In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault and harassment scandal, many more accusers are coming out and will continue to come out to make their voices heard, as we’ve seen with past alleged serial offenders such as Bill Cosby and our president, Donald Trump. Survivor stories are also empowering others to come forward with their own ordeals separate of the Weinstein accusations, and as we learned from Terry Crews this week — who revealed having been sexually assaulted by a male “Hollywood honcho” — not everyone who experiences harassment or assault is a woman.
As such, early Thursday morning, former Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek took to Twitter to share his own experiences, starting off by slamming anyone judging the women who stayed silent, as well as those who brush off the harassment as “boys being boys.”
“What Weinstein is being accused of is criminal. What he’s admitted to is unacceptable – in any industry. I applaud everybody speaking out,” Van Der Beek wrote, before admitting to himself having been harassed and groped by “older, powerful men.”
You can read his series of tweets below:
https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/918345089725927425
https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/918346346989604865
https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/918349928547708929
https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/918350756092305413
But because, as awful as it is, the Weinstein scandal isn’t the only thing going on in the world right now, Van Der Beek also took a moment to pray for the safety of the firefighters battling the horrific Northern California wildfires.
https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/918353151056662528
If you are a victim or survivor of sexual assault, resources for support are available through RAINN‘s National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.