The fallout resulting from the scandal surrounding disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein is exploding faster than the entertainment industry can contain it. Some entertainers are coming forward about decades of abuse on the casting couch, while others seem to be retreating into the shadows.
Those who are coming forward, like Renée Zellweger, are shedding light on the abuses they have suffered at the hands of Weinstein himself and others like him. But the accusations they are tabling make one wonder — why did they wait until now, especially when they know many other performers suffered the same abuses?
Undoubtedly, many of the actors and actresses who attracted unwanted sexual attention from Weinstein are much younger, less well-connected, and much less able to defend themselves than someone as famous and wealthy as Zellweger.
According to a poll published by Economist/YouGov, as many as 71% of Americans believe the accusations against Weinstein are true. Now, the embattled producer has fled the country to reportedly seek treatment for sexual addiction. But, it’s more likely that he is simply fleeing prosecution, and like Roman Polansky, he will in all likelihood succeed in evading justice for as long as the Hollywood establishment supports him.
This is because Hollywood has made it clear for decades that they all know about Weinstein and his revolting escapades. There have been unambiguous jokes made about Weinstein’s sexual predations on Saturday Night Live. Awkward Weinstein-related comments have been made from behind the podium at award shows. There are many references in film, not the least of which is David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, a film which delivers a frightening portrayal of the power casting directors have over the talent that comes before them, desperate for work.
All this time, for perhaps decades, this scandal has been smoldering beneath the surface — buried just deep enough that the smoke and the heat would not escape the notice of even a cursory curiosity. And, according to many recent insider reports, Weinstein isn’t even the worst offender — just the most brazen.
What brought this story to the public attention this time is an accusation made by a Hollywood reporter. The reporter alleged that Weinstein blocked her in a hallway, demanded sex and when she turned him down he said, “Then you can just stand there and shut up.” According to her account, he then partially disrobed and proceeded to masturbate into a nearby potted plant.
Since these accusations went public, over a dozen different women, including Rose Mcgowen, have come forward claiming that at some point Weinstein sexually assaulted them. Many of the accusations are at least seven years old, however. This leaves us to wonder, how long did these actresses go on saying nothing while other women, very possibly teenage girls — or worse — were suffering ongoing sexual abuse by Weinstein and other powerful Hollywood players. Now, as dozens of people come forward claiming to be victimized by Weinstein, how many are afraid to talk? How many A-List actors are aware of those victims no one is speaking for?
What we are seeing here is the fetid underbelly of an entire industry and an entire culture swelling and bursting in the noonday heat. All the while, the major players are scrambling to cover for those who have not yet been found out- just like they covered for Weinstein for years on top of years.
Meryl Streep famously stood on stage and referred to Weinstein as a god with full knowledge of what he really is — a revolting and sexually rapacious criminal. Today, Streep condemns him in public.
This is the same Hollywood we are used to seeing grandstanding, claiming to hold the moral high ground. It’s the same Hollywood who called Trump supporters Nazis deserving of a punch in the face. It’s the same Hollywood that condemns and insults law-abiding gun owners while paying armed guards to protect their lily-white skins and plying the government to use guns to enforce the anti-gun laws they demand. It’s the same Hollywood that gorges itself on the adoration of working class people, even as they talk down their noses at them.
And, as the Weinstein scandal deepens, it’s the same Hollywood that tries to silence former child actors like Cory Feldman whose careers vanish as they struggle to shed light on the rampant pedophilia epidemic in Tinseltown.
~ Liberty Planet
