I knew Harvey Weinstein was a complete sleazebag years ago. It wasn’t exactly a secret in Hollywood, as even an aspiring cinephile like myself had read multiple stories about his abusive ways. None of them involved rape or sexual harassment, but he was clearly abusive in the extreme. In many of these tales, his abuse was almost celebrated. Now, of course, there is no celebration of Handsy Harvey. The guy is getting absolutely destroyed and the media is just getting started. It’s a classic feeding frenzy.

One of the fellow guests here at my temporary resort home told me today that he believed all these women were telling tales about good ol’ Harv. I have to tell you that I find that highly unlikely. Is every single account 100% credible? I couldn’t say, but there is certainly at least a chance we’re seeing some bandwagoning here. Maybe some women are jumping on the train in order to get fame or money. But what motivation does Angelina Jolie have in that regard? Or Gwyneth Paltrow, who won her Oscar for her role in Shakespeare in Love, a Harvey Weinstein produced film? It’s not logical to think they would construct their allegations out of nothing. Those are just a couple of examples. There are others.

Speaking of the others, some of the claims made against Mr. Weinstein include full-on rape, which I alluded to in the open. Many feminists, along with their allies in the media, now openly refer to Weinstein as a rapist. Although he very well may be guilty of such acts, I think labeling someone in that way should require one or both of these elements: Either the person in question needs to have admitted to rape (in the case of Weinstein, he denies that charge), or they must have been convicted of rape in a court of law. Otherwise, the term shouldn’t be applied, even to sleazebags like Weinstein.

I know it’s tempting to forego rules like this when it’s someone you already don’t like. The whole “Bill Clinton is a Rapist” meme during 2016 got some laughs from me, especially when folks got on TV with that message. But accusations of rape need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before I will personally call someone a rapist. The charge is just too potent to take lightly, at least for me.

I will note this before I go. There is some comedy in yet another male feminist being accused of these sorts of crimes. It seems like the bigger the fuss a guy makes about his status as an “ally”, the more likely he is to face rape allegations. There’s a joke to be made there, but I will refrain for now.