceremony.“Given events in the news, Mr. Brokaw did not want to distract from the intended and most important focus of the day – our graduating students and their families,” Petillo added in the statement.
Normally, this would be the prelude to a deluge of “yay, another one down!” twitter feeding frenzies by the #MeToo movers and shakers. Not this time.
Instead, more than 60 women in broadcasting have signed a letter defending Brokaw as someone who has provided them with “opportunities for advancement” and treated them with “fairness and respect.”
As professional women, we fully endorse the conversation around abuse of power in the workplace. In the context of that conversation, we would like to share our perspectives on working with Tom Brokaw.We are current and former colleagues of Tom’s, who have worked with him over a period spanning four decades. We are producers, correspondents, anchors, directors, executives, researchers, personal assistants, editors and technical staff.Tom has treated each of us with fairness and respect. He has given each of us opportunities for advancement and championed our successes throughout our careers. As we have advanced across industries — news, publishing, law, business and government — Tom has been a valued source of counsel and support. We know him to be a man of tremendous decency and integrity.
The letter was “signed by Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Maria Shriver and Kelly O’Donnell and more than 60 other women have voiced their support for Tom Brokaw in the wake of sexual harassment allegations leveled against the NBC News veteran.”
A bit late to the party was MSNBC’s Morning Joe co-host Mika:
Without saying so explicitly, these women are sweeping the allegations of Brokaw’s accusers away, diminishing their experiences and trauma, and effectively silencing them. In trashing these alleged victims, these 60+ women excuse reported inappropriate sexual behavior because the accused helped them in their careers. Isn’t this the root of the problem that fed and continues to feed the sexual exploitation of women in the employ of powerful men?
Watch the report:
The question now is what happens to the #MeToo movement? If we can’t believe Brokaw’s two accusers, whom can we believe? Just those public figures the progressive media and its allies write letters to defend? Is #MeToo dead? Is #MeToo entering a new phase in which the warlock hunt can be mitigated by sufficient testimony by (leftist) colleagues who don’t address the accusations at all? And who don’t explain why they are ignoring the accusers? Isn’t that the problem many of these very women touted as the breeding ground for covering up inappropriate sexual behavior?
Who’s listening to the alleged victims who should, according to the #MeToo rule book, always be not just heard but believed? Not these #MeToo proponents.
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