Donna Karan

Source: Bigstock

The only woman who has not been sexually harassed and possibly raped by Harvey Weinstein is Mata Hari, and that’s because she was executed by the brave French a hundred years ago this month for spying. She was not a German spy and she blew kisses to the firing squad that shot her full of holes. Otherwise, I may have spoken too soon last week when defending Weinstein. It now looks very bad for him, with even Hillary Clinton joining the Greek chorus condemning him. Apparently it was not only boorish behavior toward the fairer sex, it was also alleged rape, something that he and his lawyers strenuously deny.

Mind you, I thought someone was innocent until proved guilty, but not in this hyper-feminist time. Captain Renault’s reaction to gambling taking place in Rick’s Café comes to mind. To believe that Bill and Hillary were unaware of Harvey’s shenanigans is worthy of the Captain’s shock, not to mention the reaction of the sleazy bunch that is Hollywood. But everyone took the moola and turned a blind eye, and now the stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming. I may have gotten it wrong about him in my last column, so the only thing left to say is that at least Bill Cosby had the decency to anesthetize them. George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and his brother, Casey, are all under the feminist microscope for what they knew about Harvey, and what they themselves may have done to the weaker sex. But examining the hypocrisy involved smacks of the Soviets back in the ’30s, when any charge by anyone led to arrests and possible execution. Money for silence is being exchanged as I write, and let us not forget that Bill Clinton paid close to 800,000 big ones to alleged victims, while collecting tens of millions for his foundation by the Saudis, the same Saudis who are at the forefront of women’s liberation.

Two people who spoke in favor of Harvey, and asked for time in order that he could defend himself, both had to eat their words rather hurriedly. Donna Karan rescinded as soon as she was told by the sisterhood that if she wished to sell another blouse she better change her tune—which she did the next day—and my old friend Oliver Stone also did a mea culpa for defending Weinstein. Oliver won a Bronze Star in Vietnam, but gets a white feather from yours truly for caving in as he did.

Such are the joys of Hollywood and hypocrisy. Lefties in the entertainment business and in the media turned a blind eye when Teddy Kennedy not only left a girl to drown, but repeatedly paid off women he roughed up in the following years when he was father of the Senate. Ditto with Bill Clinton. Now they’re all in the forefront screaming bloody murder and wanting revenge on someone who obviously never got the girl, any girl, until he made it in the movies, and even then had to wrestle them into bed.

I suppose it all has to do with one’s upbringing. Men are biologically more inclined than women to desire the opposite sex, hence the old rules were protective of the weaker ones. A woman was not considered a target but an object of respect. That is how the poor little Greek boy was brought up to think. And society worked better back then. At least the social order did, but never in Hollywood. Jack Warner was the prototype of a swaggering bully and sexual predator, using his casting couch every afternoon and making Weinstein seem a monk. Women reporters are now describing how they wept while reading about Weinstein’s harassment, but where were they when far worse things were taking place? Protecting the Kennedys and the Clintons, that’s where.

As always, my favorite is Tina Brown. This week she explained how Harvey co-opted the media by offering juicy negative nuggets about movie stars in his films. Tina should know. She co-opted Harvey out of 50 million big ones for her ludicrous Talk magazine and kept very quiet about his sexual shenanigans while collecting Harvey’s dollars. Now she’s giving us lectures about the dangers of being co-opted.

Oh well, the powerful have been known to abuse the weak since time immemorial, so I guess it’s payback time for Harvey. What troubles me is the ones yelling the loudest are those prone to indulge in abuse of those who cannot fight back, like The New York Times, Hollywood, and certain female actresses who are so desperate for publicity they are ready to pretend they are victims of the ogre if only they can have a mention in the gossip columns, let alone on national television. The irony in all of this is that great seducers, starting with Casanova himself, were just that—seducers, not rapists, nor were they pathetically inclined to beg a woman into bed. Charm is all one needs, charm and a romantic nature, and the gals will go along with it. Love letters help, as does having a reputation of discretion. A woman will gladly give herself to a man who will keep it to himself and not amuse the locker room with what took place in the bedroom. Discretion, charm, romance, even good looks are also useful. Poor old Harvey, he possessed none of the above, and for that reason alone he should be given a break. But he will be whistling Dixie before that happens.