There is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein and other serial predators intentionally intimidated and threatened their victims. Those men also had networks of people who facilitated and enabled their crimes. Collectively, they victimized hundreds, if not thousands, of people, whom they hurt with impunity for decades. They used physical force. They used overt threats. They laughed in their crying victims' faces. Guilt, shame and remorse were the farthest things from their minds. Fear and helplessness were also not part of their emotional vocabulary, except to enjoy their victims' experiences of those emotions.
Additionally, the entertainment industry regularly expresses its absurd pride at erasing and ignoring boundaries. Even intelligent and principled people who join that industry tend to be negatively influenced by it.
Ms. Argento was raised in the industry and has never had another life. Her father directed horror movies. (I hate horror movies. Who needs a horror movie when life can be so scary? Somewhere in the world, someone is always living a horror movie.)
It is almost impossible to develop a normal perspective about life and relationships if you grow up in the entertainment industry.
It seems as if her accuser was having difficulty figuring out the next part of his life, which a lot of people who were even modestly successful as child actors have. He didn't feel supported by his parents, which a lot of people everywhere don't at the age that he was then. A lot of people at that age also have trouble figuring out the next part of their lives, but most of them don't also have the skewed perspective about what constitutes success that people who grow up in the entertainment industry tend to have. You don't need to be an internationally recognized emoji by the age of 20 to be somebody or to be worthy of respect; to fail to have that is not a life crisis.
The betrayal that he felt probably had the most to do with the feeling that he had lost a mentor because of their mutually bad decision. That type of loss isn't unique to friendships that turn sexual, even among people who are age-appropriate, and 17-year-olds need to hear the word "No" from adults more than they like to admit.
It is much more believable that Ms. Argento (and the person who later accused her) thought she was fulfilling a teenager's fantasy than that Mr. Weinstein thought that he wasn't forcibly raping women.
Ms. Argento made a mistake. She has paid for it, which she should have. She is embarrassed by it, which she should be.
Me Too supporters are worried about how to address all of this, which they have the right to be, although there is no reason for Ms. Argento's previous friends to turn against her or to hoist her up as another example of how nobody can be trusted. They ought to be offering to spend time with her and telling her that they want to listen if she wants to tell them.
Social movements are never painless, nor are they ever led or supported by perfect people. This tends to be forgotten when prominent activists for marginalized groups are scrutinized, because men have had most of the credit for most of history's positive progress.
Me Too detractors are exploiting this incident. That's because they're exploitative.
I wouldn't say that there's a fine line between hypocrisy and bravery. I would say that Ms. Argento spoke out for herself and others, carrying her inconsistencies and secrets, doing what she could to evolve from a brainwashed past.
