The exposure of Harvey Weinstein has led to a reckoning in Hollywood, with many abusers being exposed and facing consequences. This spirit of “enough is enough” was brought to its fullest with the launching of Time’s Up, an initiative focused on anti-harassment legislation, equality for women in the workplace across the board, and a legal defense fund for less privileged women, as an extension of #MeToo. In order to shine a light on the burgeoning movement, many actresses on the Golden Globes red carpet took recognized activists as their dates to the ceremony, and nearly every person in attendance either wore black or sported “Time’s Up” pins.
While this was certainly a worthy effort that is part of a larger movement, a longstanding Hollywood blindspot was an elephant in the room. Many of the people participating had worked with Woody Allen, a noted abuser, and had remained silent on his past harassment. However, not staying silent was Dylan Farrow, Allen’s daughter who alleges that he molested her at a very young age. In a statement made to Buzzfeed News, Farrow addressed the apparent hypocrisy.
“I fully support women taking a stand, linking arms with other women (and men), advocating on behalf of one another to effect change not only in the entertainment industry but in the world at large. That is an admirable and worthwhile objective, I hope these women change the world. That said, the people who join this movement without taking any kind of personal accountability for the ways in which their own words and decisions have helped to perpetuate the culture they are fighting against, that’s hard for me to reconcile.”
Farrow has spoken about this before, specifically calling out the stars of Woody Allen’s latest, Kate Winslet and Timberlake (who was sporting a Time’s Up pin and all black at the Globes), as well as Blake Lively for their continued adoration of Allen.
In her latest statement, Farrow continued, saying that the apparent blind eye towards Allen’s crimes undermines their worthy cause.
“It’s of course particularly hard for me as a survivor of sexual abuse to know that for these particular individuals I am not part of the ‘every woman’ they stand for. I seem to remain secondary to their ambition, which undermines the powerful and embracing message they are trying to send.”
Yes, the allure of success is truly seductive, but the silence of so many on Allen is truly becoming a black mark on a righteous movement. While actresses involved in Time’s Up like Jessica Chastain, Evan Rachel Wood, and Tessa Thompson have spoken out against Allen’s abuses, many involved who have previously worked with him, including Lively, Greta Gerwig, Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, and Cate Blanchett haven’t spoken out against him.
Now, this is a particularly complicated issue. Under ordinary circumstances, a woman should not be held accountable or be required to comment on the bad behavior of a man. The focus should be on his actions, not her response. However, the situation gets murkier when you start espousing a message of anti-harassment while still appearing to support a notorious abuser.
A few actors, including Ellen Page, The Tick‘s Griffin Newman, and David Krumholtz, have expressed regret over their decisions to work with Allen, so this would not be an unprecedented move to make. If we’re going to face this insidious problem head-on, we can’t just hold the accused assaulters that we don’t like accountable. Not even for the sake of Annie Hall.
(Via Buzzfeed News)