Today’s launch of Harvey Weinstein exposé movie She said it The UK Campaign to Stop the Misuse of Non-Disclosure Agreements, (NDAs), has been given an assist.
The Can’t Buy My Silence campaign was launched by Zelda Perkins – played by Samantha Morton in Maria Schrader’s She said it – five years ago, and, today, Heather Rabbatts’ Time’s Up UK has declared public support and is seeking “vital funds” To continue their work.
Former Weinstein assistant Perkins says her friend was raped by the now imprisoned movie mogul in the 1990s and she was forced to sign an NDA worth £125,000 ($150,000), which she has since gone public about and launched her campaign. Perkins was at the New York Film Festival premiere last month alongside major stars and other survivors of Weinstein’s abuse.
Perkins, who is pushing legislation, has stated that the UK NDA law was being used in his previous statements. “to protect perpetrators and makes no logical sense.”
Time’s Up UK, a wider body that emerged from the #MeToo movement, said it wants to help spotlight the campaign as She said, The film stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as Carey Mulligan, the journalists who conducted the investigation that ultimately saw Weinstein’s downfall. It is available in all cinemas worldwide.
“We need to support campaigns like Zelda’s to prevent the misuse of NDAs so vividly witnessed in She Said released in the UK today,” said Rabbatts, who runs Time’s Up UK. “We all need to work together on these issues to effect change. It takes the solidarity of women, the allyship of men and the belief and collaboration of us all.”
Perkins said: “Can’t Buy My Silence emerged from the direct experience of abuse from Weinstein. However, its more significant root is from the worse abuse suffered from being gagged by the system.”
The support for Can’t Buy My Silence comprises part of Time’s Up UK’s work to prevent bullying and harassment in the UK TV and film industries including the development of a Creative Industries independent standard’s authority (CISA) to strengthen and better coordinate efforts.
This campaign received financial support from Sky Television and all the major British broadcasters. It also has public support from Naomie Harris, Keira Knightley, Rebecca Ferguson and other singers.