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#MeToo and Time's Up Movement in the United States: 2014-2018
This timeline will focus on the events leading up to and of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements in the United States. As such, the timeline will focus on the period from 2014-2018 in which allegations of sexual assault against prominent figures in the entertainment industry were increasingly being shared. This timeline will not cover every allegation, but rather focus on ones that reflect the spread of the movement beyond women in Hollywood to all of American society. -
Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News, is accused of sexual coercion by Gabriel Sherman.
Roger Ailes is accused by Gabrial Sherman of offering a salary raise in exchange for sex in Sherman's book "The Loudest Voice in the Room." The allegations refer to an instance from the 1980s in which Ailes proposed a raise to tv producer Randi Harrison in exchange for sexual favours.
Both Fox News and Roger Ailes denied the allegations.
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Hannibal Buress performs a stand-up comedy routine, which includes jokes about Bill Cosby's sexual assault allegations.
Hannibal Buress' comedy routine included a segment about Bill Cosby's sexual assault allegations, which went viral on the internet. It is widely believed that by becoming an internet sensation, Buress' comedy skit helped women speak out about their experiences of sexual assault at the hands of Bill Cosby - particularly in which they were drugged.
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Bill Cosby calls for positive memes as damage control for Hannibal Buress stand-up comedy segment. Backfires.
In an attempt to create damage control from Hannibal Buress' comments about Bill Cosby's sexual assault allegations, Cosby's public relations team calls on people to create positive memes on the internet using the #CosbyMeme. Their efforts, however, backfire when people create memes instead pointing out Cosby's sexual assault allegations.
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Barbra Bowman writes an op-ed piece for The Washington Post detailing how Bill Cosby raped her in the mid-1980s when she was just 17 years old.
Barbra Bowman explains in her piece that it was not until after Hannibal Buress performed his comedy routine highlighting the accusations put to Bill Cosby that "public outcry begin in earnest." She laments not being believed until now, arguing that the entertainment industry is "rife" with men who use their fame to get away with such acts.
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Joan Tarshis comes forward, accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assaulting her in the late 1960s.
Joan Tarshis became the 14th woman to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault when she shared her story. She alleges that Cosby drugged and assaulted her multiple times in 1969 when she was 19 years old. Tarshis explains that she shared her story now, expressing shame at not sharing her story prior to other people coming out first.
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Janice Dickinson comes forward as another victim of sexual assault at the hands of Bill Cosby.
Dickinson accused Bill Cosby of raping her in 1982 when she was 27 years old in a televised interview for Entertainment Tonight. She alleged that Cosby drugged and raped her while she was in Lake Tahoe. Dickinson reiterates Tarshis' sentiments that she decided to come forward as more women shared their experiences with Cosby stating: "I believe all the other women."
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Carla Ferrigno and Therese Serignese accuse Bill Cosby of assault.
Carla Ferrigno alleged that Cosby forcibly kissed her in 1967 when she was 18. Therese Serignese accused him of drugging and raping her in 1972 when she was 19.
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Louisa Mortiz also accuses Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her.
Louisa Mortiz accused him of forcing oral sex on her in 1971 when she was 35. Link text -
Kristina Ruehli accuses Bill Cosby of drugging her and attempting to sexually assault her in 1965.
Kristin Ruehli was 22 years old in 1965 when she alleges Bill Cosby drugged her and attempted to force her to give him oral sex. Ruehli states that "I've very wealthy [now], so I have nothing to gain." Instead of financial gain, Ruehli was motivated by other women coming forward and accusing Cosby of sexual assault, claiming that she "to back up other people."
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Ashely Judd writes in Variety magazine how she was sexually harassed by an 'unnamed media boss' - Harvey Weinstein.
Ashley Judd reveals to Variety Magazine how in the 1990s she was sexual harassed during the filming of Paramount's "Kiss the Girls" by a "mogul" from a rival studio. The harassment escalated until the unnamed man requested Judd to watch him in the shower. Judd speaks of how ashamed she felt that these incidents occurred until she realised that what the unnamed man did was illegal.
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Bill Cosby accused of sexual assault by 57 women in total.
Until this point, Bill Cosby is accused of sexual assault and harassment by 57 women, spanning over decades.
Cosby is still engaged in a court case for allegedly drugging and sexually violating Andrea Constand in 2004.
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Temple Taggart reveals that Donald Trump assaulted her by kissing her on the lips without her consent in 1997.
Taggart told The New York Times of how Trump kissed her without her consent in 1997 when she was only 21 years old. Taggart was Miss Utah in the Miss USA beauty pageant of which Trump owned under the Miss Universe Organisation. Taggart stated that this was not "an isolated incident." Trump denies all allegations of such behaviour.
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Roger Ailes is sued for sexual assault by Gretchen Carlson.
Carlson, a top Fox News' anchor, filed a lawsuit against Ailes for sexual harassment. Carlson alleged that Ailes made "lewd" and "sexually-charged comments," as well as engaging in sexual coercion. The lawsuit comes after Carlson published her book "Getting Real" in which she detailed instances of sexual assault, but without accusing anyone.
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Six more women come forward accusing Roger Ailes of sexual harassment.
Six women accused Roger Ailes of sexual harassment (ranging from the 1960s to the 1980s) after Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against him on the 6th of July 2016. Four of the women requested to remain anonymous, while Marsha Callahan and Kellie Boyle shared their identities.
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Rodger Ailes resigns from Fox.
Roger Ailes resigned as CEO of Fox News amongst accusations of sexual harassment from at least eight different women. He continued to deny the allegations.
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Former USA Gymnast Rachel Denhollander filed a criminal complaint against Larry Nassar for sexual assault.
Denhollander filed a criminal complaint against Nassar for sexual assault in 2000 when she was just 15 years old. Nassar was working as a doctor for USA Gymnastics. Denhollander spoke of how she saw him for treatment for lower back pain, but "he continued to progress in what he touched, and where he touched, and how he touched...nothing was off limits." (2:00)
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Fox and Gretchen Carlson settle regarding Roger Ailes' sexual assault for $20 million.
Fox settled the lawsuit bought by Carlson against Ailes for sexual harassment for $20 million. The same day, however, another prominent female anchor Greta Van Susteren quit suddenly. The settlement and Susteren's sudden departure from Fox contributed to growing tension within the news and entertainment network.
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Nassar is fired from his post at Michigan State University amongst an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Nassar continued to deny the accusations of sexual assault by former gymnasts he worked with despite being fired from Michigan State University.
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Audio from the Access Hollywood Tape of Donald Trump from 2005 is released online.
The infamous audio of Trump explaining how he grabs women "by the pussy" was released. He admits in the audio that he "just starts kissing" women he is attracted to without asking (1:34), giving credibility to previous allegations made against him. Trump dismissed the video as "locker room talk."
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Trump holds a press conference two hours prior to a presidential debate with Bill Clinton assault survivors
According to Rhodes et al. Trump "suffer[ed] electoral harm," (17) from the release of the Access Hollywood tape. To deflect attention from this, Trump held a press conference with women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault, including Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick and Paula Jones. White House Correspondent Pete Baker claims Clinton "can't go after Donald Trump...because of Bill Clinton...and Donald Trump knows that..."
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Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks share their experience of sexual assault at the hands of Trump.
Leeds shared her experience wherein Trump touched her inapproiately on a plane in the 1980s. They did not know each other. Leeds claimed Trump was "like an octopus," with his hands "everywhere." Crooks alleged that Trump kissed her on the mouth without her consent while she was at work in 2005. She was 22. Crooks stated that it was "so inapporpriate."
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Former Miss Teen USA contestants open up about Trump walking into their rooms while they were changing in 1997.
Trump allegedly walked into the changing rooms of four girls, some as young as 15, while they were changing. They did not accuse him of assault, but thought it was inappropriate. At the time, Trump owned the beauty pageants Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, and has since publicly bragged of walking in on contestants changing.
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Kristin Anderson speaks out about her experience of sexual harassment by Trump in the 1990s.
Anderson claimed that Trump put his hands up her miniskirt, moved up her inner thigh and touched her vagina in a nightclub in New York: "...next thing I know, there's a hand up my skirt." (0:15) Anderson was in her early 20s and hadn't spoken publicly about it prior.
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Cathy Heller shares her story of Trump assaulting her around 1997
Heller claims that upon meeting her for the first time, Trump grabbed her and attempted to kiss her, growing angry when she twisted away. He held her firmly before "planting his lips on hers." Heller decided to share her story publicly in response to the Access Hollywood audio, and was further spurred on by other women coming forward.
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Information is released regarding Fox News presenter Bill O'Reilly's settlements with women for sexual assault allegations.
O'Reilly settled out of court with former Fox News host Juliet Huddy who claimed that O'Reilly pursued an unwanted sexual relationship with her starting in 2011. Huddy stated that O'Reilly would threaten her career at Fox if she tried to rebuff his advances. Examples of sexual harassment by O'Reilly included masturbating while talking on the phone with Huddy.
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Women's March 201: millions of people participate across the United States to support gender equality and civil rights.
Many protesters used the Women's march to protest Donald Trump's first day as President, chanting "Donald Trump has got to go!" (0:05) and calling him a "lunatic" (1:16). Celebrities and activists spoke at the protests, including Ashley Judd and Gloria Steinem.
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Former Uber employee Susan Fowler leaves after a "very strange" year of sexual harassment and misconduct at Uber.
While Fowler left Uber in January, she wrote an essay about her experience in which she and other female employees were sexually harassed by male co-workers, exposing the sexist culture. Fowler exclaims that she was "surprised that some of them had similar stories to my own." Fowler shared how the Human Relations department at Uber were unresponsive to her experiences of harassment.
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Jeanette Antolin, Jessica Howard and Jamie Dantzscher share their experience of Larry Nassar sexually assaulting them during their time as gymnasts.
Antolin, Howard and Danzscher told 60 Minutes of their experiences of sexual abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar while they were teenagers training for the national gymnastics team in Texas in the late 1990s. The women either did not know Nassar was committing a crime at the time or felt too uncomfortable to raise the issue.
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More information regarding Bill O'Reilly's sexual assault settlements is released revealing the extent of the accusations
The New York Times reveals how much Fox News has stood behind O'Reilly as he was accused of sexual misconduct: five women received payments from either O'Reilly or Fox News in exchange for not making their accusations of sexual assault public. According to The New York Times, the payments totalled $13 million. Many feared damage to their careers if they refused O'Reilly's advances.
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Bill O'Reilly is ousted from his position at Fox News.
O'Reilly was let go by Fox amongst growing sexual misconduct allegations towards him. O'Reilly continued to deny the allegations despite investigations into settlements between O'Reilly, Fox and several women.
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BuzzFeed News reports of a sex cult organised by musician R. Kelly, which included several underage girls.
Parents of a 21-year-old woman accused R. Kelly of keeping their daughter with him against her will, and as a part of a sex cult. Three former members of R. Kelly's inner circle came, Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Astante McGee outlined how R. Kelly has complete control over the lives of the girls and women in his inner circle, leaving them without any agency.
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Harvey Weinstein accused of sexual harassment and abuse.
News outlets reveal allegations of sexual assault by Weinstein. Between the 1990s and 2015, Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted nineteen women. In an audio from 2015, Weinstein admitted that he was "used to" sexually assaulting women (1:21). Many women feared him if they spoke out, but they now "hoped to protect women in the future."
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Harvey Weinstein is fired from his production company, the Weinstein Company.
Harvey Weinstein is fired from the production company he cofounded, the Weinstein Company as a result of women accusing Weinstein of sexual assault. Such accusations included Weinstein appearing before women naked, or asking to be present while women bathed. The revelations illustrate an "abuse of power," on Weinstein's behalf.
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'#MeToo' hashtag movement is born on Twitter, after 'me too' was created in 2006
The phrase 'me too' was coined by Tarana Burke in 2006 to show solidarity between people who survived sexual violence. In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano got '#MeToo' trending on Twitter to encourage people to share their stories: less than 24 hours later, there were "12 million combined posts, comments and reactions on Facebook," by users globally (Earle, 259.)
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Programming Chief of Amazon Roy Price quits amongst allegations of sexual harassment claims
Roy Price was put on leave on the 12th of October for allegations that he sexually harassed producer Isa Hackett, claiming that Price "repeatedly and crudely propositioned" her in 2015. On the 18th of October, Price resigned from his role among these allegations.
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Six-time Olympic gymnastics medalist Aly Raisman accuses Larry Nassar of sexual assault.
Raisman's accusation follows as another Olympic gymnastics medalist, McKayla Maroney also alleges that she was sexually abused by Nassar. Like the other gymnasts who accused Nassar of assault, Raisman and Maroney claimed that Nassar assaulted them under the guise of performing medical treatment and therapies.
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Anthony Rapp reveals that Kevin Spacey sexually harassed him.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News, actor Anthony Rapp reveals that Kevin Spacey made sexual advances towards him in 1986 when Rapp was only 14. Spacey was 26 at the time, and both were working on Broadway when the incident occurred. This case illustrates not only that men are also victims, but that men were also bringing forward their stories of assault.
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Kevin Spacey apologises to Anthony Rapp over sexual advances made toward him in 1986
On Twitter, Spacey publicly apologised to Rapp for his behaviour towards him in 1986 which Rapp described as unwanted sexual advances. Spacey claimed that he "honestly do[es] not remember this encounter," but gave Rapp his "sincerest apology," for such "deeply inappropriate behaviour...". Spacey used the same tweet to come out as LGBT+, stating that he had "romantic encounters with men throughout my life."
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Louis C.K. is accused by five women of sexual misconduct
Dana Min Goodman, Julia Wolov, Abby Schachner, Rebecca Corry and another woman who wished to remain anonymous accused Louis C.K. of incidents of sexual harassment to add to the "current burst of sexual misconduct accusations against powerful men...". Many of the allegations involve Louis C.K. masturbating in front of these women and requesting that they watch.
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Louis C.K. confirms reports of sexual misconduct he made towards women.
Louis C.K. made a statement admitting that the accusations of sexual assault were true. He goes on to state that he did not understand the position of power he held over these women at the time: "when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn't a question. It's a predicament for them...I wielded power irresponsibly."
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700,000 female Latina workers write a letter of solidarity for women in the media
The National Farmworkers Women's Alliance wrote a letter of solidarity regarding sexual assault allegations within the entertainment industry. The women express how "[s]adly, we're not surprised because it's a reality we know too well," and a "common experience of being preyed upon," by those in power. The letter demonstrates the pervasiveness of assault and highlights the struggle of women without privilege.
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The 'Today Show' co-host Matt Lauer is fired for allegations of sexual misconduct.
Matt Lauer was fired amongst allegations of sexual misconduct, in particular, "inappropriate sexual conduct," directed at a co-worker which started at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and continued for several months. It is thought that NBC acted swiftly to fire Lauer due to the "national dialogue," regarding sexual assault which has ended the careers of prominent men such as Bill Cosby.
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Larry Nassar pleaded guilty to ten charges of first degree criminal sex conduct.
Nassar pleaded guilty to ten charges of first degree criminal sex conduct with children under the age of 16. He remains accused by 135 former patients from his work with USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University. Nassar still faces lawsuits from former patients and their parents.
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Time Magazine names the 'Silence Breakers' as Person of the Year
Time Magazine named the 'Silence Breakers' as Person of the Year in an act of solidarity for those who spoke out about their experiences of sexual violence. Time likens sexual harassment to the "problem that has no name," identified by Betty Friedan that slowly simmers for years, giving the moment legitimacy as a serious social and political movement like the second wave of feminism.
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TV Chef Mario Batali is accused of sexual misconduct by four women
Four women, who remain anonymous, alleged that chef Mario Batali sexually assaulted them. All of these women work in the restaurant industry is some capacity, and three of them worked alongside Batali for several years. This case reveals how women across other industries feel more comfortable sharing their stories, illustrating how the #MeToo movement spread. Batali did not deny the allegations.
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300 Hollywood Actresses write an open letter in solidarity with the National Farmworker Women's Alliance
The letter opens with "Dear sisters," demonstrating the solidarity between celebrity women in the entertainment industry, and everyday working class women. Notwithstanding this, the letter also acknowledges the privilege the actresses have, drawing attention that women in other industries are not afforded. The letter launched the Time's Up movement, which gives financial and legal help to victims of sexual assault.
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The #MeToo and Time's Up movement is the focus of the 75th Golden Globe awards as actors and activists come together to make the personal political.
The Golden Globes marks a significant event in the #MeToo and Time's Up movement, in which the focus of the awards night was people sharing their experiences of sexual harassment and assault. In particular, Oprah Winfrey made a speech in which she argued that "speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we have..." (3:41). Indeed, she argued that making the "personal political is what empowers women...to speak up..." (AlTaher, p.346).
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2018 Women's March
The #MeToo and Time's Up movement were key issues at the 2018 Women's March. Indeed, the movement has "channeled that female energy into a specific reckoning with sexual assault," and had a mood of being "more fed up." The Women's March continued to be a global phenomenon as well as the #MeToo movement, demonstrating the solidarity between all women.
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Larry Nassar sentenced to 40 to 175 years in jail.
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Larry Nassar to 40 to 175 years in jail for his first degree criminal sexual conduct. He was accused by 150 people, and pleaded guilty to ten of those charges. Jude Aquilina stated that "I just signed your death warrant."
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#MeToo and Time's Up continued to dominate news with the 60th Grammy Awards
The #MeToo and Time's Up movements are present at the Grammy awards as well as the Golden Globes. Symbolic clothes were the focus at the Grammys with celebrities dressing in black and white. While celebrities dressed in black and white at the Golden Globes, the focus was on activist guests invited along. At the Grammys, the symbolism of clothes made the event and the movement global. Link text -
Harvey Weinstein's accusers speak out at the 90th Academy Awards
The 90th Academy Awards saw a clear link to the #MeToo and Time's Up movement as Harvey Weinstein's accusers Annabella Sciorra, Ashley Judd and Salma Hayek spoke out: "The changes we are witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound...of our voices joining together in a mighty chorus that is finally saying, time's up!" - Ashley Judd, 0:19
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