Alyssa Milano’s #MeToo hashtag sheds light on sexual assault
Actress Alyssa Milano rallies Twitter with a #MeToo call-to-action. Thousands of women respond, including Hollywood actresses, and reveal their own experiences with sexual harassment and assault
The hashtag #MeToo was trending on social media after actress Alyssa Milano asked victims of sexual harassment to come forward and let their voices be heard.
Milano, known for her roles in "Who's the Boss?" and "Charmed," took to Twitter on Sunday to ask her followers and members of the platform to respond "me too" to a tweet if they had been sexually harassed or assaulted.
The tweet, posted at 4:21 p.m. EST on Sunday, has been retweeted more than 13,000 times and liked over 26,000 times. The "Me too" response spread to Facebook as well, with Milano putting it on her page.
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Milano has over 3 million Twitter followers and 1.5 million fans on her Facebook page.
The #MeToo hashtag has been used over 200,00 times, according to the BBC, including from celebrities such as Evan Rachel Wood, Lady Gaga and Debra Messing.
The outcry on social media comes after a number of actresses, including Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan, have accused disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse, assault and in the case of British actor Lysette Anthony, rape.
The New York Times published a report on Oct. 5, exploring in detail the decades of alleged acts committed by Weinstein.
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Weinstein was fired from his production company, The Weinstein Company, and the Motion Picture Academy recently ousted Weinstein following decades of alleged abuse.
Weinstein has issued a statement, expressing regret for his actions in some of the cases.
In addition to women, men have also spoken up about sexual harassment, including some who have been assaulted themselves and others who are showing support for victims. Actor Terry Crews recently tweeted out details of an incident he suffered at the hands of an unnamed individual.
Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
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