The recent deluge of sexual assault and harassment allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein has left more space than ever for individuals to speak out regarding their own experiences.
Actress Alyssa Milano began a massive Twitter trend when a friend suggested, “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too.’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017
In a separate blog post Milano elaborated, “While I am sickened and angered over the disturbing accusations of Weinstein’s sexual predation and abuse of power, I’m happy — ecstatic even — that it has opened up a dialogue around the continued sexual harassment, objectification and degradation of women.”
The Twitter thread acted as a place for women and men to reply with their own experiences, or tweet separately using the hashtag #MeToo to unite the cause. The hashtag soon flooded users’ timelines, thus displaying the “magnitude of the problem” as Milano hoped for.
Plenty of musicians contributed their own stories, including singer Sheryl Crow, who explained that she even wrote songs about her experiences on her first record. See a roundup of music industry #MeToo tweets, including Lady Gaga, Christina Perri, and more below.
— christina perri (@christinaperri) October 16, 2017
— xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) October 15, 2017
…so I wrote songs about it on my first record #WhatICanDoForYou #NaNaSong. #metoo
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) October 16, 2017
#metoo, & sending extra love today to those who aren’t comfortable/safe/ready/or just don’t feel good about disclosing their survivor status
— AIM s/n skaloha78 (@sad13) October 16, 2017
men i knew, men i didn’t know, men I worked with, men i didn’t work with, a man in my own family, men i trusted #metoo
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) October 16, 2017
Me too. I don’t know if means anything coming from a gay man but it’s happened. Multiple times.
— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) October 15, 2017
Me, too #MeToo
— Anika Noni Rose (@AnikaNoniRose) October 15, 2017
Me too
— Laura Dreyfuss (@lauradreyfuss) October 15, 2017
Me too.
— Rowetta — (@Rowetta) October 16, 2017