As a female filmmaker (what a cliche way to start off this post right?), I’ve been interested in how my fellow women have reacted to the recent sexual harassment allegations coming out of Hollywood.
It has been quite the disruptor in the entire Film/TV industry worldwide. I can attest to this based on my experience at the 2017 AFM. Nothing was more taboo to talk about than Weinstein and Spacey.
There have been so many allegations, even the formula for exposing these stories has become quite predictable.
- An allegation hits the press.
- There’s no comment from the alleged perp.
- The studio executives “look into it”.
- They let the alleged perp go.
Sure, it’s nice to see the trash taken out. But at the end of the day, we are all left saying the same thing….
But everyone knew!
Actors, producers, and studio executives have known about every single pedophile, rapist, and sexual deviant for years (Tom Sizemore) before these allegations surfaced. Some of these allegations aren’t even new to the press! (Bryan Singer) But, of course, with enough time passed, these perps were still able to keep their high profiles and work in the industry.
So who’s REALLY to blame here for all of this?!
Sure, people shouldn’t be rapists and pedophiles. That’s obvious. But, in my opinion, what is worse is the fact that Hollywood has ENDORSED these criminals for decades. They have celebrated criminal activity.
For example, it is practically public knowledge within the industry that if Charlie Sheen is in your film or TV show, you must budget for his drugs and prostitutes. That’s right. You are ordered by the studio to BUDGET for his criminal acts. Pretty messed up.
So what’s their excuse? Why do producers and studios feel the need to hire these people?
The distribution excuse is a pretty standard one of:
they have such a huge international value that we have to hire them!
I call BS. If audiences KNOW that a person is a criminal, especially a rapist or a pedophile…they’re going to stop liking that person no matter how famous or beloved they are.
As a female filmmaker (I’m cringing at myself), I do my part to not only promote diversity in the workplace, but also have a zero tolerance policy for any sort of criminal activity no matter how “valuable” or “bankable” someone is.
There will always be terrible people in this world. We can’t change that. But we can change and influence who we ALL decide to endorse and influence the public.