Celeb (and Celeb SO's) Sexual Harassment Thread

[Irish]

I don't know, man. Same way that I think abolishing slavery in the US is a good thing despite Lincoln himself being a hypocrite. Or public education in Argentina is something I'm proud of, but Sarmiento (who fought for it) was straight up racist.

Dude. Did you really just conflate education and abolition to watching "Pulp Fiction"? Seriously? Or are you trying to say that Harvey can do whatever and it's fine as long as it either produces good entertainment or high art? Both of those arguments are gross.

Maybe this'll make it clearer: In my mind, Harvey is on the same level as Victor Salva and Roman Polanski. I wouldn't engage with their shit either, for similar reasons.

[Grouchy]

Well, if we're going to split hairs, I conflated abolition to making Pulp Fiction, not watching it.

In no way I'm trying to defend Weinstein. All evidence points to him abusing his power for years to have his way with women he couldn't get otherwise. But where do you draw the line? Do you want to remove Journey to the End of the Night and Alice in Wonderland from bookstores too? Apparently Rembrandt allowed his many children to starve to buy materials to paint with.

Besides, what Weinstein did is not the same as what Salva did and neither is the same as what Polanski did. Well, Polanski might be a small scale Weinstein now that I think about it.

[Grouchy]

All evidence points to him abusing his power for years to have his way with women he couldn't get otherwise.

Actually, scratch this. If his only purpose in life was to fuck models and beautiful women, I'm pretty sure he could have achieved it with his money and power alone without relying on psychological abuse or blackmail. Taking all the testimonies into consideration, he got a sexual thrill out of the power he held.

[number8]

Never rule out plain, simple misogyny.

[Grouchy]

Never rule out plain, simple misogyny.

True that.

[Grouchy]

Dench, who has a long-standing collaborative relationship with Weinstein and admitted in 2011 to having a temporary tattoo dedicated to the mogul

The fuck...?

EDIT: Oh, ok, it was a prank.

[Wryan]

But where do you draw the line? Do you want to remove Journey to the End of the Night and Alice in Wonderland from bookstores too? Apparently Rembrandt allowed his many children to starve to buy materials to paint with.

But that's always the point here when this topic comes about: the fact that people have their own individual thresholds for what is "too much, too far" in terms of supporting art/work from repugnant artists/creatives--thresholds that others may not have and perhaps don't understand or agree with. I think Irish is just saying here's where one of his is. Some people are completely on either pole of "absolutely not" or "I can ignore all of that for the sake of the art." Most are somewhere in the middle, I think, and even that middle slips around over time.

Of course it extends beyond the art/entertainment world. It's anywhere power keeps people in place and quiet about what's going on, especially when they benefit from it in some way.

[megladon8]

Ha! Weinstein is entering rehab for sex addiction.

Cue Lana Kane shouting "THAT'S NOT A REAL THING, ASSHOLE!"

[Wryan]

Yeah saw that. I dunno who he thinks he's fooling. He also said he wants to come back later with "new, fresh ideas."

And Hollywood may let him.

[Skitch]

Yeah saw that. I dunno who he thinks he's fooling. He also said he wants to come back later with "new, fresh ideas."

And Hollywood may let him.

May? Of course they will.

[Dukefrukem]

Yeah to be clear I was calling trash on Damon specifically. I'm not endorsing dragging everyone who's ever worked under Miramax and TWC. This dude is just historically awful at addressing people's concerns. He actually played the "I have daughters" card here, which I don't get why men still think is an appropriate statement to say when talking about sexual assault. It makes you seem worse.

How exactly? Can you explain this? That's three posts about how much of an asshole and liar Damon is but why? Because he brought up his daughters?

[number8]

"As a father of daughters..." is one of the most backhanded, deflective male politician go-to statement. It reframes women's rights and women's pain into an afterthought of how it affects you as a man. There's a reason why it's been criticized and made fun of and brilliantly parodied for years. My bullshit meter immediately goes off when I hear those words.

I don't think Damon's this liar or an asshole of a human being (I gave money to his water org, despite the dumb ads), I just think he's kidding himself if he's trying to completely absolve himself. Like I said, his first answer where he said he made the call basically read like an admittance to me that he participated in the cover-up. Of course it's possible that he's so clueless about what his peers could be like that he thinks it's just an innocent studio-requested phone call to an investigative reporter about what a great guy some producer is, but pardon my skepticism. I'm not convinced and I don't see a reason why I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[number8]

Anyone here ever watched Scarlet Diva?

[Irish]

Ha! Weinstein is entering rehab for sex addiction.

He's going to Europe --- and I'd lay odds that the clinic just happens to be in a non-extradition country.

And Hollywood may let him.

I don't think they'd let him, at least not directly and not to scale. The financial liability is too great and employing him too big a risk.

(I also think this is why some of the public statements have read so cold. They're about making a declaration in the face of any civil or criminal action.)

[number8]

I don't think they will, either. It's been reported that TWC has been on a downward slope for the past few years. Their projects mostly lose money, and the few exceptions (Silver Linings Playbook and Hateful Eight) don't make enough to sustain the entire company. They didn't have any movie that caught anyone's attention this past Sundance. It's probably not a coincidence that Harvey got away with it for decades but as soon as his power is in question, shit finally comes out. Worth wondering if this story would gain as much traction as it did and had as many people backing up the claims if the allegations were against, say, someone at the top of his game like Kevin Feige.

[number8]

Oh boy. Gonna guess the Justice League PR department is in an emergency meeting right now.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Welp...

...shit.

[Irish]

This is my surprised face.

[Spinal]

Anyone here ever watched Scarlet Diva?

Asia is an underrated director. OK, I've only seen two of her films. But both this and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things are well worth watching, despite what the Tomatometer might say.

[number8]

Asia is an underrated director. OK, I've only seen two of her films. But both this and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things are well worth watching, despite what the Tomatometer might say.

Well, she's only directed 3 features in her entire career, so 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[Grouchy]

I only saw The Heart is Deceitful... and I liked it.

By the way, this whole thing reminded me of that infamous story a girl had written about her one night stand with Tarantino where she said he was a foot freak (duh!) and so on and I remembered the details wrong. I thought the girl had gone public with it which was awful, but it was actually an e-mail she wrote to her friends and it was them who made it viral. That makes me feel kind of sorry for her. I mean, it was still a stupid thing to do, but at the end of the day, her career was ruined for a miscalculation.

EDIT: Ok, I re-read the story... Back to hating her.

[megladon8]

I don't know enough about Damon or his claims to say I believe him or not.

But I see no reason why it's impossible that he genuinely had no idea.

Women have lived our multi-decade-long marriages with men who were serial killers and rapists, and never had any idea.

It's totally possible that a few of Weinstein's employees / coworkers were not involved or had no idea the extent of his creepiness.

[Spinal]

Women have lived our multi-decade-long marriages with men who were serial killers and rapists, and never had any idea.

Now, now, let's leave Camille out of this.

[Ezee E]

I'll have to refer to the Asia scenes and some of this thread when I go back home. Lots to read about, and I only imagine much more to come.

I've met Ben before and can confirm on the douchery on that end. Dennis Quaid too...

I wonder if there will be anything regarding Quentin soon. Or Robert Rodriguez considering all things Austin.

[number8]

Lots to read about, and I only imagine much more to come.

No kidding. I literally read your post then switched tabs to twitter and immediately greeted with news that Cara Delevingne just released a statement about her Harvey story.