Here’s Why Women Are Posting ‘Me Too’ on Facebook and Twitter

Women on Facebook and Twitter have been inspired to share their personal stories of sexual harassment with “Me Too” posts. Actress Alyssa Milano inspired the trend in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

On Sunday, Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”

Up Next: Twitter Rips Into Woody Allen Over Harvey Weinstein Remarks

“Suggested by a friend,” she wrote. “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.”

Milano then replied “Me too” to her own post. The original post earned over 16,000 retweets and 32,000 likes.

The “Me too” posts then migrated to Facebook, where even more women shared their personal stories.

In her October 9 statement on the Weinstein scandal, Milano said she was “happy” to see it begin a dialogue on sexual harassment and the degradation of women in the workplace.

“While I am sickened and angered over the disturbing accusations of Weinstein’s sexual predation and abuse of power, I’m happy – ecstatic even – that it has opened up a dialogue around the continued sexual harassment, objectification and degradation of women,” Milano wrote. “To the women who have suffered any form of abuse of power, I stand beside you. To the women who have come forward against a system that is designed to keep you silent, I stand in awe of you and appreciate you and your fortitude. It is not easy to disclose such experiences, especially in the public eye. Your strength will inspire others. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for fighting this battle so hopefully my daughter won’t have to.”

Up Next: Former TV Presenter Reveals She Was Accosted by Patrick Swayze

Several other celebrities joined Milano by using #MeToo to share their stories. Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood used the moment to share her own story of rape on her Twitter page. “Being raped once made it easier to be raped again. I instinctually shut down. My body remembered, so it protected me. I disappeared. #metoo,” she wrote. Lady Gaga simply wrote “#MeToo.”

The “Me Too” trend began in the wake of the Weinstein scandal. The disgraced Hollywood mogul has been accused of sexual harassing dozens of women going back to the 1980s. He was kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Saturday.