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Reply to "DNC takes heat for giving Weinstein money to political groups"

For years, Harvey Weinstein, a film and television producer at the apex of the American entertainment industry, has lavished money and attention on the Democratic Party’s biggest names and causes.

Mr. Weinstein has given more than $1.4 million to candidates, parties and political action committees since 1990, Variety reported, citing figures from the Center for Responsive Politics. Among his biggest beneficiaries are President Barack Obama, whose daughter was an intern with Mr. Weinstein’s company this year. At a career workshop for high schoolers at the White House, where Mr. Weinstein was a guest several times, Michelle Obama called him “a wonderful human being, a good friend and just a powerhouse.”

Mr. Weinstein is also a yearslong friend of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, for whose 2016 presidential campaign he was a major contributor and driving force, holding a fund-raiser in his home at one point. He’s raised money for Planned Parenthood, helped endow a faculty chair at Rutgers University in Gloria Steinem’s name and distributed a film, “The Hunting Ground,” about campus sexual assault.

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Women who spoke on the record for Thursday’s report, including the actress Ashley Judd, said they hoped to encourage women throughout the work force, not just celebrities in high-profile industries, to come forward and expose predatory behavior. “Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly,” Ms. Judd said.

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Tales of Mr. Weinstein’s offenses were widely shared in Hollywood but not publicly discussed.

Last edited by antimaim

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