I don't get the impression that this is about being in Harvey Weinstein's back pocket, although it's hard to be sure. She's not coming off as a mealy-mouthed liberal who has to come up with some way to split the difference between doctrinaire feminism and taking care of your sugar daddy. I know that spirit. I don't discern it here.
What I think I see is an old-time, traditional woman - probably from the black church tradition - who remembers what she was taught as a girl and probably thinks it's still good advice. And I'm not saying it isn't, but trying to apply it here seems to completely misread what really happened at Miramax, and what appears to be going on more generally in Hollywood:
The problem with this take is that the women in question weren't going on dates with young men and trying to stay on the right side of the chastity line. They were talking to a very powerful man in a very high-profile industry where they were hoping to have careers - which also happens to be an industry where physical beauty is valued highly and there's every reason to try to look attractive when you're talking to the big boss.
There should have been a reasonable expectation that the production chief wouldn't aggressively pursue sexual favors from you because you looked pretty. He's supposed to be there to deal with casting and other matters, not to take advantage of you to get his rocks off. A woman should have had every right to walk into Harvey Weinstein's office looking sexy - because that's what's expected of actresses - without being told the key to opportunity was sleeping with the boss. There's nothing you can say they should have done to keep that from happening. It just flat out shouldn't have happened. Period.
It sort of makes me wonder if Eddie Bernice Johnson really understands what happened here. Does she think we're just talking about # guys being jerks to girls at the bar, or at the sock hop? I'm not totally sure what decade she thinks this is. Maybe it was unfair for the media to seek a take from her just because she's a member of Congress, although it's true that Weinstein has donated one hell of a lot of money to her party. I don't know if he donated specifically to her or if the interviewer just figured that "Democrat member of Congress" was all that was needed to compel her to give a comment.
The shame is that she actually sounds like the rare Democrat who wants to give some wise guidance to young women about how to handle themselves around potentially # men. The next time you go out with some dude, or consider hooking up with one, you could listen to worse advice than what Johnson is offering.
But when you go for a job interview in any industry, you shouldn't even have to worry about it - although apparently in Hollywood, you absolutely do.
