America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 558 Domestic Violence Scandal

New York, Times Building.

Sharon Wexman, her work tag clipped to her collar, waited for the documents to download from her email, then copied them to a USB drive before hurriedly leaving her cubicle and knocking on the door of Associate Editor Jonathan Landman's office.

When Jonathan saw the man enter, he took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and asked, "What is it?"

"Boss, I just received an anonymous email from a paparazzi." Sharon placed the USB drive on her desk. "It contains very sensitive news material."

Jonathan took the USB drive, plugged it into the computer, and opened the video. After watching for less than ten seconds, his expression turned extremely serious, and he asked, "Where did these come from?"

Sharon told the truth: "Someone anonymously sent it to my news inbox just ten minutes ago."

Jonathan recognized the news value of the story, and ran a hand through his graying hair, seemingly struggling to make a decision.

Sharon wanted to report it: "This is big news, big enough to make the whole of America explode."

Jonathan didn't answer immediately. After considering it carefully for a while, he said, "Harvey Weinstein is an important Google client of ours, spending over seven figures annually on Google services in the Times' media."

Sharon understood what her boss meant: although The New York Times is one of the three major newspapers in the United States, making money is not easy.

Their annual GG fee is in the seven figures, making them a truly major client.

Jonathan unplugged the USB drive, locked it in the drawer, and said, "Harvey Weinstein isn't an elected official, he's not newsworthy, this matter ends here."

At this point, he considered something more: "You should try to find the person who provided these materials, talk to him, and get all the original news reports back."

Sharon had no choice but to comply.

Not far from here, in the editorial office of The New Yorker.

Brin sat at his desk, waiting for his boss, Tina, to review the video materials she had just received.

Tina's eyes widened as she looked at the film, and she felt better and better as she looked, eventually even bursting into laughter.

Brin was familiar with his boss's style and knew that this news would definitely be published, so he started working on a supplementary draft so that he could finish it as soon as possible.

Tina looked up from the monitor and asked Brin, "Where did you find this?"

"Someone submitted it to the email inbox, anonymously." Brin asked cautiously, "Editor-in-Chief, should we publish it?"

Tina waved her hand: "Publish it! Of course it should be published, and it should be posted on our website as quickly as possible."

Brin asked, "To what extent should the scale be?"

"Post the original as is!" Tina is a woman, and it's especially difficult for her to rise to the top. The video resonated with her.

But the crucial point is another matter: "Back when we were promoting 'Chicago' and 'The Hours,' Harvey Weinstein still owes us $26 in GG fees, forcing us to invest heavily in hiring lawyers to sue him and The Weinstein Company!"

Brin understood: "Boss, I know what to do!"

Tina, who wasn't Jewish, didn't hesitate: "Get him, ruin Harvey Weinstein's reputation!"

Not only in New York, but also in major cities across the United States such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, the editorial departments of any newspaper, radio station, or television station with even a little influence received similar news clips.

Martin's strategy was simple: at this point, he had to cast a wide net to have a chance of catching more fish.

Many of these media outlets initially tried to suppress the issue, and some even contacted the parties involved.

However, among the more than 500 media outlets, there were always some with enough influence who didn't care about Harvey Weinstein and chose to publish the news.

Harvey Weinstein's influence will eventually have its limits.

Following TMZ, YouTube, The New Yorker, Hulu, Yahoo News, and other websites all published news related to Weinstein.

The enthusiasm of netizens who had read the relevant information was immediately ignited.

In TMZ's news comment section, netizens left over a thousand comments in less than half an hour.

"Shocking! In our civilized society, how could a seemingly respectable and successful person commit such a disgusting act!"

"Harvey Weinstein is committing a crime!"

"Where's 911? Where's the FBI? There's a rapist here!"

"I'm keeping an eye on this and waiting for a follow-up. If this goes unnoticed, America is doomed."

Besides major websites like TMZ, the videos uploaded to hundreds of second-tier websites in Europe and America quickly attracted attention.

The flames of public opinion have been ignited.

…………

In a Beverly Hills mansion, a couple started arguing again.

Georgina looked coldly at her husband Harvey and asked sharply, "Besides Nicole Kidman, is there anyone else?"

Harvey spread his hands: "No, there's no one else."

"You still won't admit it at a time like this?" Georgina looked extremely angry. "You used roles to lure Nicole Kidman, so you must have lured others too!"

Harvey forced a smile and said, "After marrying you, Nicole Kidman was the first."

Georgina asked, "Did you do this a lot before you married me?"

"No." Harvey wasn't stupid; how could he admit it? "Absolutely not. I'm an investor and producer; I wouldn't stoop to doing something like that..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of a car door being slammed shut came from outside.

Amidst hurried footsteps, Xavi's second-in-command, Lombardo, rushed in from outside, ignoring Georgina's presence, and exclaimed, "Something's happened! Quick, check the news on the TMZ homepage!"

Harvey asked, "What is it?"

"Someone filmed it at the Four Seasons Hotel," Lombardo said quickly. "It's now on TMZ."

Harvey was furious upon hearing this and demanded of Georgina, "You secretly filmed this?"

Georgina was taken aback at first, then her mind raced. She deliberately puffed out her chest and raised her head, exuding an arrogant air: "That's right, I took the picture."

Without saying a word, Harvey raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face, making a crisp sound.

Georgina turned her head to one side.

She was no simpleton either; even with her head buzzing, she made an instinctive reaction.

His legs went weak, his feet twisted, and he fell to one side.

Georgina slammed onto the shelf next to her with a loud thud, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Her left forearm hit the edge of the wood and turned red visibly very quickly.

Lombardo was stunned. What was going on? But he quickly realized what was happening and said, "It's not about now, it's about several years ago."

Harvey was also stunned for a moment, and was so angry that he wanted to kick Lombard. However, the incident from a few years ago made him take it very seriously, so he quickly went to the computer room on one side of the living room.

The two people left quickly.

Georgina's face burned with pain; she knew it was swollen without even looking in a mirror. Staring at Harvey's fat, ugly back, she clenched her teeth in hatred.

I didn't realize it before, but after getting involved with Martin, I started to dislike Harvey more and more.

Comparisons are always prone to causing harm.

Georgina got up from the floor and looked at a teddy bear on the cabinet.

That thing was placed quite high, in a special position, overlooking the entire living room.

Georgina turned her face to face the teddy bear's eyes and showed off her arm. Because her skin was fair enough, the red marks on her arm were very noticeable.

That wasn't enough. She was prepared, so she took out the iPhone Martin had given her and started snapping photos of her face and arms.

Georgina remembered Martin saying that men either hit women zero times or countless times.

Once the first step is taken, it will be done frequently and will never stop!

Georgina thought it made perfect sense.

After taking the photos and putting away her phone, she remembered what Lombardo had just said, so she immediately went upstairs to get her laptop, logged into the TMZ website, and saw a shocking news headline as soon as the page refreshed.

Georgina clicked on it, and the video inside made her slightly stunned. Although she had heard some rumors about Harvey, she had always thought it was a mutually agreeable deal like Nicole Kidman's.

The young actress in the video was completely forced!

He shouted his refusal, but Harvey pinned him down.

Although she is cunning and her marriage to Harvey was driven by complicated motives, and she also had an affair with Martin, Georgina considered herself a good woman and utterly despised Harvey's behavior!

Harvey, that bastard, betrayed her, and in this way at that!

Georgina scrolled down the video and saw the comments, feeling ashamed of being Harvey Weinstein's wife.

It wasn't just the physical pain from Harvey's slap, but also the psychological impact. Georgina is a normal woman; she felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.

He didn't want to have any contact with Harvey for even a moment.

On a whim, she switched to several websites and discovered that most of them featured Harvey's video news, with numerous victims.

Georgina touched her swollen and painful face, picked up her phone and dialed 911, crying, "Help me! Please help me! I'm suffering terrible domestic violence! I'm being beaten to death..."

Downstairs, Harvey sensed something was wrong. After watching TMZ's video, he immediately took out his phone and called TMZ's owner, Harvey Levin.

As soon as the call connected, he said, "Are you guys planning to start a war with me?"

Levin was having dinner with his children at home when he got up from the dining room and asked, "Harvey, what do you mean?"

Harvey said, "Your website put a news story about me on the front page! Don't tell me you didn't know..."

"Wait a moment, let me look into it." Levin hung up the phone, went to his study to check his computer, and immediately dialed Jody's number: "You published the news, why did you publish such news? Do you know how serious the consequences are?"

Jody replied, "Boss, you gave me the power to publish news. I still remember when you approached me and asked me to work for TMZ, saying you wanted to create a news website that dared to expose any dirt. You told me that no matter who was involved, we had to have the courage to reveal the truth!"

She was already prepared to leave: "It was because of your support, boss, that I persevered even when I was facing such serious personal threats while covering Pitt and Ben Affleck's story."

Levin said, "This time it's different; Pitt and Ben are just celebrities."

Jody cautioned, "Boss, the people who provide me with news aren't just from our company; other media outlets are too."

Levin opened several websites and found that it was indeed the case, and his opinion immediately changed.

This time, he wasn't alone in bearing the pressure, so what was there to be afraid of? He said, "Jody, continue digging deeper, but without my permission, you're not allowed to release anything else. Wait until we've collected enough information!"

Jody replied, "I understand, boss."

Levin had just hung up when Harvey called again, but he didn't answer. He waited until the ringing stopped and then turned off his phone.

Neither rejecting nor cooperating.

Levin returned to the restaurant and said to his wife, "We haven't gone on vacation in ages, how about we go on a road trip?"

The wife smiled: "Really? That's wonderful!"

Harvey couldn't get through to Levin on the phone, and angrily cursed a few words that started with the letter F.

Lombardo answered a phone call, his face darkening further. He said to Harvey, "Boss, it's not just one website."

Harvey quickly switched to several websites, and nearly half of them contained news about him.

"What should we do?" Lombardo asked.

"Don't panic, stay calm." Harvey picked up his phone and called Quentin Tarantino, Matt Damon, and Robert Rodriguez, asking them to help him put pressure on the media.

Then, he personally called some media executives.

But after only a few calls were made, the police lights at the main gate started flashing!

Upstairs, Georgina took out the copied storage disk and handed it to her trusted assistant, saying, "Take this to Martin later and tell him that if he can't contact me by 8 p.m., he needs to find a way to rescue me as soon as possible."

The assistant wrote it down, then picked up the storage disk and inserted it into the cleavage.

(End of this chapter)