The New York Times journalists, who exposed several allegations of sexual misconduct against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, have revealed the extraordinary lengths to prevent them publishing their story.
New York-based reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor appeared on Loose Women to speak about their 2017 article, which sparked the international #MeToo campaign to denounce sexual harassment and assault.
Kantor, 44, claimed that the producer once hired an actress who was part of a spy agency – to pose as a British women’s rights activist and try and get information about the allegations from them and their sources.
The pair also told of how Hollywood star film star Gwyneth Paltrow was instrumental in the investigation, having once been thought of as the face of Weinstein’s first film company, Miramax.
Jodi Kantor (left) Megan Twohey (right) , are the New York Times journalists who in 2017 exposed several allegations of sexual misconduct against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein
The former film producer co-founded the entertainment company Miramax and The Weinstein Company, he has unequivocally denied all allegations of sexual misconduct
Kantor said: ‘He used a variety of methods, and what was fascinating is that some were apparent like the the giant teams of lawyers and PR people that we faced.
‘There was actually a point before we published that he barged into the New York Times office uninvited.
‘We got a call saying he’s on his way to the office. We were like “What he’s coming here, do we let him upstairs?”.
‘But then there were the methods we could not see. He used this agency called Black Cube.
They’re essentially paid private spies, they had an agent who was a kind of actress who posed as a British women’s rights advocate, who came to me came to some of our sources trying to get information.’
The New York-based reporters appeared on Loose Women to speak about their 2017 article, which sparked the international Me Too campaign, to denounce sexual harassment and assault
When quizzed on whether they ever feared for their own safety while facing one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, the women confessed that the more Weinstein pushed back, the more eager they were to publish the story.
However, the pair did fear for their sources, and felt the mogul may employ last minute methods to prevent the story from breaking.
Twohey said: ‘We didn’t fear for ourselves we’re journalists we wake up every morning wanting to hold the powerful to account.
‘We do not cower in the face of intimidation and threats, in fact it’s motivating – but there was fear we had for our sources especially at the very end.’
They were quizzed by Jane Morre (far left) and guest panelist Ricky Lake (left) on whether they ever feared for their own safety while facing one of the most powerful men in Hollywood
‘When we went to Weinstein and told him what we were going to be publishing.
‘That really kicked off a 48-hour period where all the women were vulnerable to any of those last minute tactics he was going to take.’
Kantor went on to explain that it was when Paltrow, 47, came forward to allege that the producer had sexually harassed her at the age of 22 when she had landed a role in the Jane Austen adaptation ‘Emma’, that they realised ‘nobody was immune’.
She said: ‘There were a lot of surprising figures, the people who helped bring the truth to life.
Paltrow,47, came forward to allege that the producer had sexually harassed her at the age of 22 when she had landed a role in the Jane Austen adaptation ‘Emma’
She made nine films with Miramax and is pictured in 1999 having won an Academy Award for her role in the Weinstein produced ‘Shakespeare in Love’
‘She was one of the surprising secret sources we have, she was seen as his biggest star.
So when she quietly started to tell us that she had been one of his alleged victims – we realized that nobody was immune.
‘She really not only shared her own story, but she made calls to her friends in Hollywood and beyond, to see if there were other women who could help us in our investigation.’
Later the pair were quizzed on whether the star, who in 1999 won an Academy Award for her role in the Weinstein produced ‘Shakespeare in Love’, felt guilty about her involvement with the producer.
Kantor explained that it wasn’t until Paltrow went on the record saying she hadn’t bowed to the sexual pressure from Weinstein, that other women came forward – to say he had ‘used her name in vain’.
She said: ‘The biggest shock to Gwyneth was not the shock we uncovered during the investigation, it was afterwards.
‘Because what we started hearing, especially after we broke the story is that he went to women in the course of sexual pressuring and said “everybody does it”.
[He said] How do you think she got that Oscar? implying they’d slept together.
‘So when she went on the record and said that she had said no to him, all these other women came out and said ‘he used your name in vain’.
All allegations of nonconsensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.