On Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, Janice Min, the Co-President of THR, revealed that she became aware that Harvey Weinstein was sexually assaulting women in 2010, over seven years before the story finally broke.

Min was courted by The Hollywood Reporter and hired as their editorial director in May 2010.

According to Min, the first person she hired, Kim Masters, relayed an off-the-record question she had asked Weinstein, “I heard you rape women, what do you have to say about that?” and Weinstein’s answer.

While Min didn’t expressly reveal Weinstein’s answer to Masters’ question, she makes it very clear that she had no doubt that he was raping women. This means the lead editor at a major Hollywood publication was aware of Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault and the story stayed secret for seven more years.

Am I the only one who finds that completely shocking?

I understand that the question was off the record, and Min has a duty not to publish his response, but the idea that THR did not do the investigating necessary to break the story is astounding. The risk of being sued by Weinstein may have weighed on the decision, but if you are certain it’s the truth, you should be able to find other witnesses willing to speak about the situation.

The Hollywood Reporter has interviewed hundreds of actors, producers, executives, and others who have encountered Weinstein since Min took over the helm. They easily could have asked Masters’ question to the same women who are now publicly accusing Weinstein of assault. Rolling Stone had the number of accusers at 29 over a week ago, and more have come out since.

While Min hides behind journalistic ethics and her naiveté about the prevalence of such crimes, it seems obvious to me that this should’ve been an absolute focus at The Hollywood Reporter until one of the most powerful men in Hollywood was prevented from hurting more women. If they felt like they couldn’t properly cover the story, they should have alerted the proper authorities to their concerns or offered the scoop to other, better-financed, news outlets.

Min’s decision to ignore claims of rape for seven years while Harvey Weinstein continued to operate seems extremely regretful in hindsight. Min is certainly not alone, multiple reports indicate that many in Hollywood were aware of Weinstein’s alleged violence toward men and his treatment of women before the story hit the media.

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