Fat Babe Talking: Why Is It Only Now That We've Decided To Give A Shit About Abuse In Hollywood?

For the past month, the unearthing of sexual assaults has been toppling the careers of Hollywood’s most powerful men.

Or has it?

The allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and countless other men aren’t news to people. Perhaps the depth of the depravity is, but the general consensus is that many had at least some inkling about these people’s behaviour. And yet, it wasn’t until recently that we decided to give a shit.

In a 1979 Time Magazine interview, Meryl Streep admitted that Dustin Hoffman groped her breast the first time they met. No one cared. Allegations had swirled around Bill Cosby for the past 40 years. No one cared. Roman Polanski was convicted of raping a 13 year old girl and we’re still giving him awards for his films! No one cares.

Every time a new victim decides to share their story, people are so quick to say things like, 'Another struggling actress deciding to jump on the bandwagon!' Or, 'Why did she wait 20 years to say something?' Maybe it’s because they felt as though no one would believe them? Or maybe it’s because they saw that speaking up wouldn’t change anything. We would still allow these predators to work and be successful. 

I genuinely thought that when Chris Brown attacked Rihanna his career was over. In the photos that were released in the aftermath, I felt sick thinking about what she must have endured to accumulate those injuries. But we accepted his half-hearted apology, and allow him to be a relevant musician played on the radio. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has twice been accused of rape, once in both 2009 and 2010. In spite of this, Ben received only a minor four game suspension, retained his sponsorship with Nike, and was named the 11th highest paid athlete in 2015. 

It seems as though if one or two people come forward with an allegation of rape or physical assault, we can let that pass. Sweep it under the rug. Forget about it. But when ten people make similar admissions, that’s a bit trickier. That’s when Netflix has to disassociate from you and your own namesake company has to oust you to protect their own asses. They don’t care that they were owned by, or associated with, or were sponsoring a predator - they already knew that! They’re just afraid of those dirty little secrets being revealed and everyone knowing about it. 

So what do you do next if you’re a predator? You make a very public apology saying you’re ashamed of your actions and are going to take time to reflect on your behaviour. You can check yourself into a cushiony rehab facility or make a huge announcement to try to detract from the public discourse, a.k.a. pull a 'Spacey'. Then basically just go into hiding until all this shit hopefully blows over. Maybe in two or three years you can put out a hit record or star in a critically acclaimed movie that we’ll give you an Oscar for, a.k.a. pull an 'Affleck'. 

Because at the end of the day, as long as you’re really talented at your profession, society doesn’t give a shit how many people you abuse.