A simple, two-word phrase flooded Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on Sunday night and Monday morning: “me too.”
Women posted the phrase at the urging of actress Alyssa Milano, who on Sunday suggested that women write “me too” if they’d been the victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault.
“If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem,” she wrote.
The campaign, which Milano credited to a friend, came amid a snowballing scandal related to the alleged sexual misconduct of film producer Harvey Weinstein.
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As of Monday morning, more than 6 million Facebook users were “talking about” me too and the #metoo hashtag was trending on Twitter.
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. Pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017
Some women simply wrote the two words, while others used it as an opportunity to share stories about their abuse.
I was young, breaking into journalism. He, an editor. Invited me into his motel room. I still feel uncomfortable naming the newspaper #metoohttps://t.co/n8r38j76rw
— 🇺🇸 Diane 🚲 DCD 🇺🇸 (@DianeDulken) October 16, 2017
Ask a woman if she has ever been a target of sexual assault or harassment. She'll respond "Which time?"#MeToo#allwomen
— 🌻 Emily Brandwin 🌻 (@CIAspygirl) October 16, 2017
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) October 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/DebraMessing/status/919668578357452800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F4983500%2Fharvey-weinstein-sexual-harassment-campaign-metoo-social-media-campaign%2F
Milano, who starred in Who’s the Boss? And Melrose Place, also appeared in Charmed alongside actress Rose McGowan, who last week accused Weinstein of raping her. (Through a spokesperson, Weinstein denied allegations of non-consensual sex.) Twitter briefly suspended McGowan last week as she tweeted about the Weinstein scandal, which prompted another outcry of female solidarity as women boycotted the social media platform to protest its silencing of women’s voices.