Eight years ago former Los Angeles Times reporter Tracy Weber was "dragged scowling and complaining into an investigation of allegations that Arnold Schwarzenegger....had sexually harassed and molested women who worked on his movies." Weber, now a senior reporter for ProPublica, shares her thoughts on the "queasy feeling of deja-vu" that have emerged in the wake of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's sexually aggressive behavior.
"Several (women) reluctantly began to describe behavior that appeared to cross every imaginable line," writes Weber. "As I interviewed these women, I came to believe in the importance of the story. They were strong, professional, independent people, women like myself: competent and assertive. Their experiences with Schwarzenegger were double humiliations...Election Day arrived and Schwarzenegger was elected by a wide margin. The Los Angeles Times was castigated for smearing Schwarzenegger close to the election. Ten thousand readers cancelled their subscriptions.I received a string of vicious calls and emails. The women were branded as liars desperate for a share of fame. One of the women called me in tears. I'd cajoled her into revealing her humiliations - and here was yet another. The voters, like Hollywood, ignored the star's troubling behavior. I was devastated and angry too--and guilty for wasting their courage."
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