The Witch Hunt for Sexual Misconduct in Hollywood
Weeks ago, Harvey Weinstein, of the Weinstein Company & Miramax, was exposed in The New York Times and The New Yorker of accusations of rape, sexual assault and harassment by over a dozen women. Unfortunately, this isn't the first we've heard of it. Whispers of his behavior had been around for over a decade and that only added fuel to the fire of this exposure. It was reported that other actors and titans in the industry were either covering it up, or knowingly ignoring the problem. Gwyneth Paltrow spoke up to her then significant other, Brad Pitt, about Weinstein suggesting they go into the bedroom for "massages" after talking over a film deal when she was only 22. Pitt confronted him but eventually the problem became dust in the wind.
The issue that arose from this was a continual problem in Hollywood: Casey Affleck settling out of court on the sexual assault of two women, Woody Allen's several allegations against him in the past 25 years, Johnny Depp's emotional and physical abuse of ex-wife Amber Heard, and Bill Cosby's treatment of women for over the past 30 years. The problem isn't just in Hollywood, of course, but it seems that a string of cover ups and willful ignorance have run rampant for far too long.
After Weinstein's exposure, more actors have been following suit. It was revealed that Kevin Spacey had sexually assaulted another actor, who was 14 at the time, and used this exposure as a crutch to come out as gay. Those of the LGBTQ+ community were outraged that he used the assault and furthered stereotypes that gay men are inherently predators.
Louis C.K. was exposed, and he admitted, that he masturbated in front of people. George Takei was accused of "touching men" inappropriately. The cast of One Tree Hill took to Twitter to expose Mark Schwahn, the former creator and showrunner, of sexual misconduct. He was suspended from his current show, The Royals, following these allegations.
Many have called this series of events a "witch hunt," namely Woody Allen, and that this needs to stop. However, the vast majority are calling this justice. The reason so much news has come out at once is because the action that was taken against Weinstein showed that Hollywood is changing, that they aren't tolerating this kind of behavior anymore, that people will have to face real consequences that money and connections won't solve.
How have these events affected you? Leave a comment below!
The issue that arose from this was a continual problem in Hollywood: Casey Affleck settling out of court on the sexual assault of two women, Woody Allen's several allegations against him in the past 25 years, Johnny Depp's emotional and physical abuse of ex-wife Amber Heard, and Bill Cosby's treatment of women for over the past 30 years. The problem isn't just in Hollywood, of course, but it seems that a string of cover ups and willful ignorance have run rampant for far too long.
After Weinstein's exposure, more actors have been following suit. It was revealed that Kevin Spacey had sexually assaulted another actor, who was 14 at the time, and used this exposure as a crutch to come out as gay. Those of the LGBTQ+ community were outraged that he used the assault and furthered stereotypes that gay men are inherently predators.
Louis C.K. was exposed, and he admitted, that he masturbated in front of people. George Takei was accused of "touching men" inappropriately. The cast of One Tree Hill took to Twitter to expose Mark Schwahn, the former creator and showrunner, of sexual misconduct. He was suspended from his current show, The Royals, following these allegations.
Many have called this series of events a "witch hunt," namely Woody Allen, and that this needs to stop. However, the vast majority are calling this justice. The reason so much news has come out at once is because the action that was taken against Weinstein showed that Hollywood is changing, that they aren't tolerating this kind of behavior anymore, that people will have to face real consequences that money and connections won't solve.
How have these events affected you? Leave a comment below!
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