Actors’ Equity Association executive director Mary McColl released the following statement regarding media reports that multiple women have accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment:
“The allegations that have become public this week about Harvey Weinstein are unconscionable and reprehensible in any context and in any workplace. Thankfully, some incredibly courageous women have begun to share their stories, and Equity commends them for stepping forward. Everyone should be able to go to work free from the fear of sexual harassment. Equity expects all employers to provide a workplace where our members can do their work free of harassment. That’s the law. Any Equity member who experiences something that makes them feel uncomfortable and that they believe constitutes harassment can report it to their Equity Business Rep.”
Background: Protecting members in the workplace has always been important to Equity, which is why within the last year Equity partnered with The Actors Fund to train Equity’s business reps on how to respond to harassment complaints and build a training model that could be used by other organizations. Prior to that, Equity dedicated the lead story in its quarterly news magazine to educating members on how to handle harassment in the workplace.
