Weinstein Survivor Rowena Chiu Writes Her Own Script

Content warning: This episode contains sensitive content about sexual assault. Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was recently sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison on top of his current sentence of 23 years for sexual assault. In this bonus episode of The Disrupters, Nancy Wang Yuen speaks with Weinstein’s former assistant, advocate, and activist Rowena Chiu. She left the film industry after being victimized by Weinstein in 1998. The 2022 film She Said tells the story of the New York Times investigation that led to Weinstein’s history of abuse and misconduct against women; Chiu is portrayed by actor Angela Yeoh in the film. For Rowena, watching her own story play out in a film evoked complicated feelings: “It is absolutely true that I'm super proud of it, and I think it's a major achievement. It is also an incredibly difficult movie for the individual survivor to watch,” says Chiu. “It's going to be difficult for me not to feel that the story is out of my control.” In this episode, Nancy talks to Rowena about how she copes with that tension, how being a Christian has made it difficult for survivors of sexual misconduct to receive support from the church, and how she has learned to tell a deeply difficult story with courage and clarity. To learn more about how issues of sexual misconduct and abuse affect faith communities, check out The #MeToo Reckoning by pastor and survivor Ruth Everhart. Use the code DISRUPT at ivpress.com for 30% off and free US shipping of The #MeToo Reckoning. *** Resources mentioned in this episode include: Rowena Chiu's op-ed piece in the New York Times Rowena Chiu's Sojourners article Trailer for She Said She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

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The Disrupters is hosted by Nancy Wang Yuen. Theme song is New Eyes by Jason Chu. Mixed and Edited by Matt Linder Producers: Richard Clark and Maila Kim Executive Producers: Andrew Bronson and Helen Lee