The New York Times publishes Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s investigation describing decades of alleged sexual harassment by producer Harvey Weinstein and reporting that he reached multiple confidential settlements. The story helped catalyze a broader public reckoning that soon coalesced under #MeToo.
Within days of the Times report and subsequent public fallout, The Weinstein Company board terminates Harvey Weinstein’s employment, signaling the immediate institutional consequences of the reporting and mounting accusations.
Ronan Farrow publishes a major follow-up investigation in The New Yorker that adds detailed on-the-record allegations, including accusations of sexual assault. The combined impact of the Times and New Yorker reporting helped broaden #MeToo from Hollywood into other industries.
Actor Alyssa Milano tweets a prompt encouraging survivors to reply “me too,” accelerating the viral spread of #MeToo in the days following the Weinstein revelations and helping turn individual accounts into a mass public testimony.
Harvey Weinstein resigns from the board of the company he co-founded; the board also ratifies its earlier decision to fire him. The resignation underscores the rapid collapse of his formal power after the investigations.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announces a civil-rights investigation into The Weinstein Company, including subpoenas for records, reflecting how investigative reporting triggered governmental scrutiny of workplace conditions and potential systemic misconduct.
After reports that lawyer David Boies helped facilitate private-investigation efforts connected to Weinstein while his firm also represented the Times in other matters, the Times ends its relationship with Boies’s firm—an example of the investigations’ wider professional and institutional fallout.
In a prominent #MeToo-adjacent follow-on investigation, The New York Times reports on allegations by five women that comedian Louis C.K. committed sexual misconduct. The story illustrated how the post-Weinstein reporting environment expanded accountability journalism beyond Hollywood executives.
The Washington Post reports that multiple women accuse television host Charlie Rose of sexual harassment, prompting suspensions and cancellations. The episode reflects the broader media-industry reckoning that followed Weinstein-focused investigative reporting.
The George Polk Awards recognize Ronan Farrow alongside Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their reporting on Weinstein, marking early institutional recognition of the investigations’ public-service impact.
The Pulitzer Prizes award the 2018 Public Service medal jointly to The New York Times (Kantor and Twohey’s reporting) and The New Yorker (Farrow’s reporting), citing the investigations’ role in exposing sexual predation and spurring a wider reckoning about abuse of women.
After failed attempts to sell or stabilize the business following the scandal, The Weinstein Company ultimately shuts down in mid-2018, demonstrating the longer-term corporate consequences tied to the investigations and subsequent legal/industry fallout.
New York Times investigations into Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo fallout (2017-2018)
