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#MeToo: Women across the world resonate Weinstein's accusers

WION Web Team
United StatesUpdated: Oct 16, 2017, 05:31 PM IST
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Millions of women across the world have been sharing their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in an online campaign using the hashtag #MeToo on Twitter and with rolling posts on Facebook. Photograph:(Reuters)

Women facing sexual harassment and assault took over social media trends today with #MeToo trending across Twitter, Facebook etcetera.

The hashtag started going viral on Sunday night after Actress Alyssa Milano tweeted out suggesting that women should speak up on social media to let the world know that the problem of sexual violence is far more widespread than it is believed to be. 

By Monday evening, sections of the international press reported that Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein's company was in talks with US private equity firm, Colony Capital, for the sale of The Weinstein Company. 

Miano's viral tweet comes in the wake of a series of complaints against Hollywood film studio boss Harvey Weinstein, who is accused of sexual harassment and assault by several actresses, including some top names like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone. 

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Milano, who cited a friend's suggestion to do this, sent out a tweet on Sunday night sharing the suggestion of a friend of hers that the "Me Too status might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem".  

The tweet touched a raw nerve with women across the world who then started sharing the #MeToo status across social media platforms, along with their personal stories.  

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After the controversy broke out, Weinstein was ousted from the Oscar awards committee and French President Emmanuel Macaron moved to strip Weinstein of his Legion of Honor award since his actions "lacked honour".  

Reuters reported that Milano’s original tweet received over 37,000 comments, and the hashtag was one of the top trends on Twitter in Britain and the United States. About 7 million were discussing “Me Too” on Facebook on Monday.