Students react to Hollywood sexual misconduct scandals

By Abby Goss on November 10, 2017

As the reports of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault and harassment accusations became national news in recent weeks, scores of others in the public eye have also become tangled up in scandal, including comedian Louis C.K., who admitted this week that the allegations against him were true.

One of the most shocking allegations is against Kevin Spacey, two-time Oscar winner and star of House of Cards. Actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making sexual advances towards Rapp when he was only 14. Rapp stated on Twitter that he came out with these allegations now to stand with the women who have made allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Rapp tweeted, “standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have speaking out to shine a light and hopefully make a difference.”

Spacey made a statement regarding his “drunken behavior” and apologized to Rapp via Twitter. Spacey also came out as gay to the public.

While Spacey’s coming out should be something to celebrate, the way in which he did it has been widely criticized and viewed as a means of deflecting the attention away from Rapp’s allegations. Since then, more than eight men have also come forward revealing that Spacey made similar advances towards them.

Due to the recent sexual assault allegations against Spacey, Netflix has ceased production of House of Cards. Allegations of Spacey’s predatory tendencies on the set reportedly made it a toxic workplace for the cast and crew. Netflix released a statement saying it was committed to “maintain[ing] a safe and respectful working environment.”

Actor Ben Affleck has been accused of groping an MTV host Hilarie Burton.  Actor and comedian Andy Dick was accused of groping and making unwanted advances towards cast-mates in the feature film Raising Buchanan. Dick denied groping claims and was fired from the film.

West Chester University seniors Skylar Vinson and Taylor Aves are not surprised by waves of allegations.

“I am not surprised. I feel like these kinds of things happen all the time in Hollywood, but no one admits it,” Vinson says.

Aves shares a similar view: “No, I am not surprised men in a position of power tend to abuse that kind of power.”

Weinstein,  a sixty-five-year-old film producer whose career is now over after allegations of decades of sexual assault emerged, may be the most egregious example of abuse of power.

The list of his accusers now totals 79 women, many with notable names such as Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rose McGowan among them. Weinstein claims these allegations are bogus; however, very few people in Hollywood support his claims.

Thousands of women and men across the country have been sharing their stories of sexual assault and harassment alongside the hashtag #MeToo.

This movement started in late October when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”  Milano’s goal was to raise awareness for how large the issue still is in our country and around the world.

The movement still continues to grow with millions of users engaging with the hashtag on both Twitter and Facebook.

Sexual assault is still a real problem in the United States and one that often goes unpunished. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), only 344 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are even reported to the police. This means that two out of every three go unreported. Out of those reported crimes less than 17% lead to an arrest.

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