https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77AUQgAAmHo
Actress and activist Jane Fonda has a hot take on the sexual assault and harassment allegations going on in Hollywood. The Women’s Media Center nonprofit co-founder acknowledged a hole in the coverage of the issue in light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
“It feels different,” said Fonda, who appeared on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” Wednesday, Oct. 25 with TWMC co-founder Gloria Steinem. “It feels like something has shifted. It’s too bad that it’s probably because so many of the women that were assaulted by Harvey Weinstein are famous and white and everybody knows them. This has been going on a long time to Black women and other women of color and [it] doesn’t get out quite the same.”
“But I think it’s so huge, this story, and so much is coming out that shows it went on for so long, over so many countries with people pimping for him that it’s really made a big difference that women have come forward. Hopefully, it’s like a domino effect, affecting other industries.”
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Fonda acknowledged what many Black women have already magnified in wake of the hashtags that emerged after Weinstein’s ousting. While many celebrities engaged in the #WomenBoycottTwitter movement, Black women decided to amplify their voices with #WOCAffirmation.
At the onset of Weinstein’s downfall earlier this month, a glimpse of articles summing up his accusations exclusively included white women. Only on Thursday, Oct. 19 did “Black Panther” star Lupita Nyong’o step forward and shared her story of sexual harassment.
And the importance of Black women speaking out is compounded by the high percentage of Black women who experience sexual violence. A 2010 report by the Centers for Disease Control found that 22 percent of Black women have experienced rape in their lifetime compared to 18.8 percent of white women.
