Blythe Danner isn't happy with Maureen Dowd.
The actress wrote a letter to The New York Times about Dowd's column published Sunday. In the column, Dowd mentioned Paltrow's experience with Harvey Weinstein, which she described to the Times last week.
"When David Carr wrote about "The Emperor Miramaximus" in 2001 for New York magazine — several years after the unpleasant experience Paltrow described for the first time this past week to The Times — he quoted her saying: 'I think that for every bad story you hear about Harvey, there are three great ones. People are complicated, and nobody's all good or all bad," Dowd wrote. She also suggested that Paltrow "put aside qualms to become 'the first lady of Miramax.'"
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That line didn't sit well with Danner, who wrote a powerful defense of her daughter, which the Times published Wednesday. Danner accused Dowd of "disparaging" Paltrow in the piece.
"After her initial shock, Gwyneth left the room immediately, and, despite the fact that Mr. Weinstein threatened her if she ever spoke of what happened, she reported it to her agent and to her boyfriend at the time, Brad Pitt, who confronted Mr. Weinstein," Danner wrote. "Gwyneth did not 'put aside her qualms to become ‘the first lady of Miramax' back then, as Ms. Dowd would have it. She continued to hold her own and insist that Mr. Weinstein treat her with respect."
Danner also ended her letter with some advice for the way we talk about the Weinstein scandal.
"I suggest that the pundits stop casting aspersions on the women who have confronted unwanted sexual advances in the manner each sees fit and concentrate on the constructive ways to prevent this behavior in the future," she wrote. Her words are on point. We should focus on the perpetrators of harassment and how to prevent similar situations; shaming survivors for coming forward doesn't solve the problem.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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