The name of Harvey Weinstein, probably mostly unknown outside Hollywood six months ago, is now on the lips of many in the news these days. As you are all aware, he is some kind of producer or general mogul out there, or at least was, until he was accused by a series of women of having operated a long-time casting couch approach to his business.
This was not really news out there; lately we've seen clips of the introducing presenter at one of the interminable, self-congratulatory award shows. He was giving an award to the winner of one of the Lead Actress trophies and said that now she would no longer have to pretend to find Harvey Weinstein attractive. None of us knew who he was, to know what the fellow meant, but the implication was there.
But here's the thing. Allegedly he committed repeated assaults and rapes on women who wanted to succeed in Hollywood. Now, "Hollywood" is not a business; it is a place and an industry. There are studios that movies and TV shows are made in, and production companies that make them, and they are all independent of each other.
Because they are independent, there is no recourse for the young girl (or, I presume is the case at times, guy) who wants to get started in the business, comes out to Hollywood, screen tests or whatever they do, and is promised a part in exchange for ... well, you know.
It is a Hobson's choice, one with no good outcome. Sleep with the mogul and get a part and hope you are so good that you'll get lots of work without having to go through the prostitution dance again. Or decline to sleep with the mogul, don't get the part and get blacklisted by everything connected with that mogul's reach and possibly his (or her) cronies.
That, of course, is not exclusive to Hollywood. Except, of course, that in corporate America, where there are such things as sexual harassment laws that actually get enforced, there are company hotlines and HR departments where there is recourse. If you feel you have been harassed, you can go to an ombudsman or HR type and file a complaint, and be relatively insulated from reprisal.
In Hollywood, you are on your own. There is no ombudsman, no company hotline, only the law. It is still illegal to pull the casting-couch stunt, but the only place you can go to is the law, and if you go to the law to try to get that sort of thing stopped, the only thing you can be assured of is that you will never work in entertainment again. You will be immediately a troublemaker and persona non grata.
Is it any wonder why only after numerous complaints against Weinstein were brought forth, was there a pile of additional accusations from years back? Those women knew that had they said anything back then, they would never work again, and only because it was Weinstein, and finally public knowledge, could they come forward and say something knowing it would not hurt their careers. In fact, perversely, the fact that they come forward ten years later, only as part of the case of dozens of others against a known abuser, might help their career now, in that they have proven themselves as ones who would keep things quiet.
I'm 66 and have no plans to return to acting. The only connection I have to Hollywood is as executive producer of a movie a dozen years ago that showed in two or three theaters, and on which I lost enough money to get a healthy tax deduction. Plus, I'm not exactly the type who would expect to get harassed, you know. So you can tell this is an issue that is out of sympathy and not an iota of self-interest.
But there has to be something. There finally has to be a way that an young actress or actor who is asked to trade favors for a part, particularly which would be a start to a career, can decline without risking losing the part to someone with less moral backbone. And there needs to be a way that the performer can be insulated from even a silent blackballing in the industry for saying "no."
But of course, the "industry" is not an organization. It is separate entities with their own moguls. There are multiple Harvey Weinsteins out there, and we surely have not heard the end of all this -- in fact, we are already hearing a few complaints about others in the business.
While I don't have the answer, it is the studios and production companies themselves that have to solve the problem, and they need some kind of hotline for those who are abused -- and some type of protection for the honest producer, from the inevitable starlet who tries to get noticed by lodging baseless, University of Virginia-type allegations.
Look, Hollywood is an industry that has turned itself into a joke by its overwhelmingly leftist activity and quiet boycott of conservative-leaning actors. I really couldn't care less what goes on out there. But my moral sensibility is offended when people who have a career dream come face to face with the choice of having a career but compromising their integrity, or not having that career. It is simply not right.
Who in Hollywood will take it in that context and lead the remedy?
Copyright 2017 by Robert Sutton
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