# Can I legally refuse to feed Rachel Leigh Cook unless she sleeps with me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758 "2003-05-16T19:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/101 "2010-07-23T17:24:39Z")
Just think of this way (these answers may not be your answers, but they apply to enough people to help illustrate the point): Are there people starving in America right now? Yes. Could you feed them if you wanted to? Yes. Are you feeding them? No. Are you committing a crime? No. If you met one of them and had sex with him or her, would you cook them breakfast the next morning? Possibly. Would that be rape? Not so much. In the US, there are no laws requiring that we feed the starving, other than via taxes (and barely even then). If ten people walk down the street and ignore the starving guy on the sidewalk, it doesn’t matter (from a legal point of view). When he dies the next day, you can still go to work the next day and throw out your leftovers from lunch. You can’t demand that someone give you sex for food, but you can prefer that the hot girl who is willing to have sex with you not starve to death. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/102 "2010-07-23T17:25:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I loved her in She’s All That, but didn’t realize she was born in 1979, which makes her 30 today. I always thought she was about my age. Your age = ? Me, 65. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/103 "2010-07-23T17:27:21Z")
Anyone notice how rough the women on _Survivor_ look after a few weeks? Bug bites, hairy legs, body lice, and B. O. doesn’t lead to romance. You may wind up offering food if Rachel Leigh Cook sleeps in her own hut. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/104 "2010-07-23T18:24:45Z")
It’s been seven years now. I still haven’t fed Rachel and she still hasn’t slept with me. The battle of wills continues. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/105 "2010-07-23T18:34:07Z")
Would Rachel Leigh Cook like to eat some nice warm braaaaaaaaaaains? Zombie thread! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/106 "2010-07-23T18:35:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s been seven years now. I still haven’t fed Rachel and she still hasn’t slept with me. > > The battle of wills continues. I hate to tell you this, but, she really likes cheese burgers. I figured you should know now. We do talk about you sometimes. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/107 "2010-07-23T18:41:02Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > what?? Could someone please explain what this would be? > [@Alereon](#): > > What kind of situation could this involve? A girl agrees to sleep with you as long as YOU DON’T PULL ANYTHING, but then you do? A masseuse convinces you that it’s time for a rectal massage with his throbbing member. You accept, thinking this application of warm sphincter cream will release the toxins. Afterwards, while explaining the unusual thrusting massage to your closest friends, you realize you had intercourse. In this case you consented to having your ass reamed by his cock, but you didn’t consent to intercourse. That’s rape. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/108 "2010-07-23T18:56:46Z")
Reminds me of an old joke: A man is washed ashore on a desert island after his ship sinks. After a few months, he’s gotten pretty good at gathering seafood and has built a comfortable shelter, but he’s horny and bored out of his mind. Imagine his joy when he sees a beautiful actress wash ashore. Let’s see… oh, I don’t know, let’s say it’s Rachel Leigh Cook! She likes him, is glad to accept food from him, and soon they’re doing what comes naturally. This goes on for several weeks. Then, one day, the guy bashfully asks her, “Um, Rachel, would you mind putting on this old shirt of mine so that you look more like a man?” Mystified, she agrees. He asks, “And would you mind rubbing some dirt on your chin so that it looks like you have a beard?” She does it. “And, um, would you mind talking in a much deeper voice, and saying your name is Bob?” Still puzzled, she does it. The guy couldn’t be more pleased. He throws his arm around her shoulder and says, “Hi, Bob. Glad to meet you. I’ve been dying to tell someone: you’ll never believe who I’m sleeping with…!” ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/109 "2010-07-23T19:27:40Z")
> [@Alereon](#): > > What kind of situation could this involve? A girl agrees to sleep with you as long as YOU DON’T PULL ANYTHING, but then you do? It’s probably child related. “Come here and taste this lollipop.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/110 "2010-07-23T19:44:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Reminds me of an old joke: > > A man is washed ashore on a desert island after his ship sinks. After a few months, he’s gotten pretty good at gathering seafood and has built a comfortable shelter, but he’s horny and bored out of his mind. Imagine his joy when he sees a beautiful actress wash ashore. Let’s see… oh, I don’t know, let’s say it’s Rachel Leigh Cook! She likes him, is glad to accept food from him, and soon they’re doing what comes naturally. This goes on for several weeks. > > Then, one day, the guy bashfully asks her, “Um, Rachel, would you mind putting on this old shirt of mine so that you look more like a man?” Mystified, she agrees. > > He asks, “And would you mind rubbing some dirt on your chin so that it looks like you have a beard?” She does it. > > “And, um, would you mind talking in a much deeper voice, and saying your name is Bob?” Still puzzled, she does it. > > The guy couldn’t be more pleased. He throws his arm around her shoulder and says, “Hi, Bob. Glad to meet you. I’ve been dying to tell someone: you’ll never believe who I’m sleeping with…!” That’s a good one, and all too true. ---
**Author:** ![Penguinlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Penguinlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penguinlady)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/111 "2010-07-23T19:52:22Z")
> [@Conflict\_of\_Interest](#): > > Why? What law has be broken? I mean, people may see him as a real slime but is there a law against that? Yes, it’s called \*depraved indifference \*and it’s invoked against people who _ **could** _ help someone who is in extremis, but choose not to and the persoon suffers because of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/112 "2010-07-23T20:18:00Z")
> [@Penguinlady](#): > > Yes, it’s called \*depraved indifference \*and it’s invoked against people who _ **could** _ help someone who is in extremis, but choose not to and the persoon suffers because of it. No it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/113 "2010-07-23T20:27:32Z")
OK, I feel bad about my terse contradiction. Depraved indifference is when you do something where you don’t specifically intend for people to die, but your actions could pretty clearly kill someone. So, for instance, throwing heavy objects off the freeway overpass when you can’t see if anyone is below. You can’t see the cars, you aren’t intending to wreck a car, but anyone can see that you’re pretty likely cause a car wreck if you do that. If you see a starving drunk sleeping in the gutter and walk on past without helping him, you have not committed a crime. If you see a guy in a wrecked car, and run over and try to help him, and smash the window of his car to get him out, he can’t sue you for damaging his car because most states have enacted Good Samaritan laws. But those Good Samaritan laws don’t require you go run over and pull the guy out of the car, they just protect you from civil liability if you do. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/114 "2010-07-23T21:17:19Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > Sorry to hijack, but am I being wooshed here? Kitty Genovese was a lesbian? [Crimelibrary](http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/kitty_genovese/1.html) calls her > > Sure, the next page mentions she lived with her girlfriend, but I don’t think that means they were lovers. At least, that’s not how I’d interpret it. Googling returns no real results. > > Have I missed something? ditto. also wiki re number of true witnesses. [it happens that I grew up 2 minutes from the site. just mentioning it.] ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/115 "2010-07-24T01:36:59Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > No it isn’t. Girl fight, girlfight! I have no whether **Lemur866** is a girl or not. I just couldn’t resist. A middle school flashback is to blame. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/116 "2010-07-24T01:42:38Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > ditto. > also wiki re number of true witnesses. [it happens that I grew up 2 minutes from the site. just mentioning it.] Whacha referring to there, Leo? I can’t find the quoted thread. But I’m old. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/117 "2010-07-24T02:54:28Z")
Kitty Genovese case, which I _still_ am too lazy to look back for its original posters. Gotta get my manners better. \hijack of hijack\ Always thought your name began with “mange” like in the dogs. I always thought that that was a pretty gross user name, but chacun a son gout. I now realize it begins with “man.” Right?\end hijack\ FWIW, I can’t legally refuse to feed my dog here, whether he sleeps with me or not. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/118 "2010-07-24T02:54:46Z")
> [@Penguinlady](#): > > Yes, it’s called \*depraved indifference \*and it’s invoked against people who _ **could** _ help someone who is in extremis, but choose not to and the persoon suffers because of it. Uh, no. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/119 "2010-07-24T03:29:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, it’s called depraved indifference and it’s invoked against people who could help someone who is in extremis, but choose not to and the persoon suffers because of it. I think the term you’re looking for is “[duty to rescue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue)”. The concept does exist but, as the linked article notes, is not widely invoked in American or British law. ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758/120 "2010-07-24T03:34:06Z")
In regards to Kitty Genovese being a lesbian, Google turns up this: [http://soundportraits.org/on-air/remembering\_kitty\_genovese/](http://soundportraits.org/on-air/remembering_kitty_genovese/) > [@](#): > > Today the name Kitty Genovese remains synonymous with public apathy, although almost nothing is known of who she actually was. It was not reported in 1964 that Kitty Genovese was a lesbian and that she shared her home in Kew Gardens with her girlfriend, Mary Ann Zielonko. In this piece, the first broadcast interview she has ever granted, Mary Ann remembers Kitty and the time they shared. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-refuse-to-feed-rachel-leigh-cook-unless-she-sleeps-with-me/175758.md?page=7)