With a heavy heart, I felt obliged to cover these absolutely terrifying allegations. It is my nature to attempt to find the “silver lining” in the most mortifying of stories. Not to say that any of these quotes relieve any of the pain, but they emphasize the bravery, platform and strength that we have to accomplish real change.
1. “For the young women in this room, life is going to be different because we’re with you, we have your back.” – Reese Witherspoon
Courtesy: The Ringer
This beautiful quote by the lovely Reese Witherspoon connects the individual instances to her own experience and directs to where we can go from here. Witherspoon opened up about being sexually assaulted at the age of 16 among other instances in her career. The beauty of this quote comes from the idea that although these stories are horrible, there is a newfound platform to help stories like these become a thing of the past. A change will come from being open about experiences and learning how we can make a real difference for young girls everywhere.
2. “This is a giant opportunity for real positive change that we proudly commit ourselves to.” – Channing Tatum
Courtesy: BBC
Channing Tatum pulled out of his project with Harvey Weinstein and said this at the end of a moving Instagram post. The actor again shines a light on the opportunity we have to continue having these tough conversations and being committed to changing the way these incidents are handled.
3. “One: Speaking out and bringing awareness to the abuse that is happening. Two: People, Institutions, Organizations, especially those in positions of power, etc. need to be held accountable for their inappropriate actions and behavior. Three: Educate, and prevent, no matter the cost. Four: Have zero tolerance for abusers and those who protect them.” – McKayla Maroney
Courtesy: NY Daily News
McKayla Maroney was abused for years by an Olympic doctor. This is undoubtedly shocking and insane. It is amazing that Maroney is still as successful of an athlete. It is inspiring that the advice she posted on social media has such a strong and serious tone that truly highlights the severe level of importance that dealing with these issues is.
4. “I am relieved to be able to share this. I actually feel better and I’m proud of the women who are brave enough to speak. This isn’t easy but there [is] strength in our numbers.” – Cara Delevingne
Courtesy: Pinterest
This Cara Delevingne quote plays into the #MeToo trend. It feels like there is something greater happening as all these stories come out. It is definitely easier for all of these stories to be talked about in such a massive wave. The flood of stories came from each victim being brave together in telling their tales. Delevingne talked about feeling too guilty to admit to this after it happened, but now with the other stories coming about Weinstein, she had the strength to say something.
5. “I stand here today to bring the message home and into the hearts of everyone who has felt threatened in this industry. We will stop normalizing these horrific situations.” – Jennifer Lawrence
Courtesy: Vanity Fair
Again, the message of this quote is to be unafraid of the power we have to make a change. The extraordinary Jennifer Lawrence also suffered a disgusting encounter with another director. The instance caused her a lot of anger but surely it was difficult to speak about until now. Her words again give us a peek into the future we all want to create. A world where these things do not happen or else they are taken as an extremely serious misconduct.