Watch Anita Hill And Aly Raisman Share Their #MeToo Stories On Stage Together

"We need to say this out loud."
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. ― Sometimes it takes a public story of abuse to set off a flood of other accounts. Few people understand that better than Anita Hill and Aly Raisman.

The attorney and the gymnast shared the stage at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards on Monday night to share their stories, this time together. Introduced by journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who first broke the news of decades of sexual misconduct and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Hill, Raisman, New York police officer Ann Cardenas and model Cameron Russell all shared #MeToo stories. The accounts spanned decades and industries, connecting women of different races, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and professions.

“In 1991, I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Clarence Thomas, who had repeatedly harassed me when he was my boss, was unsuitable to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Hill. “The outcome of my testimony was not what I’d hoped, but in no way was it the final word. In the five years after I testified, sexual harassment complaints filed with the EEOC more than doubled. Legislation against harassment slowly but surely began to pass. And I saw that we had a chance to shift this narrative.”

Soon after, Raisman shared what happened to her.

“Most people know me as a gymnast. But I am also a survivor,” she said. “I am among a huge number of young gymnasts abused by U.S. Olympic and USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. This man held a position of influence and power in the sport for over 20 years. And the extent of the harm he caused is beyond comprehension. More than 130 young women have filed lawsuits alleging abuse by Nassar, and we may never know how many others may be suffering in silence. I stand here for all of them.”

“We need to say this out loud,” Hill stressed to the crowd. “Women are entitled to work, and girls are entitled to go to school and compete like Aly does in places free of sexual harassment.”

At the end of the segment, Raisman asked people who had experienced assault, abuse or harassment to stand if they wanted. Cardenas then asked people to stand who had seen those in their lives go through similar experiences. Not a single person was still seated.

#MeToo. #MeToo. #MeToo. As Raisman said: “We are all in this together.”

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