The person behind those problematic #SheKnew posters has been revealed — and you will be furious
On December 19th, posters with Meryl Streep’s face on them were plastered across the streets of L.A. “She Knew,” the posters proclaimed in white text on a red bar stamped across Streep’s eyes. Soon, #SheKnew set Twitter afire. And now, a right-wing artist has taken responsibility for the posters.
The creator of the posters goes by the name Sabo. A former U.S. Marine, he told The Guardian in June that he believes “leftism is a mental disorder.” The 49-year-old artist said that he and his two collaborators devised the posters as a way to get revenge on Streep for using her latest movie, The Post, to speak out against Trump.
“She’s swiping at us, so we’re swiping back,” Sabo told The Guardian.
The posters imply that Streep knew about sexual assault allegations against Weinstein while she was working with him. In the illustration used for the posters, Weinstein stands next to Streep.
But Sabo told The Guardian that he wasn’t sure if Streep really knew about what Weinstein had done.
“I wasn’t sitting in a room with her,” he said. “I can’t say 100 percent. But I’d say anyone in the [film] industry had a pretty good idea. I think she knew. Maybe she was providing Weinstein with the fresh meat.”
On December 19th, Sabo tweeted that he had “absooooooolutelyyy nothing to do with” the posters. But he asked his followers to share a link to a story in The Hollywood Reporter about the incident. The next day, he once again took to Twitter to acknowledge that he was, in fact, behind the posters. He then urged his followers to purchase the poster on his website.
FOR STARTERS ... I HAD ABSOOOOOOOLUTELYYYYY NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. ... HOWEVER, WITH THAT BEING SAID AND OUT OF THE WAY. WOULD YOU DO ME A FAVOR AND RETWEET THE SHIT OUT OF THIS! AND IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO LEAVE A COMMENT IN THE STORY. https://t.co/1TOo969EdX
— unsavoryagents (@unsavoryagents) December 19, 2017
"SHE KNEW" by UNSAVORYAGENTS
BY "UNSAVORYAGENTS" I MEAN JUST THAT. THIS WAS A GROUP EFFORT PULLED OFF BY WHAT I WAS HOPING WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME A COLLABORATIVE THAT GO BY THAT NAME.
SUPPORT THE CAUSE BY PURCHASING A COPY VIA THIS LINK. https://t.co/oLSMOuneAJ pic.twitter.com/IMNdjaepJh— unsavoryagents (@unsavoryagents) December 20, 2017
Actress Rose McGowan publicly accused Streep of knowing about Weinstein’s abuse in a since-deleted tweet on December 16th. Streep responded by issuing a statement denying that she had any prior knowledge of Weinstein’s actions.
Posters declaring “She Knew” started appearing in L.A. just after Meryl Streep issued a statement denying ever being aware of Harvey Weinstein’s behavior: https://t.co/Ub5bSCZLFJ pic.twitter.com/fuxw2kM91J
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) December 20, 2017
Regardless of whether or not Streep knew, the #SheKnew posters are problematic for their blaming of women for men’s crimes. We stand by all victims of sexual abuse, and we will continue to hold the men responsible accountable for their actions.
