She Said (book)

Megan Twohey's book signing at Evanston Township High School

The book details the behind-the-scenes and publicly known processes the authors employed to investigate and publish stories uncovering sexual harassment and sexual abuse by high-profile and powerful men including Harvey Weinstein. The book details new information that helped break the Weinstein story, including sources, documents, and chasing leads. It follows the reporters "from the first exploratory phone calls, to a mounting trail of evidence, to a final face off with a [well known] belligerent" accused person.[5] The book also deals with the open questions about which behaviors and gray areas should constitute sexual harassment:[6]

Kantor admitted that there is “a mounting sense of unfairness on both sides” about a system that no one thinks “works for the accuser, or the accused." Their job remains, as Kantor put it, to ask the three main questions surrounding any allegation: “What is the scope of the behaviors under scrutiny?;” “How do we get the facts right?;” and “What should punishment and accountability look like?”

The authors continue to investigate these questions. To help persuade sources to talk to them, the sources were told that what happened in the past cannot be changed but "together we may be able to use your experience to help protect other people."[5][7]

Gwyneth Paltrow was instrumental in helping the reporter-authors behind the scenes and whose efforts are chronicled in the book. Near the end of the book, the authors discuss Christine Blasey Ford and the choices that led her to publicly confront Brett Kavanaugh, then a Supreme Court nominee.[8][9]

The book chronicles the intersection of executives, companies, lawyers, gossip columnists, tabloid publishers, talent agents, entertainment companies, and Public Relations (PR) companies that became enmeshed in Weinstein's circle of influence which served to hide and bury information about his behaviors, but was an open secret. Quid pro quo took the form of agreeing to buy film rights to books and stories for "high-grossing films", and promising on-screen roles.[8][9]

The focus is on the systemic "structures of power" that enabled Weinstein for decades. The reporting, which followed "whispers and rumors" occurring over 30 years, was supported by large numbers of interviews with actresses, past and present employees, filings in court, corporate records, and "internal company communications that documented a thick web of cover-ups, bullying tactics and confidential settlements."[5][8]

According to the book review aggregator Book Marks, She Said received critical acclaim.[10][5][9]

In her review for The New York Times, Susan Faludi, wrote, "Kantor and Twohey have crafted their news dispatches into a seamless and suspenseful account of their reportorial journey, a gripping blow-by-blow of how they managed, 'working in the blank spaces between the words,' to corroborate allegations that had been chased and abandoned by multiple journalists before them. She Said reads a bit like a feminist All the President’s Men.”[8] The Times noted that, "This book was one of our most anticipated titles of September".[8]

• McNamara, Mary (September 12, 2019). "'She Said' is more important than 'All the President's Men.' There, I said it". Los Angeles Times.
• Liquori, Donna (September 17, 2019). "Old-fashioned reporting most compelling aspect of 'She Said'". AP NEWS.
• Horton, Adrian (September 11, 2019). "She Said: an inside look at the story that brought down Harvey Weinstein". The Guardian.
• Lewis, Helen (September 18, 2019). "'She Said' by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey review – the inside story of Weinstein and #MeToo". the Guardian.
• Tett, Gillian (September 12, 2019). "She Said — a moving account of how the Weinstein story broke". Financial Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022.
• Garber, Megan (September 9, 2019). "The Plan to Make Harvey Weinstein a Hero". The Atlantic.
• "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey". publishersweekly.com. September 2019.
• Kati, Rebekah (November 8, 2019). "Reviewed: She Said". Library Journal.
• Klein, Julia M. (September 11, 2019). "How They Brought Down Harvey Weinstein". The Forward.
• Farris, Mike (October 1, 2019). "book review : She Said". New York Journal of Books.
• Kamine, Mark (January 3, 2020). "Publish and be damning". The Times Literary Supplement. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022.
• Kelley, Kitty (October 31, 2019). "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement". Washington Independent Review of Books.
• Kornbluth, Jesse (October 25, 2019). "Review: She Said". bookreporter. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.

A film adaptation of the book directed by Maria Schrader was released on November 18, 2022. The film is a co-production by Plan B Entertainment, Annapurna Pictures and Universal Pictures. It stars Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan,[11] Patricia Clarkson,[12] Andre Braugher,[13] Samantha Morton,[14] Tom Pelphrey,[15] and Adam Shapiro.[16]

• Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (October 5, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
• Jodi Kantor and Rachel Abrams (October 10, 2017). "Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Others Say Weinstein Harassed Them". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
• Bradley, Laura (September 9, 2019). "Bob Weinstein Confronted Harvey Weinstein Two Years Before #MeToo". Vanity Fair. Conde' Nast. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
• Bradley, Laura (September 9, 2019). "How Gwyneth Paltrow Helped Break the Harvey Weinstein Story". Vanity Fair. Conde' Nast. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
• Scarborough, J. and Brzezinski, M. (September 11, 2019). ""She Said" - on-air interview of the authors". Morning Joe. MSNBC video. Retrieved September 11, 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Wamsley, Laura (November 7, 2017). "Report: Weinstein Hired Agents To Investigate And Suppress Accusations Against Him". Two Way (broadcast). National Public Radio. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
• Farrow, Ronan (October 23, 2017). "From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein's Accusers Tell Their Stories". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
• Farrow, Ronan (2019). Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators. United States: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316486637.
• Hayek, Salma (December 12, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein is My Monster Too". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
• Dowd, Maureen (February 3, 2018). "This is Why Uma Thurman is Angry". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
• Brown, Emma (September 16, 2018). "California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2021.

• Book page IndieBound.org