Amanda Palmer and British singer-songwriter Jasmine Power have released a powerful new music video to mark the first anniversary of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s New York Times exposé that brought Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein to face justice for alleged sex crimes stretching back decades.
The visuals for their collaborative track “Mr. Weinstein Will See You Now,” which was first shared back in May, feature the work of more than 60 women, including director/choreographer Noémie Lafrance. The gripping, graphic, and deeply thought-provoking short film (NSFW) begins with a group of women, clad in matching white Oxford shirts, singing along to the anthemic six-minute song in an elegant suite. From there, the scene dissolves into a riveting display of dance and motion depicting the anguish endured by survivors of sexual assault.
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“We rented the space from an Episcopalian church—which felt poetic to me, having been raised as a little choir girl in that lineage,” Palmer said in a statement. “We were worried for a minute that the minister—who was a woman—was about to shut down the production, because she was looking at our outdoor warmup from across the street and looking concerned. Then she came over to the set, watched what we were filming, and asked if we would please come back to screen the finished video for all the women of her congregation. Women are rising up, everywhere. Change is happening at every level.”
Power also shared her thoughts on the making of the video. “As we directed the chorus members through our song chorus, I felt this overwhelming emotion come over me as I gazed into the eyes of each and every woman singing along,” she added in a statement. “There were moments while watching the monitors where I felt shudders of pain and sparks of excitement run through my entire body. The day felt powerful, dark, fearless and then light when I would respond to a grateful smile of another woman on set, as she would say, ‘Thanks you for writing this.’ I hope my children will watch this video one day and be relieved that times have changed.”
Palmer shared a link to the emotionally charged video on Twitter last Friday — which was both the anniversary of the groundbreaking Times investigation, and also the date Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court seemed all but assured.
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“‘MR WEINSTEIN WILL SEE YOU NOW’ is a crowdfunded artistic battlecry made by over 60 women,” she wrote. “today marks 1 year since the NYtimes exposé blasted open #MeToo, but the timing could not be more relevant due to kavanaugh.”
All proceeds for “Mr. Weinstein Will See You Now,” available through Band Camp, will go to the Time’s Up Now legal defense fund.
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