#metoo (An Open Secret: Hollywood - Please Watch)

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Off Topic
21

Using the Bible to defend statutory rape is worse

Acts of Faith
Alabama state official defends Roy Moore, citing Joseph and Mary: ‘They became parents of Jesus’
By Michelle Boorstein November 9 at 5:52 PM

An Alabama state official on Thursday dismissed a Washington Post report alleging that GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore had initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl decades ago, saying there was an age gap between the biblical Joseph and Mary. The Post also alleged that Moore had pursued three others when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s.

“Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus,” Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler told The Washington Examiner. “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.”

In the Bible, Mary is the mother of Jesus, and Joseph became her husband. Beliefs about the specific story of Joseph and Mary and Jesus’ birth vary widely in Christian history and across traditions. Mary is referred to in scripture as a virgin, but there is disagreement about what that means. Generally, however, Christians believe that Mary was a virgin when he was born. Joseph is usually referred to as Jesus’ “father” or a father figure.

The Bible does not state Mary and Joseph’s specific ages, but she is usually understood to be a teenager, and Joseph was an adult.

Moore is a judge and the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Alabama, one of the most solidly evangelical states in the country. He was twice elected to and twice removed from the state Supreme Court after refusing to follow church-state laws. In 2003, he refused to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. In 2016, he was suspended after ordering judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


Alabama’s Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Roy Moore, speaks with reporters as he visits the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 31, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Multiple evangelical leaders slammed Ziegler.

“Bringing Joseph and Mary into a modern-day molestation accusation, where a 32-year-old prosecutor is accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl, is simultaneously ridiculous and blasphemous,” said Ed Stetzer, a pastor and church consultant who holds the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission and Evangelism at Wheaton College. “Even those who followed ancient marriage customs, which we would not follow today, knew the difference between molesting and marriage.”

“Women were chattel back then, they were traded — of course they married men who were much older and had multiple wives,” said the Rev. Amy Butler, senior minister of the Riverside Church, a historical and prominent interdenominational church in New York City. “It’s completely ludicrous to equate the sex assault of a minor with an ancient culture. It’s ludicrous … It makes me want to rip the church back from these people.”

The topic is addressed in the Gospel of Luke (1:26-38):

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.’”

Earlier this year, Moore received high-profile endorsements from conservative leaders such as psychologist and radio host James Dobson, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown.

In an email to supporters on Thursday, Moore told his supporters: “The forces of evil are on the march in our country. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle with those who want to silence our message.”

Moore, who is a Southern Baptist, has denied the allegations.

“Their goal is to frustrate and slow down our campaign’s progress to help the Obama-Clinton Machine silence our conservative message,” he wrote in his email to supporters. “That’s why I must be able to count on the help of God-fearing conservatives like you to stand with me at this critical moment.”

According to the Pew Research Center, 86 percent of Alabama residents identify as Christian, and 49 percent are evangelical. White evangelicals have become much more likely to say a person who commits an “immoral” act can behave ethically in a public role. In 2011, 30 percent of these evangelicals said this, but that shot up to 72 percent, according to a survey published last year by the Public Religion Research Institute.

Clarification: This piece has been updated to clarify Christians’ beliefs about the virgin birth. The title of the Billy Graham Center has been corrected.

I’ve read the Bible. I’ve read the Gospels several times. There’s some pretty shocking stuff in the Bible, but I never got a defense for molesting a 14-year-old out of it. :mad:

22

Is this having the same impact on government? Why not? Maybe it’s coming…

Gal Gadot will only be Wonder Woman again if Brett Ratner is out
By Emily Smith November 11, 2017 | 5:04pm


Gal Gadot and Brett Ratner Getty Images

Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot is continuing to battle accused Hollywood sexual harasser Brett Ratner by refusing to sign up for a super*hero sequel unless the moviemaker is completely killed from the franchise.

A Hollywood source tells Page Six that Gadot who last month backed out of a dinner honoring Ratner, where she was due to present him with an award is taking a strong stance on sexual harassment in Hollywood and doesnt want her hit Wonder Woman franchise to benefit a man accused of sexual misconduct.

Ratners production company RatPac-Dune Entertainment helped produce Wonder Woman as part of its co-financing deal with Warner Bros. The movie has grossed more than $400 million internationally, and Ratners company will take a healthy share of the profits. A Warner Bros. insider explained, Brett made a lot of money from the success of Wonder Woman, thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she wont sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him.

The source added of Israeli-born Gadot, Shes tough and stands by her principles. She also knows the best way to hit people like Brett Ratner is in the wallet. She also knows that Warner Bros. has to side with her on this issue as it develops. They cant have a movie rooted in womens empowerment being part-financed by a man *accused of sexual misconduct against women.

This past week, Warner Bros. announced it was severing ties with Ratner amid multiple sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by actresses including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. Ratner has vehemently denied the allegations through his attorney, Marty Singer.

Earlier this month, Gadot posted on Instagram: Bullying and sexual harassment is unacceptable! I stand by all the courageous women confronting their fears and speaking out. Together we stand.

We are all united in this time of change.

Reps for Gadot and Ratner did not comment.

A rep for Warner Bros said only, False.

Wonder Woman 2 & Hollywood’s Open Secret

23

Sit on my face and tell me that you love me…

…I know, Monty Python lyrics are inappropriate here, but it’s Monday and it’s more Seagal. :frowning:

Steven Seagal accused of telling actress to sit on his face
By Emily Smith November 10, 2017 | 9:07pm


Steven Seagal Getty Images

A Hollywood exec has told how she was sexually harassed by Steven Seagal as a budding actress on the set of his 1991 movie Out for Justice.

The exec, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions, said Seagal lured her to his trailer for a costume change, then propositioned her by phone, crudely demanding, You are not comfortable sitting on my face for an hour?

She alleges that her first day on the set, Seagal insisted that all the new actresses gather for him to check us all out.

The former actress said, Moments later, a wardrobe assistant led me to Stevens personal trailer, to his bedroom, and asked me to change into a corset. Then, Steven opened the door [and] tried to barge in. I said, Excuse me, I am changing in here, but he insisted, I need to see what you look like. I told him that I wasnt comfortable and began screaming for the wardrobe person. He just smirked and said, Its OK, I like nice girls, too.

The next night, Seagal who was married to Kelly LeBrock, whod just given birth to their second child called the woman at home, saying Gregg Allman had recorded music for the soundtrack. Steven told me, You should come by and listen to some of the tracks. Im staying at the [Hotel Bel-Air].

Again, she said she didnt feel comfortable, and alleges that Seagal responded, You are not comfortable about coming over and sitting on my face for an hour?

The ex-actress said, I told him, Youre married, and he just said, Ah, you are no fun. I worked for two weeks, then they let me go. If Id gone to the hotel room and slept with him I would have had a much better role.

She recounted the ordeal to a fellow actress on the movie, who wasnt surprised, He didnt give you a pager? she asked. He has given them to a few actresses, and when he pages, you have to go immediately to his hotel room, even if it is 3 a.m.

Jenny McCarthy, Portia de Rossi and Julianna Margulies have also accused Seagal of inappropriate behavior.

His rep didnt get back to us.

Seagal & Hollywood’s Open Secret

24

I used to think Takei was OK.

//youtu.be/ncPUNcs0GFc

*Continued next post…

25

*Continued from previous post…

In this recent Howard Steen interview, Takei pretty much admits to such things.

**Warning: Ribald humor.

//youtu.be/OLtw9Tpg9Pg

26

Meanwhile in Sweden

No image, but an embedded vid behind the link.

Alicia Vikander Among Nearly 600 Swedish Actresses Calling Out Sex Abuse in Film, Theater

10:54 AM PST 11/10/2017 by Scott Roxborough

Inspired by the #MeToo movement that sprung up in response to the sexual assault and harassment allegations against disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, the letter calls out the Swedish industry for failing to protect women from sexual abuse and for profiting from the work of known abusers.
Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander has put her name to an open letter signed by nearly 600 Swedish actresses calling out sexual abuse in the Swedish film and theater industry.

Inspired by the #MeToo movement that sprung up in response to the sexual assault and harassment allegations against disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, the letter calls out the Swedish industry for failing to protect women from sexual abuse and for profiting from the work of known abusers.

“Directors, you have failed. Producers, you have failed. Production companies, you have failed. Theatre managers, you have failed. Politicians, you have failed,” it reads. “It is your responsibility to ensure that nobody is sexually abused at the workplace.”

Asserting “zero tolerance against sexual exploitation and violence” the signatories demand that employers, from film companies and theaters to book publishers and Swedish television networks, “stop protecting, hiring and making money on perpetrators” of sexual violence.

The letter was published in Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet along with numerous anonymous first person accounts of specific incidences of abuse.

"In one film I acted alongside one of the most prominent film actors, both in Sweden and abroad,” reads one testimony. “At a party he followed me into a hotel room, pushed me hard onto the floor, threw himself over me, held me tight and laughed with a dark look in his eyes. The thought ‘he is going to rape me’ ran through my head, but somehow I managed to get him off of me and ran.”

“At one of my first jobs, in the theatre elevator, I was pushed up against the wall by an actor in the same production and told to come to his dressing room at three o’clock, otherwise I would not continue working at the theatre,” reads another.

A third: “I was 23 years old and laid on a mattress to rest between rehearsals. One of the conductors came in, asking if he could rub my back. I immediately felt that I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t say no. He sat on top of me and started to massage my back. He then took out his ***** and began to masturbate. When he was about to climax he lifted up my shirt and ejaculated on my back. Then he got up and left. Before the show started that night, he took my arm and said that it was nice and it was our secret.”

Alongside Vikander, the signatories to the open letter include such well known Swedish actresses as Sofia Helin, star of the original Swedish version of TV series The Bridge, and veteran actress Marie Goranzon (I Am Curious, Yellow).

The letter ends with a warning to abusers or those who seek to protect them.

“We will no longer be silent,” it reads. “We will bring those responsible to account and let the justice system run its course when needed. We will put the shame where it belongs — with the perpetrator and those who protect him. We know who you are.”

The group has started its own hashtag for supporters of their efforts, #tystnadtagning (#silenceaction in Swedish).

It’s not just Hollywood’s Open Secret according to Alicia Vikander of Tomb Raider.

27

We’ve heard this one before, but maybe now someone will listen.

Jenny McCarthy Reshares Steven Seagal Harassment Claim
7:02 AM PST 11/10/2017 by Jackie Strause


Getty Images
Jenny McCarthy

The actress, who first spoke out about her alleged casting-couch experience with the actor-producer in 1998, retold the experience on her Sirius XM radio show.
Jenny McCarthy has joined a handful of women to come forward and allege they were sexually harassed by actor Steven Seagal.

The actress and former Playboy model recalled a 1995 audition for Under Siege 2, which Seagal starred in and produced, while speaking on her Sirius XM radio show Thursday — something she had previously told to Movieline in 1998 — adding that “a lot of people” had already heard her tell the story.

“I stand across from him and he plops onto a sofa that’s near a fireplace,” she recalled. “And he points at the sofa cushion next to him saying to me, ‘Take a seat. Relax.’ I said, ‘No, thank you. I’m just really excited to read for this part. And I have so much energy I need to stand.’”

McCarthy said she wore a loose muumuu outfit so the casting people would “actually look at my face and watch me work,” but that her meeting ended up being only her and Seagal.

She said the actor told her there was nudity in the part and that he couldn’t tell what her body looked like in the oversized dress she was wearing.

“In my head I’m like, ‘Okay. here we go. Sound the alarms, this is not a test, this is the real thing, activate all defense systems,’” she said. “But I so wanted to legitimately read for this part that I wasn’t going to give up yet. So I told him, ‘Listen. My agent says there’s no nudity. I specifically asked her and she said no.'"

She says he told her there was “off-camera nudity,” which didn’t make sense to her, and asked her to lower her dress. She said she only wanted to read the scene but that he asked again for her to lower the dress “so I can see your breasts."

She paused, says her eyes filled with tears and then yelled back at him, “Go buy my Playboy video — it’s on sale for $19.99.” She said he followed her to her car and instructed her not to tell anybody, “or else.”

“It was so disheartening,” she said of bursting into tears in her car and fearing his words. She said she was disheartened and ready to move back to Chicago at that point. “I was the last girl that day. How many girls had to take off their clothes? How many girls had to do more? It just so grossed me out.”

Jenny McCarthy’s casting couch experience with Steven Seagal

A rep for Seagal had previously denied the claims to The Daily Beast, saying, “Warner Brothers casting for the film Under Siege 2 has confirmed that Jenny McCarthy never auditioned for a role on Under Siege 2. Her claim is completely false.” THR has reached out for comment.

McCarthy joins actresses Portia de Rossi and Julianna Margulies in speaking out about Seagal, allegations that come during a shift in the Hollywood climate. Seagal was first accused of misconduct and harassment by Inside Edition correspondent Lisa Guerrero, her allegations sparking others, like actress Rae Dawn Chong, to come forward. The allegations are threaded together by stories of a private meeting or audition with Seagal that developed into the actor either allegedly exposing himself or sexually harassing the actress.

Seagal, along with former Amazon content chief Roy Price, director James Toback, actors Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Piven and Ed Westwick, and, most recently, comedian Louis C.K., have all had allegations leveled against them in wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which broke early October.

Seagal & Hollywood’s Open Secret

28

I was wondering about this…

After reading Vikander’s news above, I was pondering exactly this question.

Why Do So Many Hollywood Men Self-Pleasure for a Captive Audience?
11:56 AM PST 11/14/2017 by Rebecca Sun


Getty Images
Louis C.K. and James Toback

Many thought the act was a rare pathology — until the industry scandal. Experts explain this gross epidemic.
Louis C.K.'s Nov. 9 confession to masturbating in front of multiple women without their consent, following similar graphic allegations against Harvey Weinstein, James Toback and Brett Ratner, shifts the stereotype of the sexual exhibitionist from subway flasher to Hollywood heavyweight. Although the urge to force others to witness sexual acts can be found in individuals at all socio*economic levels (and in all industries), experts say a unique combination of several factors enables that type of predilection among Hollywood’s most powerful.

First, whereas the gratification of basic urges — like lust — is typically checked by social layers, “power basically knocks out those constraints,” says UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner, author of The Power Paradox. “Power leads people to take the shortest, easiest path to expressing their desire, no matter what the social consequences. And when men have sexual desires, the most immediate way to gratify those is to masturbate.”

The cutthroat nature of the entertainment industry also serves as a type of natural selection. “If you look at what it takes to have success in politics or the arts, it’s so highly competitive that it almost requires lack of empathy and a predatory nature to get to the top,” says Alexandra Katehakis, clinical director of the Center for Healthy Sex in Los Angeles. “To throw yourself into the public eye, you’ve got to have a thick skin, which is often accompanied by some pathology, and that pathology is a narcissistic personality that feels highly entitled. You mix that with power and control, and you’ve got somebody with antisocial behaviors.”

L.A.-based psychologist Debra Borys agrees that narcissists are overrepresented in Hollywood and adds that the industry’s gatekeeping structure lends itself to abuse. “There tends to be less institutionally codified means of rising and getting through a gate,” she says, noting that showbiz’s nontraditional meeting venues like hotels and trailers also play a role. “Very few people succeed, and they know it. That gives the people in management more power and makes the people trying to succeed more vulnerable.”

OK, but why that act specifically? These factors contribute to “an environment where this may be easier to get away with, or may happen more, for people who already have the proclivity,” Borys continues. “But I don’t think it creates monsters.” In other words, these high-profile incidences may be making headlines, but for these sex experts, it’s old hat.

“It’s not like it’s happening more often,” says San Francisco-based sex-trauma specialist Quandra Chaffers. “Frotteurism and exhibitionism have always existed. People are starting to adopt more language to explain what’s happened to them. They have ways to talk about people forcing them to watch.” In other words, the real surprise is not that it’s happening, but that it’s been happening all along.

This story appears in the Nov. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

29

House & Senate

House and Senate Are ‘Among the Worst’ for Harassment, Representative Says
By YAMICHE ALCINDOR and KATIE ROGERSNOV. 13, 2017


Katherine Cichy says she was harassed by her direct supervisor while working for a Democratic senator’s office in 2013. Credit Mason Trinca for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A senior Senate staff member is accused of trying to tug open a junior aide’s wrap dress at a bar; she said he asked why she was “holding out.” A former aide says a congressman grabbed her backside, then winked as he walked away. A district worker said a House member told her to twirl in a dress for him, then gave her a bonus when he liked what he saw.

As the nation at large deals with lurid stories of sexual harassment, Congress is only beginning to grapple with tales of sexual aggression that have long been fixtures of work life on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, the Committee on House Administration will convene a hearing on harassment in Congress, putting the halls of the Capitol under scrutiny alongside the hotels of Hollywood, the kitchens of New Orleans, the board rooms of Silicon Valley and the suites of New York’s media giants.

In the run-up, about 1,500 former Capitol Hill aides have signed an open letter to House and Senate leaders to demand that Congress put in place mandatory harassment training and revamp the Office of Compliance, the legislative branch’s opaque in-house adjudicator.

“The Congress of the United States should be the one work environment where people are treated with respect, where there isn’t a hostile work environment,” said Representative Jackie Speier, Democrat of California, who will testify on Tuesday about her efforts to deal with harassment in the Capitol. “And frankly, it’s just the opposite. It’s probably among the worst.”

In more than 50 interviews, lawyers, lobbyists and former aides told The New York Times that sexual harassment has long been an occupational hazard for those operating in Washington politics, and victims on Capitol Hill are forced to go through far more burdensome avenues to seek redress than their counterparts in the private sector.

Under federal law, complainants must undergo a confidential process, where co-workers who might be able to provide corroborating evidence are excluded. They often must wait about three months before submitting an official complaint, yet must file one no later than 180 days after the episode. Once filed, victims must submit to up to 30 days of mandatory counseling and complete another 30 days of mediation.


M. Reese Everson tried to report a member of Congress for flirting with her while she was a fellow at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

If mediation fails, the person then must wait 30 more days before seeking an administrative hearing or filing a lawsuit in Federal District Court.

“The system is so stacked,” said Debra Katz, a Washington lawyer who often works on sexual harassment cases. “They don’t want people to come forward.”

With such rigid policies, even the most dogged complainants may find no avenue for resolution. In one case, a fellow at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, M. Reese Everson, brought a complaint against a House member to the Office of Compliance. But she said the office told her it could not handle her case because, as a fellow and not a full-time employee, she did not fall under its jurisdiction.

She ended up filing her complaints with the District of Columbia government, where they have languished for over two years.

Few deny the growing sense that Congress is, for many women, a hostile workplace. Last Thursday, the Senate approved a resolution that would create mandatory anti-harassment training for all Senate employees and interns, and would require training every two years. At least two other pieces of legislation that would make the changes even broader are in progress.

Kristin Nicholson, a former chief of staff to Representative Jim Langevin, Democrat of Rhode Island, said Congress had not gone far enough. “We think training needs to be in-person to be more effective,” said Ms. Nicholson, who now directs the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, “and we’re asking for reforms to the opaque process for reporting and resolving harassment claims.”

In interviews, a few who were harassed said they were never even informed of the Office of Compliance’s existence.

Rebecca Weir, a 39-year-old lawyer in Washington, had never heard of the office in 2001 when she said former Representative Gary Miller, Republican of California, asked her to twirl for him in his Diamond Bar, Calif., office.

“He said, ‘My God, you look amazing today. Just stunning.’ And he was kind of leering at me, and then he asked me to twirl,” Ms. Weir recalled. “I was stunned, but I was young and dumb and here’s a member of Congress that I’m working for asking me to twirl in his office. So I did.”

Ms. Weir said Mr. Miller’s chief of staff called from Washington soon after with some news.

“‘Well Rebecca, I don’t know what you did, but Gary just called me and said you can have a $1,250 bonus, effective immediately,’” Ms. Weir recalled.

On Monday, a woman who identified herself as Mr. Miller’s wife, Cathy Miller, denied the allegations. “I know my husband,” she said before adding that the claim was “yellow journalism.”

There also was no mandatory training in place on Katherine Cichy’s 27th birthday in 2013. Ms. Cichy, then an aide for now-retired Senator Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, was walking through Union Station with colleagues when Ms. Cichy’s direct supervisor repeatedly called her “hot.”

Ms. Cichy reported the episode to her chief of staff at the time, who she said made light of it, saying, “It is what it is.”

Months later, Ms. Cichy took a job in another office. The man who harassed her stayed in Mr. Johnson’s office, as did his former chief of staff, Drey Samuelson, who said on Friday that he had warned the offending employee, “I would fire him, and it never happened again.” He said that he did not make light of the episode.

continued next post

30

Continued from previous post


Laura Murphy, the former head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington legislative office, said she endured a number of sexually suggestive incidents as generations of lawmakers cycled in and out of Congress. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times

“Bottom line,” Ms. Cichy said, “my boss told me I was hot, and I had to sit in a room every day and work with him. And they didn’t do anything about it. Nothing.”

For female lobbyists, sexual suggestions appear to be part of the price of access.

In her 40 years on the Hill, Laura W. Murphy, the former head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington legislative office, said she endured a number of sexually suggestive episodes as generations of lawmakers cycled in and out of Congress. In the 1980s, a House member, whose name she would not share, tried to kiss her in the produce aisle at a Capitol Hill grocery store. In the early 2000s, she said a lawmaker asked her for a working dinner, then propositioned her for sex.

“At first it was about work,” Ms. Murphy, 62, said. “But then it devolved into a very blatant overture to have sex.”

Like many women, Ms. Murphy did not report the episodes in part because she believed her career could be negatively affected and because she was not sure where she could turn.

All of the women now coming forward are putting pressure on the Office of Compliance, whose processes date back to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. Between 1997 and 2014, the United States Treasury paid $15.2 million in 235 awards and settlements for Capitol Hill workplace violations under the office’s byzantine procedures, according to a recent Washington Post analysis of the Office of Compliance.

Susan Tsui Grundmann, the office’s executive director, said that the office had received an increase in requests for harassment training in the past two weeks, and that the five-member board had repeatedly recommended since 2010 that Congress put in place regular mandatory harassment training.

Bradford Fitch, president and chief executive of the Congressional Management Foundation, a group that helps lawmakers and staff run their offices, said sexual harassment was vastly underreported in congressional offices.

This has been the case for decades: In 1989, Alice Cain was 22 and three months into a job as a chief of staff’s assistant for Paul Simon, who was then a Democratic senator from Illinois, when one of his top donors groped her and forcibly kissed her at a fund-raiser held at a Washington hotel.

Ms. Cain, who is now 50 and works for a nonprofit organization, said that several other women in her office had similar experiences with that donor, whom she declined to name out of respect for his family. But she said it was years before the women spoke to one another about the episodes.

“If I go into my boss’s office and say, ‘Oh, this guy did this to me’ — I don’t want to lose my job,” Ms. Cain said. “I think all of us made that calculation.”

She said she decided to share her story belatedly “for the 22-year-olds now.”

Others are reconsidering past experiences, episodes previously brushed off as playful or not a big deal, that register now as assault.

Hannah Hudson was in her early 20s and working for a Democratic congressman from Oklahoma in 2009 when she was joined on a work trip by staff members from a Republican senator’s office. At a work outing, she said, a senior aide for that senator tried to tug open her wrap dress, which she had pinned closed, asking, “Why are you holding out on us?”

Ms. Hudson, who is now 32 and works as a photographer, did not think to report the episode. She said she tried to brush it off because she felt that what had happened to her was not as bad as what had happened to others.

She does remember feeling grateful when a male colleague who silently witnessed the episode pulled her aside privately to ask if she was all right.

“How much of a patriarchal society do we live in that the person who came up to me in private and said, ‘Oh, are you O.K.?’ is the hero?” she asked.

She paused.

“That’s the nice guy in the story.”

Kitty Bennett contributed research.

Back to my point about politics, I’m wondering if we should take the ‘Hollywood’ out of the title of this thread because it’s not at all limited to that. I don’t really care to sully our forum with too much politics, but sexual misconduct is such a trending topic now, and I know it’s not just me and Jimbo who are concerned about it.

31

More from Gal on Ratner

Design Sifu & I caught the screener of Justice League last night (we’ll have a review up on Friday). :cool:

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 7:31am PT by Ashley Lee
Gal Gadot Speaks Out on Brett Ratner and ‘Wonder Woman’


Desiree Navarro/WireImage
Gal Gadot

“There’s so many people involved in making this movie, and they all echo the same sentiments.”
Gal Gadot has spoken on her stance regarding Brett Ratner.

The star of Wonder Woman was recently said to be refusing to sign on for a sequel if it involved Ratner, who has been plagued with sexual harassment and misconduct allegations. Ratner’s RatPac-Dune Entertainment co-financed the initial superhero hit through its slate financing deal with Warner Bros., but such ties have since been severed.

While speaking with Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Gadot commented on the removal of Ratner from the Wonder Woman follow-up. “At the end of the day, a lot has been written about my views and the way that I feel, and everyone knows the way that I feel because I’m not hiding anything,” she said. “But the truth is, there’s so many people involved in making this movie, and they all echo the same sentiments.”

“Everyone knew what was the right thing to do, but there was nothing for me to actually come and say, because it was already done before this article came out,” she added.

Earlier this month, six women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, detailed their experiences with Ratner in a Los Angeles Times exposé (Ratner’s attorney Martin Singer denied all of the accusations in a 10-page letter to the Times). Warner Bros. will honor the financing deal through the end of its contract in March, as RatPac-Dune Entertainment is financing several films on the studio’s upcoming slate: Justice League, the Owen Wilson-Ed Helms feature Father Figures, Clint Eastwood’s 15:17 to Paris, the ensemble comedy Game Night, the Tomb Raider reboot and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ready Player One.

Wonder Woman 2 & Hollywood’s Open Secret

32

[QUOTE=GeneChing;1306026]I’m wondering if we should take the ‘Hollywood’ out of the title of this thread because it’s not at all limited to that. I don’t really care to sully our forum with too much politics, but sexual misconduct is such a trending topic now, and I know it’s not just me and Jimbo who are concerned about it.[/QUOTE]

Hi, Gene.

Yes, sexual misconduct does go way beyond Hollywood/the entertainment industry (EI). However, it does seem that when it comes out in the EI, people take notice/interest. Probably because they want the salacious details on who/what/when/where, etc. Accounts of this have been happening for years, but for some reason only began taking off with Bill Cosby, then of course with the Weinstein thing. Because of the latter, that has now made this subject so prominent, and no longer apt to be buried in the back page; that accusations of sexual misconduct/molestation are opening up in politics, sports (Olympic gymnastics), etc., etc., are being brought to light.

Now, I’m not saying that every single sexual harassment allegation is true. Obviously, false allegations exist. BUT, IMO, in these types of cases, leveling a false accusation against the types of people now being openly accused for the first time would be a terribly risky and stupid proposition. Meaning that most accusers stand little to gain and a lot to lose by falsely accusing men (and also some women) in power, or who at least have power over their chosen target(s). Those types of people who would level false accusations out of spite, or to gain some notoriety, are just as bad as perpetrators, as they damage the credibility of accusations that are true.

There is also a lot of victim blaming going on in cases where it’s pretty clear that the allegations are true. I don’t think that such blamers have any concept of what abuse victims have endured, and how much courage it takes to come forward. I’ve personally known people (women AND at least one man) who were sexually abused/raped as children, and have seen the effect it’s had on their lives. Which is why I feel so strongly about this subject.

I still think it’s odd that what Corey Feldman and other, mostly male former child actors have been saying for years is being overlooked in all this; pedophilia against boys by powerful men. It’s also occurred outside of the EI; remember the Sandusky/Paterno scandal? This #metoo movement is still being seen as only a women’s and girls’ issue, when in reality the rabbit hole goes much deeper than that. I said this in my first post. It doesn’t help that Rose McGowan seems to be blaming every male on the planet for either committing or abetting the rape and harassment of women.

33

Fair enough, Jimbo

True - Hollywood is in the spotlight by definition. And also true that it’s been accepted there - the ‘casting couch’ has been with it since the golden era of Hollywood studios. Although I’d argue that people tend to take notice when it’s a politician or a religious leader because the hypocrisy is so glaring. We don’t really expect Hollywood figures to abide by a moral code beyond what we’d apply to any citizen, not like the ‘paragon of virtue’ that is expected of a religious leader. And we all assume politicians are inherently corrupt, so that’s more of an affirmation.

So we’ll let the post title stand, but I’m still going to post harassment cases outside of Hollywood here, just because it would get too muddy to start another thread.

34

Yet more

Jenny McCarthy: Steven Seagal followed me to my car, asked me not to tell
By Matthew Wisner Published November 15, 2017 Media & Advertising FOXBusiness Opens a New Window.

Jenny McCarthy recounts alleged sexual harassment at an audition with Steven Seagal

Actress and ‘Blondies’ creator Jenny McCarthy on her new line of cocktails and the alleged sexual harassment she faced in Hollywood.
The sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood that initially began with allegations against Harvey Weinstein continues to expand, revealing a seemingly industry-wide issue. Movie director Brett Ratner now faces multiple allegations while “One Tree Hill” creator and executive producer Mark Schwann was accused of sexual harassment by cast members including Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton.

Actress, model and “Blondies” creator Jenny McCarthy, who was also an MTV host like Hilarie Burton, discussed the alleged sexual harassment she faced in an audition with Steven Seagal when she began making the transition from modeling to acting.

“I went into an audition and wore a long muumuu-type dress that he [Seagal] could pay attention to my eyes. I did, I looked like Mrs. Roper, you know because I wanted to be taken seriously, I was Playmate of the Year at the time and not many people take a Playmate of the Year seriously at all,” McCarthy told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.”

According to McCarthy, Seagal commented on the dress.

“He asked if I would lower my dress because my dress was too baggy and I said ‘no.’ And he said ‘well, there’s nudity in this movie.’”

But when McCarthy countered that there was no nudity in the movie, she says Seagal replied “there’s off-camera nudity.”

She says she then left after telling Seagal, “no…go ahead and pick up my Playboy video, it’s on sale.”

But Seagal reportedly followed McCarthy to her car and said “don’t tell anyone.”

After the audition McCarthy says she called her mom and vowed to tell the world once she became famous.

When asked if she was surprised to hear about the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, McCarthy responded, “Not at all, I’m surprised it took so long though for the world to really start talking about it.”

If it seems like I’m harping on Seagal the most with the Hollywood’s Open Secret scandals, it’s true. He’s a martial artist. He’s one of us. So I find this most repugnant. It’s also true that in America, we’re innocent until proven guilty, but the preponderance of evidence on Seagal’s character is overwhelming. We need to clean our own house.

35

Absolutely, Gene. Although it has ‘Hollywood’ in the title, this thread is open to all such stories.

Do you remember a few years ago, there was a fundamentalist Christian politician (a congressman??) who was virulently anti-gay, yet was caught trying to initiate gay sex in a public restroom by pushing a note under the stall divider to another man? I also seem to recall another, similar politician, with similar beliefs, getting caught trying the same thing, under similar circumstances.

Hypocrisy indeed.

I don’t believe anything that any politician and most religious leaders say, because most say what they do to promote whatever self-serving (or sectarian or party-serving) agenda they have. Even on the odd occasion they speak some truth, it’s always mixed with falsities. This is true for both Republicans/conservatives and Democrats/“liberals”. The whole political party thing is merely smoke and mirrors, anyway.

36

Larry Craig

I think you’re referring to Republican senator Larry Craig. He solicited an undercover cop in the men’s room at the airport.

37

With that scumbag Charles Manson now dead, I’m reminded of the fact that Bruce Lee was one of many who were investigated in the Tate-LaBianca murders. Roman Polanski had been a student of BL, and BL had mentioned having lost a pair of glasses, possibly on the Benedict Canyon estate.

What does this have to do with prominent people and rape and/or pedophilia?

In the linked article, read a few paragraphs down, where BL told then-publisher of Black Belt magazine, Mito Uyehara, about the lifestyle of Polanski and his rich friends in Switzerland, where Polanski had flown BL to for private lessons. It seems that BL was well aware of Roman Polanski’s propensities for young, underage girls years before Polanski was forced to permanently flee the U.S. for having sex with a 13 year-old girl.

And until very recently, many ‘A-list’ Hollywood celebrities (including Meryl Streep) still continued to praise Roman “Pedo” Polanski as a great man who should be pardoned.

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/vault/exotics/bruce-lee-investigated-manson-murders

38

Healter Skelter

Bruce knew and worked with Sharon Tate.

39

[QUOTE=GeneChing;1306088]Bruce knew and worked with Sharon Tate.

[/QUOTE]

Yes, indeed. Bruce did the fight choreography for The Wrecking Crew, and trained Sharon Tate and Nancy Kwan for their fight scene. I don’t know if Bruce taught Sharon any more beyond that (possibly).

BTW, The Wrecking Crew was the actual debut movie appearance of Chuck Norris, as well as Joe Lewis and Kenpo karate pioneer Ed Parker as henchmen, in which they were beaten by Dean Martin.

40

Terry Crews’ experience was mentioned earlier in this thread, and here he goes into detail about it. Terry Crews is 100% correct on this. What he says about Hollywood/the entertainment industry is applicable to any other environment/profession/pursuit. This entire interview is worth listening to. And once again, if this can happen to someone like Terry Crews, it can happen to anyone. This is also proof positive that sexual harassment is not only a women’s issue.

//youtu.be/2jNFymV3J-M