I remember that article (I still have every *Spy *issue from about 1987 on). IIRC, there was a followup in which Toback commented on the article, saying that all of Spy’s hit pieces were about Jews and sexually active people. To which Spy replied that they had a number of sexually active Jews on the staff.
…in context: you will be hard-pressed to find a more insulting term than “real victims.” You don’t get to decide who is and isn’t a victim.
Well, gosh, I’m sorry the guy from “The Usual Suspects” might not be in another movie because people are disgusted by his being a sexual predator.
Gosh, it’s more than one person now that he harassed. How about that. I guess you’ll need another example of a person whose career is ruined by a single unsupported allegation.
From Rapp’s Wikipedia page: “Rapp added that he once met with a lawyer to discuss possible legal action, but was told there was no case worth pursuing.” I’ll concede it was a crime, but it was one of those circumstances that cops are loathe to get involved with and on its own would not have resulted in a conviction.
The problem in a court of law is the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. I testify Spacey grabbed me, threw me on the bed, and groped me until I escaped. Spacey testifies, “No I didn’t”. The case goes to the jury. Was the charge against Spacey proved beyond a reasonable doubt? Is there any particular reason the jury is going to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Spacey’s testimony is a lie? Or is there a reasonable doubt about my testimony? If I’m a teenage gay club kid in 1985, you bet there is.
In general, “he said, she said” cases are very difficult to bring to trial because it’s very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt events that only two people witnessed and are telling conflicting stories about. It can happen, but only when there’s some reason for the prosecution to think that a jury would be very likely to believe the victim over the defendant.
I’m guessing it probably seems that way because entertainment is considered frivolous and not as important as the other things you mentioned. Secrets in Hollywood, if inadvertently disclosed, can at worst “merely” ruin the careers of a few people or lead to the collapse of a studio. Also, the entertainment industry has a long-term reputation for being on the shady side so people’s moral expectations are a lot lower. On the other hand, secrets in fields like politics or business have more weight because they have the potential to do things like cause wars, bring down governments, or tank the economy. Still, that doesn’t mean such open secrets do not exist. Case in point: everybody has known for years that the Israelis have nuclear weapons even though they have never publicly admitted it.
I’ve had much worse happen to me as a kid and I still don’t count myself a lifelong victim.
The more I hear about Spacey, the more I dread finding out he tried something with Haley Osment. Hoping that what I’ve heard about Michael Osment is true: that he was super vigilant about both his children, and wouldn’t have allowed a predator the slightest opportunity.
Sounds like you’re conflating having been a victim of sexual assault with somehow defining one’s entire identity around one’s victimization status. They are not the same thing.
If somebody was sexually assaulted, even decades ago, they have the right to come forward about it at any time to confront and/or denounce the perpetrator. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are “counting themselves a lifelong victim”, whatever you actually mean by that.
I hear several gerbils are planning a lawsuit against a certain former A-list celeb.
The human mind is a funny thing. You hurt someone once, they think something horrible happened to them. You hurt someone a dozen times, they start thinking that getting hurt is normal, and resent people who feel otherwise. I’ve seen it happen.
Sure they have the right and if they were the victim of rape or something equally horrible I’ll listen and respect them. If however it was one trivial incident years ago then I equally have the right to say get over it. Rapp is pathetic and by ‘counting themselves a lifelong victim’ I mean coming forward decades later and attempting to put yourself on the same level with victims of serious sexual assault. That shows utter disrespect for those women and men who have been truly scarred for life by rape, etc. Does anyone really believe that Rapp spends every night sobbing into his pillow, completely unable to live a normal and productive life? If so your naïveté is of a high order indeed. Rapp saw a chance for some free publicity and grabbed it. Nothing succeeds like victim status these days.
Or maybe Rapp said to himself “I have a story to tell that I’ve been holding back for years out of fear, and I’m no longer afraid, and I’m going to tell my story.”
Shame on you for shitting on someone for nothing more than coming forward and telling their story of something that happened to them against their will. Seriously. Shame on you.
Has Rapp said any such thing? Not that I can tell.
He’s been telling the story to friends since 1990, so it’s not true to suggest he’s only coming forward now. According to him, he’s coming forward now because he’s been inspired to by the bravery of others.
Translation: Bad stuff happened to me, and I’ve never felt that I have dealt with it. So I am going to criticize someone else who had bad stuff happen to them who is dealing with it, because it triggers me.
Seriously, seek help.
You dodged the question, as expected. If I were to do this to you, would you regard it as a trivial incident or not? It’s a VERY simple question, and the fact that you refuse to answer says a lot.
We can just re-use the “how many television viewers do you have to have to get away with punching your boss in the face” one we made for Jeremy Clarkson.
Well, yeah. The straight equivalent of gay bars is Bennigan’s, and there is no straight equivalent of bath houses.
Yes, I’d regard it as trivial and I’d move on with my life. (As indeed I have done over far more substantial incidents.) Satisfied?
Latest accusation against Hoffman. Basically he asked a woman if she’d sleep with a guy over 40 and then invited her to go to a hotel with him. Oh, and earlier he rebuked one of his friends for talking dirty in front of her. These incidents were apparently a ‘source of torment to her for years after’. Remember, she was an adult woman when this happened. Now she parades her memories as if Hoffman had thrown her over a couch and raped her. I am delighted that pigs like Weinstein who really did abuse women are getting their just deserts but this particular story about Hoffman is total bullshit and cheapens those who do have real stories of abuse to tell.