Even The Wolf likely can't clean up Harvey Weinstein's pending troubles

"Sexual assault."

George H.W. Bush responds after actress accuses him of sexual assault - CNN

"At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures," McGrath said. "To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely."

 

I would agree with much (perhaps even all) of this. I think a lot of what's changed about journalism is the money for being a star has exploded (at least relative to what it once was) and thus there is more incentive (however subconscious) to being an agent of change instead of telling stories and letting the chips fall where they may. If there is an injustice, we tell the story of the injustice. If lawmakers or organizations or the powerful change nothing in response, it doesn't invalidate the journalism. That's how I felt during the Ray Rice stuff. I know I was part of good journalism unearthing the truth about what happened, and who knew what and when. That no one was fired or fined or punished as a result is irrelevant. The story was still important.

 

Katie Way ain't getting famous by punching down. She'll become a lot more famous telling Headline News to fuck off than by going on Headline News.

But it will most likely be momentary. She's gonna make a lot of enemies with that, enemies who will rejoice in any mistake she makes.

 

Based on the responses by the author in the days following the babe.net story, I don't have any feeling that I am reading an unbiased account of the evening.

 

I think there's a way to do that without going Full Dick Whitman.

 

Ding, ding, ding.

I'm sorry, but all these details being presented as fact -- "he shoved his fingers down my throat again and again" -- ring less true by the minute.

 

While we are not privy to (most of) the emails you send to journalists, I notice she did not mention taking several months off to sniff the roses.

Full Dick Whitman Mode not unlocked.

 

Someone should introduce her to ...

 

One of the things you don't learn writing for babe.net at age 22 is how to behave after unleashing a story that could have legal ramifications for you.

This ain't it.

 

I was using "Minecraft" time, which my kid tells me about all the time. Days pass by in an hour.

 

I do feel bad for Katie Way.

She wrote what she thought was going to be a career-making contribution to the #MeToo cause. Instead, the general consensus has been, "Fuck you, he seems nice." I understand why she's a little pissy.

I also wonder whether the reaction would have been different had Grace not equivocated about whether this was sexual assault or not. If she calls it sexual assault, it puts people in a pretty tight corner to evaluate it otherwise.

Remember Reese Witherspoon? "Reese Witherspoon reveals that she was sexually assaulted." Consensus here was that it was the proper word, though we know nothing about the encounter. Nothing. Less than this, for sure.

"Grace reveals that she was sexually assaulted."

Yes? No?

What reason do I have not to believe Grace?

 

That email's pretty great. I had a good laugh.

How many young journos went "aw, c'mon...really?"