The story burst with the very sick Harvey Weinstein, who apparently
did not have access to psychological therapy, manners or a mirror. The general
public was shocked firstly because of the magnitude of allegations and the
secrecy that surrounded this behaviour. A-listers had kept quiet, journalists
were put off from shedding light to this story and meanwhile Weinstein was
ejaculating into close-by potted plants. The response was relatively unanimous;
everyone denounced the behaviour, Facebook and Twitter crucified this
disgusting man who abused his power and forced himself on women because he felt
entitled. So far, so good. He deserves the fall from grace he got and the
Hollywood myth was debunked.
But then, Kevin Spacey assaulted a fourteen year old some twenty-five
years ago. And since, he has been accused of predatory behaviour towards younger
male crews members on House of Cards and while director of The Old Vic. He was
fired from House of Cards and from pretty much every project he’d been
associated with. There is a good chance that this admittedly amazing actor’s
career is over. So far, the story reads the same. But something different happened
this time. This time it wasn’t a Hollywood executive nobody felt an emotional
connection to. The general public, Facebook and Twitter did not care about
Weinstein, they did not know Weinstein; crucifixion was easy. But Frank
Underwood? Verbal? Those are iconic portrayals worthy of admiration and awe.
Suddenly, ‘he was drunk’, as if he was forced to down all that alcohol.
Suddenly, ‘it was one time’, as if that is not enough to traumatise a young
boy. Suddenly, ‘Rapp said it to become relevant’. I personally believed Rapp
because of Spacey's statement. Spacey has a team of publicists that suggested he
come out in order to take some of the heat off. And they also suggested he
admit to the assault and claim drunkenness. The publicist’s job is to make the best twist
of events; THIS was their best twist of events. Then some more philosophical
arguments; ‘the artist is separate to the man’ when this man abused his power
for the actor he was. He felt entitled and enjoyed luxuries a common creep
never would. Lastly and most compellingly, ‘it was so long ago’; it really was
25 years ago (plus) and he cannot even be legally prosecuted. In that case,
perhaps social prosecution is a form of justice. Hopefully, the man will go
into therapy, work out his issues and manage to stay away from the public eye for
the rest of his remorseful life, rather than be repeatedly tormented by the
media; he did lose his everything. But are we really baffled that organisations
like Netflix distance themselves from Spacey? Are we really defending this
man’s actions?
To sum up, people felt connected to Spacey because of his
performances as an actor, because those made you feel as if you personally knew the man.
Now, let’s move up another level of familiarity. Comedians. Louis CK. The best
comedian of our day; no doubt about it. Five women came forward saying that
they were sexually harassed by Louis, with some visually disturbing
descriptions involving him stripping and masturbating; mind you he did ‘ask’
for consent. And we all rush to make excuses, because we love the guy! It is
nowhere near as bad as the aforementioned; everyone was of age and no one was
explicitly or implicitly threatened; it is just perverted. But he himself, or
rather his publicists, admitted that it was abuse of power as these women admired
him and once again, we are getting the best twist of events. It is simply
perverted and it puts a lot of his jokes in perspective; which is unfortunate. So
yeah, it is definitely not in the Weinstein/Spacey ball area, but let’s not
completely ignore his ‘masturbating man’ bit; during and off stage, that is.
So all these men are being shunned, society seems to be in
the right. Then, Ed Westwick is accused of rape at two different occasions,
Brett Ratner of sexual misconduct, Hollywood keeps on tumbling down. But this
is what bothers me; the sounds we hear and utter are ‘ugh, yeah, yeah boring’.
As if these people’s lives and misfortunes are part of a badly written,
repetitive script! People I admire wonder why everyone is coming forward with
this simultaneously. That is the dumbest question I have ever heard! Because you
cannot take someone in power down as a single person! Because they felt they
were not alone! Honestly, for the same reasons anyone is more likely to speak
out when there is a little bit of support. Maybe some claims are a ruse, maybe
some are a cry for attention; but is it not sad that we make this our primary
assumption to excuse our favourite actors and entertainers? Is that not part of
the problem? I live and breathe pop culture, I binge-watched House of Cards,
I’ve spent hours on YouTube watching Louis and I have cried with Miramax
productions. Of course, it is not pleasant that these people we love and
admire are bastards, but at least it is bringing attention to the very disturbing
standards our pop culture generator accepts.
