Five days after the news broke that there were allegations that film studio executive Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed, assaulted and even raped multiple women working for him, Hillary Clinton finally spoke out about the allegations against him on Tuesday.
Weinstein was a major donor to multiple Democratic campaigns, including several of Clinton’s, and as Politico reports, many were surprised she waited as long as she did to condemn Weinstein’s behavior.
Statement from Secretary Clinton on Harvey Weinstein: pic.twitter.com/L1l2wl9l0I
— Nick Merrill (@NickMerrill) October 10, 2017
“I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein,” the former presidential candidate said in a statement released by her spokesperson on Tuesday. “The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior.”
Likewise, a similar statement was released by Barack and Michelle Obama on Tuesday in which the former POTUS and FLOTUS said they were, “disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein.” According to the Washington Post, the Democratic National Committee — another major recipient of Weinstein’s donations — said it would give $30,000 of the $300,000 Weinstein donated to the DNC to groups such as Emily’s List and Emerge America, which help to elect women to office.
On Sunday, the Weinstein Company announced Weinstein’s firing from the company he co-founded after a New York Times article published over the weekend revealed that he had been accused of countless instances of sexual assault against young actresses working for him, and had reached at least eight settlements with woman accusing him of sexual assault and harassment.