Seth Meyers calls out “powerful, predatory” men and the system that sustains them on Late Night

One of the most predictably gross things about the unendingly horrific revelations emerging about Hollywood mogul and copiously accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein is how fans of the accused sexual predator currently occupying the Oval Office have hypocritically turned Weinstein’s (and only Weinstein’s) criminally sleazy acts into a partisan political issue. Well, on last night’s Full Frontal, Samantha Bee wasn’t having it, and, on Thursday’s Late Night, Seth Meyers wasn’t either. Meyers devoted his “A Closer Look” segment to a broader condemnation of “the entitled mind of powerful, predatory men who are used to operating without consequence,” one that took on not just individuals like Weinstein, Trump, and disgraced and deceased Fox News head Roger Ailes, but—noting that three of the most powerful men in entertainment, politics, and news are all similarly implicated—the “systemic misogyny that exists at the highest levels of society.”

Meyers mocked the rehab-bound-for-PR-purposes Weinstein’s excuse-riddled apology for his shitty behavior on several uncompromising fronts. As to Weinstein’s stated “I grew up in a different time” nonsense, and that of an associate calling the producer “an old dinosaur” who needs to learn new tricks, Meyers scoffed, “Dinosaurs don’t learn new tricks—they go extinct.” He also pointed out that the (sort of) outwardly contrite mogul is already plotting both a “comeback” and revenge, with him having threatened legal action against both the women who’ve come forward and the media outlets that published their allegations. As Meyers reminded us with some awfully similar-sounding clips from then-candidate Trump, bullying and intimidation is the desperate, cornered rich asshole’s M.O., as Trump infamously threatened to sue the many women who accused him of everything from sexual harassment to the sort of hands-on violation he bragged about in that “locker room talk” his buddies at Fox News and shame-averse Trump toadies like Kellyanne Conway and Sebastian Gorka continue to blithely excuse.

Going on to call out those like Gorka who blame women for daring to be alone with a man, and those who use this latest example of a wealthy male cretin to smear powerful women (like Hillary Clinton) for not denouncing Weinstein fast or forcefully enough, Meyers said, well, “enough.” “Can’t believe I have to say this but you should be able to be alone with a woman and not sexually assault her,” stated the suitably pissed-off Meyers, who concluded, “This should not be a partisan issue, and women should not be held accountable for the predatory behavior of men.” And, like Bee on Wednesday, Meyers lauded the fact that it looks like Weinstein—who has been ousted from his company and marriage for his crimes—is actually going to face real-world consequences for his lifetime of misogyny and abuse. (Indeed, there are indications that some suspiciously dropped criminal investigations may be stirring back to life after much public outcry.) But, as Meyers notes, “Harvey Weinstein was, after far too long, found out, and fired. Donald Trump has been found out for a year, and we’re still waiting.”