In the past week, more than 20 women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein. These women felt brave enough to come forward thanks to two bombshell exposés from The New Yorker and The New York Times, which outlined Weinstein's predatory behavior toward actresses and female colleagues that seemingly went unnoticed for years.
It's a story that's shocked the entire world and started really important discussions about men in power and how they treat women. However, the allegations shouldn't come as a surprise to people who pay close attention to Hollywood. TV writers and filmmakers have been dropping subtle nods to Weinstein's horrible behavior in their work for years. Several episodes of Entourage featured an abrasive, Weinstein-esque character. Meryl Streep called him "The Punisher" in her 2012 Golden Globes acceptance speech.
TRENDING TECH CONTENTS
Seth MacFarlane once quipped at an Oscar nominations press conference that the Best Actress nominees "no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein." And then there's this chilling interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, in which she makes jokes about Weinstein being a coercer.
But perhaps the most overt references to Weinstein's misconduct occurred on Tina Fey's show, 30 Rock. On two separate occasions, Jenna Maroney (played by Jane Krakowski) alludes to Weinstein sexually harassing and assaulting her.
"I'm not of afraid of anyone in show business," Jenna tells Tracy Morgan's character in the video, below. (It's from an episode in the seventh season.) "I turned down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions…out of five."
She brings Weinstein up again in the scene, below, which a Twitter user resurfaced on October 9. "In some ways, I'm still pinned under a passed-out Harvey Weinstein, and it's Thanksgiving," she says.
YOU SHOULD READ THIS!
30 Rock has a history of making jokes exposing men in power preying upon women. The show made a crack about Bill Cosby five years ago too, which co-showrunner Robert Carlock said was not an accident.
Perhaps that's what Fey's intention was with Weinstein too: to call him out, subtly, in the hope of effecting change. Maybe that's what Entourage and Meryl Streep and Seth MacFarlane were trying to do as well. Thankfully, the world is finally listening.
