With everything we now know about the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, it's going to be impossible to look back at his body of work in the same way. While there are many films we unfortunately see in a whole new light, there are other bits of pop culture that are now particularly difficult to stomach, like this cameo the producer had in a Barbie film, My Scene Goes Hollywood.
This isn't as out of the blue as it sounds. The New Yorker reports that Weinstein's company, Miramax, distributed the film, which was produced by the toy company Mattel. However, it is really hard to watch after everything we've heard about the producer following the dozens of women who have come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and assault.
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"That's Harvey Weinstein!" gasps the character Nolee in the clip below, adding, "He's, like, the biggest producer in Hollywood."
Then, the animated Weinstein approaches a character named Madison, putting his hand on her back and telling her she did a "good job, young lady!"
"Perfect," Nolee says from the sidelines. "Now she'll have an even bigger head."
This whole animated and jovial retelling of Harvey's interaction with an actress in one of his movies sours quickly when you remember that most of the accusations against Weinstein come from actresses he was working with or wanted to work with. Considering the fact that his alleged misconduct was an "open secret" in Hollywood, how much did everyone involved know, or at least suspect, when this film came out, and was it as unnerving then as it is now?
The New Yorker spoke to Nancy Bennett, one of the film’s producers, who said that they originally thought it would be "fun and kitschy" to include Weinstein in the movie. Now, of course, she's "mortified."
"I was more worried that Lindsay was going to do something that people would associate with the brand," she told the outlet. "I never in a million years imagined it would be Harvey."
Watch the clip below:
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