Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

The Newsroom (2017)

Kelli Giddish: Detective Amanda Rollins

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Quotes 

• Olivia Benson : You all saw that, right?

  Amanda Rollins : On-air disclosure?

  Odafin Tutuola : We were watching you live. They couldn't cut away fast enough.

  Olivia Benson : Yeah, and then she told me that Harold Coyle raped her.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Coyle, huh? Heard a lot of rumors about that guy. He's paranoid, he's a predator.

  Amanda Rollins : How well do you know Heidi?

  Olivia Benson : We met at "Women in New York" panel years ago. We stayed in touch. I don't see her making this up.

• Mark James : This is her, Amy. She worked in public relations at "HNT".

  Amanda Rollins : Okay, can you tell us what happened?

  Mark James : Harold was always making moves, being flirty. She told him she was married.

  Olivia Benson : But he didn't stop.

  Mark James : No. He kept pressuring her, making sexual comments. She went along with it. Then one day, she said "no" to him. And he... raped her.

  Olivia Benson : She told you this?

  Mark James : Yes. I said we should go to the police, file a report.

  Amanda Rollins : Can I ask why you didn't?

  Mark James : She told me Harold had taped her. He had made it look like they were having an affair. Then after he raped her, he said if she went to the police, he'd release the tapes. She didn't want to hurt me. After that... she went into a depression. She committed suicide six months later.

  Olivia Benson : I'm so sorry.

  Mark James : I want you to go after that bastard and the network. They all knew about him and nobody did a thing.

  Amanda Rollins : Coyle threatened her directly?

  Mark James : His producer, Turner. He said if Amy wanted to go after Coyle, it would be scorched earth. "HNT" would destroy us.

• Gwendolyn Gates : I turned on the TV, saw Margery Evans spouting that inane defense of Harold. I couldn't stay silent any longer.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Thanks for coming in.

  Gwendolyn Gates : I should've known it wasn't just me.

  Amanda Rollins : Tell us what happened with Coyle.

  Gwendolyn Gates : You're gonna need more paper.

• Dominick Carisi Jr. : All right, so we got four women, all former "HNT" employees, with credible stories of harassment going back fifteen years.

  Rafael Barba : Okay, good. What's the bad news?

  Amanda Rollins : They're all allegations of misdemeanor assault, from over two years ago. Outside of the statute of limitations.

  Rafael Barba : Except for Heidi's rape, which is a he said/she said.

  Amanda Rollins : And one allegation of attempted rape. Alana Reed, twenty years old. She quit right after the incident.

  Rafael Barba : Tell me she went to HR.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : No, but she was George Thanos' assistant, and he already hates Coyle.

  Rafael Barba : And this gives him one more reason.

• Heidi Sorenson : It started day one, my job interview. Coyle said to me "Oh, you're beautiful, you're bright, you could be a star. But I interviewed five other women today that are just as qualified and I'm going to hire whoever shows me she wants it the most."

  Olivia Benson : And then what happened?

  Heidi Sorenson : He put his hand inside my blouse. Uh, and his tongue in my mouth. I was shocked, frozen. But I didn't run out of the room and I got the job.

  Amanda Rollins : And the behavior continued?

  Heidi Sorenson : Yeah. Touching, kissing, groping. He would demand that I wear... lacy pantie, thigh-high stockings. Before I went on the air, I'd have to give him a private fashion show and pretend to seduce him, and he would tape me.

  Olivia Benson : How long did this go on?

  Heidi Sorenson : Years. And I didn't think things could get any worse, until January they did.

  Olivia Benson : Okay. Tell us about that.

  Heidi Sorenson : The ratings were high and my contract was up, and I told Coyle if he wanted me to stay at "HNT", I wanted a promotion. He... he locked the door, threw me onto a couch, pulled up my skirt... and he raped me. I fought him, but I couldn't get away. He said if I complained, he'd release the tapes that he had, or worse. And that if I wasn't happy at the morning show, he'd hire Margery Evans.

  Amanda Rollins : So you didn't report it.

  Heidi Sorenson : No. I straightened myself up, walked out, and I went back to work. Like a good girl. Like a good, stupid girl.

  Olivia Benson : Did you confide in anyone?

  Heidi Sorenson : The irony is Margery was the one person I told. I was trying to warn her.