She Said (book)

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement is a nonfiction book written by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the two New York Times investigative reporters who exposed Harvey Weinstein's history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women, which was a catalyst for the burgeoning #MeToo movement.[1][2][3][4] The book was published on September 10, 2019 by Penguin Press.[5][6][7]

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
AuthorJodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectSexual harassment, sexual abuse
GenreNonfiction, investigative journalism
Set in2010's
PublisherPenguin Press
Publication date
September 10, 2019
Media typePrint, E-book
Pages320
ISBN9780525560340
WebsitePublisher website for book

About the book
Megan Twohey's book signing at Evanston Township High School

The book details the behind-the scenes and publicly known processes the authors employed to investigate and publish stories uncovering sexual harassment and sexual abuse by high-profile and powerful men. The book details new information that helped break the Weinstein story, including sources, documents, and chasing leads. It follows the reporters "from the first exploratory phone calls, to a mounting trail of evidence, to a final face off with a [well known] belligerent" accused person.[5] It also deals with the open questions about which behaviors and gray areas should constitute sexual harassment: [7]

Kantor admitted that there is “a mounting sense of unfairness on both sides” about a system that no one thinks “works for the accuser, or the accused." Their job remains, as Kantor put it, to ask the three main questions surrounding any allegation: “What is the scope of the behaviors under scrutiny?;” “How do we get the facts right?;” and “What should punishment and accountability look like?”

The authors continue to investigate these questions. To help persuade sources to talk to them, the sources were told that what happened in the past cannot be changed but "together we may be able to use your experience to help protect other people." [5][6][8]

Gatekeepers

The book chronicles the intersection of executives, companies, lawyers, gossip columnists, tabloid publishers, talent agents, entertainment companies, and Public Relations (PR) companies that became enmeshed in Weinstein's circle of influence which served to submerge information about his behaviors, but was an open secret. Quid pro quo took the form agreeing to buy film rights to books and stories for "high-grossing films", and promising on-screen roles[9][10]

The focus is on the systemic "structures of power" that enabled Weinstein for decades. The reporting, which followed "whispers and rumors" occurring over 30 years, was supported by large numbers of interviews with actresses, past and present employees, filings in court, corporate records, and "internal company communications that documented a thick web of cover-ups, bullying tactics and confidential settlements."[5][9]

Gwyneth Paltrow was instrumental in helping the reporter-authors behind the scenes and whose efforts are chronicled in the book. Near the end of the book, the authors discuss Christine Blasey Ford and the choices that led her to publicly confront Brett Kavanaugh, then Supreme Court nominee.[9][10]

Reviews

According to the book review aggregator Book Marks, She Said received critical acclaim.[11] In her review for The New York Times, Susan Faludi, wrote, "Kantor and Twohey have crafted their news dispatches into a seamless and suspenseful account of their reportorial journey, a gripping blow-by-blow of how they managed, 'working in the blank spaces between the words,' to corroborate allegations that had been chased and abandoned by multiple journalists before them. She Said reads a bit like a feminist All the President’s Men.”[9] The Times noted that, "This book was one of our most anticipated titles of September".[9]

References
  1. Kantor, Jodi; Twohey, Megan (2017-10-05). "Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  2. December 19, CBS News; 2017; Pm, 1:31. "NYT reporters on breaking Harvey Weinstein story, #MeToo "reckoning"". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Faludi, Susan (2019-09-08). "'She Said' Recounts How Two Times Reporters Broke the Harvey Weinstein Story (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  4. Times, The New York (2019-09-19). "The Reporters Who Exposed Harvey Weinstein (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  5. Quinn, Annalisa (September 8, 2019). "'She Said' Tracks The Remarkable Reporting Leading To The Arrest Of Harvey Weinstein". National Public Radio. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  6. Gross, Terry (September 10, 2019). "She Said' Reveals The People And Practices That Protected Weinstein". National Public Radio. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  7. Perkins, Dennis (September 11, 2019). "The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of She Said assess #MeToo after Weinstein on The Late Show". AV Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. Maddus, Gene (September 10, 2019). "How 13 Weinstein Scandal Figures Come Out in Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's New Book 'She Said". Variety. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. Faludi, Susan (September 8, 2019). "'She Said' Recounts How Two Times Reporters Broke the Harvey Weinstein Story". New York Times. Book Review. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. Lozada, Carlos (September 8, 2019). "How the New York Times broke Harvey Weinstein". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  11. Book Marks. "Aggregate of reviews for "She Said..." by Kantor and Twohey". Literary Hub. Retrieved: April 26,2020

Further reading
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