40 29 February-1 March 2020 Weekend Fin The Australian Financial Review | www.afr.com AFR

Chiu was a 24-year-old Oxford graduate and had worked for Weinstein for just two months in the Miramax London office. She WEINSTEIN’S says he tried to rape her in a hotel room dur- ing the Venice film festival in 1998. Weinstein denies he assaulted Chiu. Now an advocate for the MeToo move- ment, Chiu is speaking out against the use of SECRET non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence victims of sexual assault. She is also calling for a cultural shift where rape vic- tims aren’t treated like criminals and is lob- WEAPON bying for laws to end harassment and abuse MeToo For decades, the sexual predator hid behind in the workplace. ‘‘NDAs have been weaponised into a legal non-disclosure agreements and hush money, document that hide actual crimes,’’ Chiu told AFR Weekend. ‘‘Corporations are now one accuser tells Natasha Boddy. saying, ‘Sign this NDA, take this money, we can make this go away’. Companies should not be permitted to use these NDAs as a way of silencing victims because it helps these corporations maintain their good name.’’ owena Chiu was hit by bracing for full acquittal,’’ she says. For almost 20 years, Chiu could tell no a wave of emotion as In her first Australian interview since one about what happened to her in 1998 she watched her for- Weinstein’s guilty verdict this week, because of a non-disclosure agreement she mer boss, Harvey 45-year-old Chiu says the case has exposed signed. It was known that Weinstein was a Weinstein, being led the frailty and inappropriateness of the legal ‘‘bully’’ with a ‘‘legendary temper’’ and an out of a New York system when dealing with rape cases. ‘‘adulterer’’ who was inappropriate with courtroom shackled ‘‘It’s a well-known statistic that only 2 per women and his female staff. in handcuffs. She was cent of rapes ever reach convictions so we’re ‘‘There were rumours about him, that he conflicted, torn, confused. And it caught her in that lucky category to even get a partial was unfaithful to his wife and he’d ask for Rby surprise. conviction,’’ says the British-born mother of massages from assistants or liked to strut ‘‘So I kind of thought that if there’d be any four from Silicon Valley. around naked,’’ Chiu says. kind of conviction that I would feel some ‘‘I think there needs to be systemic ‘‘Now that I’m in my mid-40s, I look back sense of elation and jubilation. I think many change because the process was hor- at [myself as] someone who was young and people did feel that,’’ says Chiu, who has rific. For the six women who were up desperate to get into film and think I was accused the former movie mogul of trying to there, it was as though they were on naive. What was interesting about Holly- rape her in 1998 when she was his assistant. trial. Their private lives were on trial, Rowena Chiu regrets signing a non-disclosure wood was the sense of normalisation of this Chiu says she is in awe of the six brave their morality was on trial. All of it deal, Harvey Weinstein. PHOTO: KATHY LABARRE kind of behaviour.’’ women who took the stand as well as the was laid bare. They were criticised But when it came to Weinstein’s sexual 100 women, like her, who have spoken out for friendly emails, maintaining con- sexual assault, and one count of rape in the predations, it would take until 2017 for the but not had their day in court and the scores tact with Harvey Weinstein. first degree. truth to be fully exposed. of others who are pushing for change in the They had to live up to this myth of a Chiu says she was sexually assaulted by ‘‘Harvey was considered a sex pest. The fallout of the MeToo movement. perfect rape victim.’’ Weinstein, a secret she kept for almost 20 reality of who he turned out to be was so ‘‘To kind of get to a point where there was Weinstein was convicted of rape in years, including from her Australian-born much worse,’’ Chiu says. "The first night that even a partial conviction was very awe- the third degree and a criminal husband Andrew Cheung, who didn’t find I was alone in a hotel room [in Venice] with inspiring to see the power of all that coming sexual act but was acquitted of the out until 2017. She shared her story for the him involved a lot of badgering, a lot of pes- together but honestly, I think a lot of us were most serious charge, predatory first time in the book She Said. tering, a lot of, you know, promises that I THE BIZARRE WORLD OF ‘PRISON PREPPERS’ Hard cell The former movie mogul has paid consultants to help him adjust to life inside, writes Luke Mintz.

teve Dagworthy had never will be grateful: when he leaves the hospital received so much as a school prison ward to which he was rushed after detention when, in 2009, he suffering heart palpitations following his was escorted into Chelmsford conviction, the 67-year-old will be held at prison to begin a six-year sen- Rikers Island, a notorious New York jail that tence for fraud. Until then, the housed Sex Pistols punk Sid Vicious and S44-year-old had lived a quiet, middle-class Mark Chapman, the man who killed John existence with his wife and two children in Lennon. Essex, where he worked as a financial Rikers has been plagued by overcrowding broker. and gang brutality and there have been Prison was an environment he knew only allegations of human rights violations, and from television and he was staggered by just conditions are so brutal that in 2017 mayor how little his lawyers had prepared him for Bill de Blasio vowed to shut it down within a life behind bars. decade. He was a stranger to what his fellow Dagworthy tells his British clients that inmates called ‘‘cell etiquette’’, for example, their first six months inside will be domin- such as the rule that whoever arrives first in ated by fear and bewilderment. ‘‘The prison a cell gets the bottom bunk. And he was van might as well have been a spaceship, ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● appalled to witness bloody knife fights because it put me into a whole new world,’’ among his fellow inmates, some of whom he says. ‘‘I liken it to arriving in North Korea. WHAT TO EXPECT | YOUR FIRST TIME IN JAIL ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● planted ‘‘shivs’’ in the handles of tooth- The sights, smells, sounds, the language the brushes. other prisoners speak was all alien to me. Steve Dagworthy’s British company on a community phone. within the first three months you Upon his release in 2012, Dagworthy ‘‘Most middle-class prisoners will come provides the following advice to its ■ A significant minority of your will be offered illegal drugs and founded Prison Consultants, Britain’s first across as slightly different to the rest. clients entering the prison system: fellow prisoners will suffer from witness violence. jail time advice service, which teaches They’re not of the villainous nature, they mental illness, personality disorders ■ All your post can be read by wealthy clients how to adapt to life inside. probably speak slightly differently, they ■ Your first experience of prison will or have an addiction of some kind. prison officers. The bizarre (and expanding) world of probably don’t understand the language. be 21 out of 24 hours per day locked ■ You will be given a set of heavily ■ Upon arrival at prison all prisoners, these ‘‘prison preppers’’ was highlighted ‘‘Then, about six months in, clients will up, probably in a shared cell and overused bedding, prison clothes regardless of their crime, are treated this week by Harvey Weinstein, who hired reach their realisation point – when the with a shared toilet. You will be fed and underwear. equally; white collar offenders start his own prison consultant shortly before his adrenaline stops pumping. You’ve realised food that costs pennies and tastes ■ You will not know what the prison at the same level and in the same conviction for third-degree rape, for which this is your home now and then the enorm- unpleasant. rules are but you will be punished if cells as hardened career criminals he faces up to 25 years in prison. ity hits you, and the stress you put on your ■ You will be lucky if you have 10 you break them. and repeat offenders. For thousands of dollars, experts say, the family. That’s a massive low point. It took minutes each day to call your family ■ There is a real likelihood that SOURCE: PRISONCONSULTANTS.CO.UK unnamed consultant will most likely me about two weeks to get through. explain to Weinstein how to survive life in He advises his clients to find something to the slammer as an ultra-recognisable sex fill their day, but to keep away from jobs that Above: a court artist ence will depend massively on where he is punch him’’ – as demonstrated by Edward offender, going into everything from how to might put them in an awkward position. If captured the held after sentencing. High-security institu- Norton’s character in American History X, deal with his fellow inmates to how to fill his you work in the kitchen, for example, you moment when tions such as Rikers are ‘‘violent and danger- who gets into a brawl to prepare for his spell long, empty days. might be asked to provide extra food to cer- Harvey Weinstein ous’’, but Weinstein may eventually be inside – is ‘‘horrible advice’’, Parker says. It is a lesson that the Hollywood mogul tain inmates. was escorted from moved to a medium-security facility, which, Your relationship with fellow inmates is far may have taken from Bernie Madoff, the dis- But what of US prisons, such as the one in the Manhattan in Parker’s experience ‘‘wasn’t that bad’’. more important than that with the guards, graced financier who reportedly hired his which Weinstein will find himself? courtroom after his In order to survive – and even thrive – he whom you should keep at arm’s length in own consultant to help him adjust to his David Parker*, who spent 12 years in the conviction. PHOTOS: says Weinstein will need to show respect to case you are seen to be currying favour. 150-year federal prison sentence. US federal system and now also works as a ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, his fellow inmates. The adage that you Parker says: ‘‘When I went in, I kept look- And it is a service for which Weinstein prison consultant, says Weinstein’s experi- AP should ‘‘find the biggest guy you can and ing to the guards for guidance on what you AFRGA1 0040 29 February-1 March 2020 41 AFR www.afr.com | The Australian Financial Review Weekend Fin

would get ahead in the film industry if I did often doesn’t know how they’re going to feel these sexual favours for him. in 10, 20 years. We didn’t. ‘‘The second night, things racheted up a ‘‘As for not being able to tell anyone, I THE BROAD CHURCH lot. It started ‘normally’: we talked through can’t measure the extent of the trauma. It scripts, he begged for a massage, he told me was hugely traumatic." OF KILBEY’S CAREER how much he loved Chinese girls because Chiu says she twice attempted suicide. we were discreet. Chiu and Perkins tried to get clauses New music The once po-faced writer of serious pop gems ‘‘The cajoling went up a step, it turned included in their NDAs to protect other into inappropriate touching; I was frigh- women, including a requirement that if is now happy to play ’80s package shows or teach tened and tried to back away but in the end, Weinstein assaulted another person, settled he held me down on to the bed and parted with them and paid them £35,000 or more, songcraft to kids, writes Michael Bailey. my legs and said, ‘Just one thrust and it’ll all it would trigger his resignation from be over’.’’ Miramax and a report to Disney. Chiu confided in fellow Miramax assist- ‘‘I think if one had a crystal ball and knew ant and friend Zelda Perkins, who confron- where one would be in five years’ time, 10 ted Weinstein. years, 20 years’ time, and what you had to go The two resigned and found lawyers, but through in terms of the trauma and the pro- what happened to Chiu during that trip cessing, I don’t think women will be as quick remained buried for almost two decades. to sign NDAs.’’ Chiu and Perkins were paid a settlement Chiu says the sheer number of women who have come out with allegations against Weinstein is staggering and she is amazed They had to live up at how it has triggered an entire movement. ‘‘Society was no more saying: ‘Oh, slap on to this myth of a the hand, naughty boy, get to work.’ They perfect rape victim. were saying: ‘No, we’re not accepting it any Rowena Chiu, former Weinstein more. You’re fired’. And that was kind of assistant unimaginable a few years ago,’’ she says. Chiu says although Weinstein’s guilty ver- dict has brought some relief, she won’t sleep of £125,000 each and signed a restrictive until he is behind bars and paying for his non-disclosure agreement, which was so crimes. Weinstein is awaiting sentencing on suffocating it couldn’t be discussed even March 11 and also faces a separate trial in with family, doctors, therapists or lawyers. Los Angeles. She says she was never given a copy of it. On his way to Rikers Island prison, he ‘‘From the get-go, we had no intention of suffered heart palpitations and was admit- signing an NDA. When the issue of money ted to the prison wing of Manhattan’s Belle- was first brought up, I felt really offended, I vue Hospital where he is being cared for. Collaborators: Kate Ceberano, and Sean Sennett. PHOTO: JUSTINE WALPOLE thought, ‘I can’t be bought, this is like blood Chiu believes that although Weinstein money’,’’ Chiu says. has brought about a long overdue move- ity Steve Kilbey’s financial would start saying ‘‘yes’’ to everything. If he’s Although Chiu is still bound by the agree- ment, the fight is far from over. planner. "My whole career, I asked, he’ll visit primary schools to hold ment, she is breaking her silence on the ‘‘If we’re really going to provide protec- get these huge chunks of cash songwriting workshops, or hospitals to play back of the groundswell of support for the tions for our daughters and grand- coming in, then long periods for sick fans. MeToo movement. daughters, we need to make actual concrete of nothing,’’ says the singer- ‘‘Being a singer-songwriter’s my vocation. ‘‘The fact that so many women have spoken change in the legal system and the political songwriter, best known for So I’ll jump at a chance to do it and be of out about Harvey, he can’t sue each and every system around policy,’’ she says. W Pfounding and fronting psychedelic rock benefit,’’ he says. ‘‘If Play School or Eurovi- one of us,’’ she says. "One of the problems with ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● band The Church, from behind his sun- sion asked me to write a song, I’d bring as signing an NDA is that the victim at the time Lifeline 131 114 | 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 glasses and neat grey beard. much aplomb and integrity to it as I could.’’ Case in point: many of us would have last Kilbey wasn’t always so open-minded. He seen Kilbey on ABC TV’s New Year’s Eve owns up to an arrogance that contributed to concert at the Sydney Opera House, singing The Church being a fractious unit, unable to The Church’s shimmering 1988 masterpiece pull together and solidify the mainstream . US success promised when Starfish, the ‘‘I got eight grand for that, which for a guy album containing Milky Way, sold 600,000 whose dad made $150 a week, slogging it out copies there. as a foreman, still does my head in,’’ Kilbey ‘‘I remember sitting there on [‘80s music says, his accent retaining vestiges of his Eng- TV show] Sounds thinking, ‘I’m a poet, I’m lish birthplace in Hertfordshire, which he too good to be on here’,’’ Kilbey recalls. left at five before settling in Canberra. ‘‘Then in the break [host] Donnie Suther- Contrast that with 2015, when The land grabs me and yells, ‘Why’d you f---ing Church toured the US for six weeks and come on if you’re not going to say anything!’ cleared the princely sum of $1300 each, get- He was right.’’ Rikers prison ting that much only because drummer Tim Founding lead guitarist Marty Wilson- featured in the film Powles flew into a rage and grabbed extra Piper quit The Church in 2013, and founding The Shawshank cash off the tour manager’s table. rhythm guitarist Peter Koppes followed last Redemption, top ‘‘Between the extremes, you end up having year, leaving Kilbey as the only original left, and a no real sense of what money’s worth. That’s member. Probably for good. documentary, left. probably why in the past I spent what I did ‘‘Looking back on it, the others probably Above: Steve get so cavalierly,’’ Kilbey says with a sigh. thought I was an overbearing tyrant, and I Dagworthy turned AFR Weekend is meeting the author of at thought they were unappreciative they’d his time inside into a least two other songs to have been canon- met a guy who could actually write songs,’’ business. ised as Australian rock classics – 1981’s The Kilbey says. PHOTOS: AP, GETTY Unguarded Moment and 1982’s Almost With Sipping a coffee, he describes the gradual You – in a cafe next to the Sydney studios of poisoning of inter-band relationships, Network 10. Kilbey’s just been on, promot- where an incident as trivial as his stepping ing a new album which, in a parallel uni- on someone’s toes on the way to the stage at verse, would be getting high rotation too. Rydalmere Family Inn – he’s specific on this The Dangerous Age is Kilbey’s collabora- location – becomes a perceived slight that tion with Kate Ceberano, composer and festers for years. singer of a few classics herself (she’s sitting, ‘‘Then it’s, ‘You got a better room than me’, distractingly, at the next table) as well as or ‘Why were you in business class?’, or do and when you do it, and quickly found Dagworthy advises against any display of Sean Sennett, a journalist and musician ‘Why’d that journalist write you played my out that that was absolutely the wrong thing largesse, saying gangs have been known to who’s recorded with the likes of Daddy Cool’s guitar solo?’, and it all magnifies over the dec- to do. threaten wealthy inmates with violence Ross Wilson and Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst. ades until you f---ing hate each other,’’ he says. ‘‘The advice I give my clients is look for unless their families, on the outside, pay up. It’s an album of sophisticated adult pop However, the po-faced Kilbey of old is now someone who looks like you and get them to But there is no harm, he thinks, in a well- whose literate, character-driven songs a man prepared to laugh at himself, as is evid- teach you the ropes.’’ connected inmate such as Weinstein using smoulder rather than self-actualise, and are ent on the new album’s standout title track. Weinstein’s own situation will be com- their education to help others, like Andy played with live instruments rather than Over chiming Church-inspired chords, plicated, of course, by the fact that he is now Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption,an laptops. Ceberano sings Kilbey’s mock biography one of the most widely known sex offenders accountant who thrives by doling out finan- All of which, in 2020, destines The Dan- with breathy intensity: Stevie K had his hey- in history. It is likely he will be placed in pro- cial advice. ‘‘There’s high levels of illiteracy gerous Age to the more fallow side of day/In the distant past/ That song just don’t tective custody, Parker thinks, to stop him in prison. They’re getting letters from family Kilbey’s financial situation. Luckily, at 65, belong now, we’re all aghast. meeting the same fate as James ‘‘Whitey’’ or lawyers, and they can’t reply. Anyone he’s past the age of worrying about it. It’s a multi-level joke. For one, Heyday was Bulger, the organised crime boss who was who can read and write is always useful.’’ ‘‘We did an experimental gig for this the name of the album The Church recorded beaten to death in his West Virginia cell in Ultimately, Parker says, Weinstein might record in Queensland, and Kate’s there play- in 1986, its backward-looking title a sneer to October 2018. This may shield him from not have such a terrible time in prison as he ing drums with a snare skin round her neck local critics who were already writing off the violent inmates, protective custody but it expects: ‘‘What eventually happens is that and a kids’ kit at her feet; really cool, such a band. The record ended up paving the way means less freedom, too. your former life falls away. So it’s not what great night,’’ he says. for The Church’s commercial peak. Although Parker would not recommend am I missing – my girlfriend, my family?. ‘‘Then last weekend I was at the Rooty Hill Kilbey is still writing compulsively, now for it, some ultra-wealthy clients such as Instead, it’s: ‘On Tuesdays, I play the sports Coliseum on an ‘80s package show, singing a coming album with a new-look The Church. Weinstein decide to bribe other inmates, league’, or ‘on Thursdays, I go watch a f---ing Unguarded Moment – this thing I ‘‘I’m always gathering snippets. I was in a either by buying objects such as radios and movie in the library’. The first six months knocked out in five minutes 40 years ago, business meeting the other day and some- MP3 players at the prison commissary, or are really hard. The last six months are also which means nothing to me personally any one said, ‘Ask for everything, they can only by arranging payments to be made outside really hard. But the 10 years in between, more – but then you see the audience light say no’. That’s now the first line of the prison: ‘‘There are probably going to be peo- they’re really not that bad.’’ W up, and that’s really gratifying as well.’’ record,’’ he says. W ple around,’’ says Parker, ‘‘think of them as THE TELEGRAPH, LONDON When Kilbey got clean of heroin in 2000, ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● groupies. They want to be a wealthy per- ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● a habit that consumed his royalties (and The Dangerous Age by Kate Ceberano, Steve son’s friend.’’ *Name has been changed nearly him) for a decade, he decided he Kilbey and Sean Sennett is out now. AFRGA1 0041