Donna Karan Defends Weinstein — Says Women ‘Ask For It’

Donna Karan Image by Karen Leon

By Dave Goldiner October 10, 2017

Fashion designer Donna Karan defended Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein by suggesting women who dress provocatively are “asking for it.”

Weinstein’s other famous female friends Meryl Streep and Judi Dench condemned the film producer over a series of recent sexual harassment allegations against him.

The board of the Weinstein Company fired Weinstein, its co-founder, Sunday after it said it learned of new information about his behavior. Weinstein was already on a leave of absence after The New York Times last week published a report detailing his alleged harassment of a number of women, including actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.

But in a red carpet interview with the Daily Mail Sunday at the CinéFashion film awards in Los Angeles, Karan said women should consider what message they are sending with their wardrobe choices.

“I think we have to look at our world and what we want to say and how we want to say it. It’s not Harvey Weinstein, you look at everything all over the world today, you know how women are dressing, and what they are asking, by just presenting themselves they way they do. What are they asking for? Trouble.”

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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