“Hollywood has much to learn from the appalling allegations of predatory behaviour surrounding Oscar-winning producer Harvey Weinstein. For decades the film industry’s so-called “casting couch culture” — a euphemism for trading sexual favours for a career in films — was the butt of cartoonists’ jokes. But there is nothing funny in the sordid claims about Weinstein, an industry titan and producer of some of Hollywood’s most successful movies. 

“For 30 years Weinstein used his powerful position to sexually harass women seeking a career. Some have described being invited for business meetings, only to be asked to massage him or watch him shower. In at least eight instances Weinstein has reached substantial financial settlements with victims. 

“The allegations against Weinstein reflect poorly on Hollywood and its modus operandi. There should be no place for such dinosaurs in an industry that wields immense cultural influence worldwide.”   – The Australian editorial, yesterday

The Australian is an early winner of the 2017 Media Hypocrisy Award after this editorial on Wednesday about the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.

The newspaper, which is owned by the family whose company presided over the Fox News sexual harassment scandals in the US — CEO Roger Ailes and presenter Bill O’Reilly harassed a number of female employees and had their cases settled with big payments by Fox to the victims — has decided to lecture its readers about “appalling allegations of predatory behaviour” and “dinosaurs in an industry that wields immense cultural influence.”

The New York Times sank O’Reilly in a now famous April 1 story (similar to the one last week about Weinstein) that exposed how O’Reilly and Fox had paid out an estimated $US13 million settling a number of cases where women had come forward to claim they were harassed by the Fox host. He had his contract paid out (an estimated $US20 to $US25 million) while Ailes was punted and paid a reported $US40 million to go away. Greta Carlson, whose complaint started the story against Ailes was paid a reported $US20 million in a settlement.

And Charles Payne, a Fox Business News host has been accused of rape by commentator Scottie Nell Hughes who says Payne raped her in 2013 and alleges she was retaliated against after she came forward with charges a few years after the initial incident is said to have occurred.

If The Australian had substituted the names Ailes and O’Reilly for the name Weinstein, that would really have been a story.