I find TMZ…odd. And why they decided to follow actor Catherine Hicks after she got her nails done is beyond me, but what started as a light conversation about a possible 7th Heaven reunion quickly brought up a more serious and important issue.
Hicks, along with cast members Beverley Mitchell, Jessica Biel, Barry Watson, and Mackenzie Rosman shared a photo of a casual reunion back in February and Biel more recently shared an old photo of her and Mitchell on Instagram. TMZ asked Hicks if she still considers the women family and she said “of course.”
They went on to ask, considering projects like Girl Meets World and Fuller House, if there might be a 7th Heaven reunion down the road. “I don't know,” she said, “I mean we'd have to open with Stephen's coffin.”
If only everyone could be so straightforward about how to treat harassers and abusers?.
In late 2014 Stephen Collins, who played Hicks' fictional husband Reverend Eric Camden on the show, admitted to sexually assaulting three minors. To say the cast would like to keep their distance from him is probably an understatement. Hicks, who played Annie Camden on the show for eleven seasons, told TMZ she'd be open to an actual reunion but once again mentioned an easy out for excluding Collins in the narrative by saying there'd be “a new boyfriend for Annie.”
From Thandie Newton being open about past sexual abuse by a director to people like Lexi Alexander explaining how things work in Hollywood to fans on Twitter every day, speaking up about normally “hush-hush” topics is happening more and more. And that's good.
Hicks has had a successful career dating back to the late '70s so perhaps she doesn't feel the same pressure to stay quiet as others in the industry might but it's a huge statement nonetheless. She may not realize it but other people (in many industries) are hoping for people to speak up every day.
(via Jezebel)