There’s going to be a play about Harvey Weinstein

Pulitzer-winner David Mamet has written the play

A play based on the accusations against Harvey Weinstein has been written by Pulitzer-winning playwright David Mamet.

Hollywood mogul Weinstein has faced multiple accusations of rape, sexual misconduct and sexual harassment since late last year. The producer has “unequivocally” denied all allegations.

In a new interview with the Chicago Tribune, David Mamet has revealed that he has penned a play about Weinstein.

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“I was talking with my Broadway producer and he said, ‘Why don’t you write a play about Harvey Weinstein?’ And so I did,” he said.

While there are yet to be any official production details however Chicago Tribune’s Rick Kogan writes that “there has been great interest in the lead role expressed by a Chicago stage legend who is now a movie star.”

Mamet explored allegations of sexual harassment in his 1992 play Oleanna which centered around a student accusing her professor of misconduct.

“I think about this a lot now,” Mamet continued in the interview. “I have a bunch of daughters, a young son,” he said. “Every society has to confront the ungovernable genie of sexuality and tries various ways to deal with it and none of them work very well. There is great difficulty when you are switching modes, which we seem to be doing now. People go crazy. They start tearing each other to bits.”

Meanwhile, Meryl Streep has responded to Harvey Weinstein citing her in his sexual misconduct lawsuit defence.

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On Tuesday (February 19), Weinstein filed a motion to dismiss a class action suit from Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sarah Ann Masse, Melissa Sagemiller and Nannette Klatt.

Weinstein’s lawyers argue that “these proposed class definitions are fatally overbroad as to be not ascertainable”, before citing several stars that have said that he never harassed them personally.

“As drafted, they would include all women who ever met with Weinstein, regardless of whether they claimed to have suffered any identifiable harm as a result of that meeting,” the memo reads.

“Such women would include, presumably, Jennifer Lawrence, who told Oprah Winfrey she had known Weinstein since she was 20 years old and said ‘he had only ever been nice to me,’ and Meryl Streep, who stated publicly that Weinstein had always been respectful to her in their working relationship.”

Streep has since responded, saying: “Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys use of my (true) statement — that he was not sexually transgressive or physically abusive in our business relationship — as evidence that he was not abusive with many OTHER women is pathetic and exploitive”.

She adds: “The criminal actions he is accused of conducting on the bodies of these women are his responsibility, and if there is any justice left in the system he will pay for them — regardless of how many good movies, made by many good people, Harvey was lucky enough to have acquired or financed”.

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