You know that feeling when you’re making pizza rolls and they’re finally done and you pick one up and it starts singeing your fingers and you KNOW that if you don’t let it cool, it’s going to burn the living hell out of you, but it’s too tempting and you bite into it anyway and spend the rest of the night wondering how you could have been so stupid as to willingly roast the inside of your mouth for one stupid pizza roll?

I feel that way right now, because somehow DESPITE the fact that our government is currently being run by three third graders standing on top of one another's shoulders, everyone’s main priority is still bashing people online for disagreeing with their opinions on social issues.

And while I don’t particularly want to face the #MeToo firing squad, this particular pizza roll just looks too good not to torch my mouth on.

So let’s get the worst part over with:

The #MeToo movement is about one more invalid accusation away from going on life support.

(Yep, there’s the burn. I can see the comments now.)

For those who don’t know what the #MeToo movement is:

Hi, welcome back to civilization. You might want to go back to wherever you came from. It’s probably less terrifying there.

If you’re truly unfamiliar then I suggest a quick Google search of any male in Hollywood. In the meantime, I'll give you a brief rundown. Many people in the entertainment business (women, men, and children alike) have been enduring rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment from powerful industry leaders for decades, creating a hostile and traumatizing workplace. Over the past several months, these victims have finally begun breaking their silence, many of them revealing that at the time of the

incident in question, they had been unable to file a police report due to being blackmailed or paid off with hush money by their abuser.

(Hollywood's finest wore all black to the 2018 Golden Globes to show their support for victims of sexual misconduct in the industry.)

While the #MeToo movement was inspired by the sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, the hashtag has become an invitation for all victims to share their stories, while spreading awareness of the prevalence of sexual abuse and misconduct that plagues our society.

(Actress, Alyssa Milano, ignites #MeToo- putting a name to the movement.)

Side note: While the sexual abuse victims of the entertainment industry have been a mix when it comes to both gender and age, this particular article is going to focus on the adult women coming forward, as they are the majority and are receiving the most attention when it comes to this issue as a whole.

As a woman who has dealt with unsavory sexual encounters with men, I fully support the #MeToo movement and wholeheartedly emphasize with the victims. It's never been a huge secret that the entertainment industry is a sleazy one, but hearing the extent to which the predatory behavior extends has been a much-needed culture shock.

The stories that have been brought to light have made Hollywood elite and the general public alike wonder how we, as a society, managed to turn a blind eye on such a disgusting issue for so long. The support that has been shown to the victims, giving them the safe haven to finally out their demons to the public, effectively breaking the hold their abusers have on them, has been an amazing thing to see.

By ending the cycle of victim-blaming, we've been able to start making the necessary strides towards a more honest, morally intact version of show business.

That being said, as the #MeToo movement continues to take America by storm, three major issues have developed, transforming the movement from a form of long overdue justice into a full-on witch hunt. (a.k.a. the "Salem Dick Trials").

(Depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, during which time, over 200 people were imprisoned and executed entirely on the grounds of baseless accusations of witchcraft.)

The first glaring problem is the fact that a mere accusation (notice how this is different from a conviction), is all that is needed for the accused to be promptly fired from their job(s), kicked off of future projects, dropped by sponsors, blackballed in the industry, berated by the public, etc.

(Please Note: In no way am I implying the parties mentioned above are innocent. Their headlines were compiled, showing accused parties being punished due solely to allegations, rather than a conviction.)

One sentence, not backed by a smidgen of proof, and an entire career goes up in flames. For those who don't fully understand the gravity of this situation: you cannot come back from a sexual abuse scandal. Once accused, your name will always be associated with that awful crime, whether you’re guilty of it or not. The scandal will be permanently attached to your name for everyone who knew of who when the accusation came out. Anyone unaware of the scandal will learn of it the minute they Google you since the search will bring up dozens of news headlines, all riddled with the words "sexual misconduct".

In an industry where public opinion is the be all, end all, a character assassination of that magnitude renders the accused a social pariah and you'll be lucky to book a commercial for a local Cash-for-Gold business.

For example, please refer to Michael Jackson for a moment. Although he was found Not Guilty of child molestation, any time you think of Michael Jackson, the word "pedophile" comes to mind. Neither Jackson's career nor his personal life was the same after the allegations were made against him; additionally, the toll the scandal took on his mental health was easy to see. After his death in 2009, public opinion towards Jackson softened, but that doesn't change the fact that prior to his death, the number one topic of discussion when it came to Michael Jackson wasn't his music or tour, but rather the ongoing question whether or not Jackson was a child molester.

(This graphic appeared in an article about Michael Jackson, after his death in 2009. Despite having his name legally cleared, Jackson's scandal was still the main topic of conversation surrounding the late star.)

Our justice system is supposed to operate on the principle that those accused of a crime are "innocent until proven guilty according to law". These accused men may not be behind bars, but that doesn't mean that they aren't receiving the equivalent of a "guilty ruling", without the privilege of a fair trial. This career that they've worked their whole lives for; this insane dream that they somehow managed to achieve; their friends in the industry, who can no longer afford the public association; the fans who once saw them as a role model...all gone, over a baseless accusation.

That's not to say that all accused parties are innocent, but let a jury be the judge of that, rather than Twitter.

(Twitter users attack actor, Ed Westwick, after a Facebook post circulated, accusing him of rape.)

The second serious problem hacking away at the respectability of the #MeToo movement is the nature of some of the accusations being made.

Take the most recent, high-profile example which involved Aziz Ansari.

*If you're familiar with Ansari's recent "15 minutes of Shame", feel free to skip this paragraph.*

(Aziz Ansari)

Comedian, Aziz Ansari (Parks and Rec, Master of None), was recently in the #MeToo hot seat after an article surfaced this past January (2018), on Babe (a website featuring articles on a variety of topics, geared towards women), accusing him of "sexually assaulting" a 23-year-old after a date.

In the article, the alleged "victim" (referred to as "Grace", but real identity kept anonymously) detailed the night. It began with wine (she states the wine was white, whereas she preferred red- probably viewing this "tragic" error on Ansari's part as foreshadowing) and ended back at Ansari's Manhattan apartment. Back at the apartment, Ansari initiated a sexual encounter, as many adult men would with an adult woman after a date.

"Grace" recalls performing sexual acts on Ansari but keeps repeating that she was uncomfortable and that Ansari should have sensed that and ended the physical contact. The article ends with the image of a text message exchange between "Grace" and Ansari in which "Grace" calls Ansari out for continuing to pursue her after she showed signs of discomfort, to which Ansari apologized in a very sincere way.

After the article was published, Ansari released a statement to apologize for the encounter (once again) and to share his continued support for the #MeToo movement, even after becoming a target.

(Ansari (gray) apologizing to "Grace" (blue), after she texted to inform him that their sexual encounter from the night before was not consensual, as Ansari had previously thought.)

*End of Re-cap*

First of all, I'll agree that based on "Grace's" account of the night's events, it does seem as though Ansari was coming on way too strong for a first date and, had it been me, I would have definitely been uncomfortable as well.

However, there's a large difference between feeling uncomfortable yet actively choosing to stay in that situation, while engaging in sexual activity and being physically forced to. One is a sexual encounter that you regret, the other is sexual assault.

To claim sexual assault in a situation where you could have just walked out of the front door is an affront to actual victims of sexual assault, who weren't so lucky as to have the ability to choose whether or not to stay.

Furthermore, "Grace" made her feelings about the night clear to Ansari who apologized to her in, what came across as, a very sincere manner. Had Ansari brushed off "Grace's" feelings or tried to blackmail her into keeping quiet, I would've seen a reason to have an article written about the encounter.

However, with the circumstances being what they were, coupled with the fact that Ansari had already apologized to "Grace", when the incident actually occurred (a year prior), the Babe article was obviously written with intentions other than to actually report a "sexual assault" at the hands of a celebrity.

Prior to "Grace's" story being published, in December of 2017, a post on Twitter went viral. The post accused popular pop artist, Melanie Martinez, of rape and was written by her best friend and fellow female musician, Timothy Heller.

(Pop singer, Timothy Heller's viral tweet, accusing her former best friend, Melanie Martinez, of rape.)

*If you are familiar with this story, you can skip the next four paragraphs.*

The tweet in question consisted of several screenshots of a smartphone "notepad", which detailed Heller's rape by her "best friend". While the written account doesn't mention Martinez's name, Heller hammered the nail into Martinez's coffin with her caption on the tweet reading, "When I wrote this story about my assault, I initially wasn't going to make the abuser [known]. But I think it's important for you all to know this is about Melanie Martinez."

In Heller's recounting of the events leading up to the "rape", she explains that she was going through a difficult time in her life, which ultimately led to her more successful, best friend (Martinez) taking her in. One night, while living together, Martinez began asking Heller personal questions in regards to her sexuality, eventually suggesting that the two have sex, despite Heller's assertion of her heterosexuality and the fact that she had a boyfriend.

Heller said she turned Martinez down that first night, however, on the following night, Martinez got Heller high on weed and began touching her sexually. One thing led to another and the encounter ended with Martinez performing oral on Heller and penetrating her with a sex toy, without her consent, as Heller re-states many times.

"She knew I didn't want to, I made that clear. I didn't scream at her, I didn't force her off of me. 1, because I loved her. 2, because I just wanted it to all be over," Heller wrote. "Girls can rape girls. Best friends can rape best friends. Friendship does not equal consent. Silence doesn't equal consent."

(Melanie Martinez (left) and Timothy Heller (right))

"I felt like I owed her my life," Heller wrote in regards to Martinez taking her in, before noting that, "Her [Martinez's] power over me grew and grew. And I was silenced." This becomes a recurring sentiment throughout Heller's narrative, with Heller blaming this power imbalance for her agreeing to smoke weed with Martinez on the night of the alleged incident, and then later for Heller's inability to reject her friend's advances.

*End of Re-cap*

As was the case with "Grace", Heller was in a position to end the uncomfortable sexual encounter with her stoned best friend and instead chose to lie there, while saying and doing absolutely nothing, all of which she openly admits. In the event that everything went down in exactly the way that Heller describes, it is likely that in her high state, Martinez saw Heller's lack of verbal objection as her succumbing to her physical desire for the activity, despite her mental reservations. Mistaken body language mixed with mind-altering substances is the same combination that led a drunk Aziz Ansari to view "Grace's" physically going along with his sexual advances as consent.

While it's inherently wrong to pursue physical contact with a party after they've said "no", if the party on the reciprocating end of the unwanted sexual advances is physically able to get up and walk away, but instead chooses to silently endure the activity then they can't claim "rape" or "sexual assault" after the fact. Now, does that mean that the person who endured the activity was completely at fault? Of course not. The verbal expression of one's unwillingness to partake in a sexual activity EVEN ONCE should be enough for the offending party to back off.

Unfortunately, especially in cases like the ones cited above, when mind-altering substances are involved and judgments are hindered, the responsibility may fall on the unwilling party to stop any undesired advances. If the uncomfortable party's path to the door is blocked, they're being physically held against their will, or threatened in any way, this is the time to get into contact with law enforcement or, if it's too late to prevent an unwanted encounter, this is the time to go to the hospital for a rape kit and start working on a case.

The third (and perhaps most severe) problem is the amount of power that self-proclaimed "victims" have over the subject of their accusation.

As pointed out earlier, one of the biggest issues with this movement is the constant public crucifixions of individuals, carried out solely on the word of baseless accusations, made by so-called "victims", who haven't even been proven to be credible sources of information.

Maybe in general, women aren't likely to be caught dropping roofies in the drinks of male party-goers or blackmailing their way out of jail time after raping their co-star. But this idea that women are the doe-eyed, innocent victims of the evil, penis-clad industry leaders, needs to stop.

If anything, women are worse than their male counterparts, seeing as a woman will take down a man's entire life from two states away, because she saw the name "Caitlyn" pop up on his phone the last time they were hanging out. Now combine that with the power to topple LITERALLY any public figure, for money or fame or revenge or all three, with something as simple as an online article.

(Radio personality, Ryan Seacrest was falsely accused of sexual misconduct by former stylist back in November. Allegedly, $15 million was requested in exchange for her silence, however, these reports have yet to be confirmed by a credible source.)

(Monica Lewinsky, who built her fame and career from high profile affair with President Bill Clinton, is now claiming that the affair was not "consensual", as Clinton's position of power allowed him to take advantage of her. These new allegations come despite the fact that Lewinsky has been very clear about her role in orchestrating the affair in the past.)

I had touched earlier on the notion that, although unclear, "Grace's" decision to share her story about Aziz Ansari felt like it had an ulterior motive. Seeing as the comedian had already apologized and given the nature of the alleged "assault" (mostly being that it wasn't an assault so much as a lack of communication)- "Grace's" decision to put Ansari on blast with the article, featuring pictures taken by her throughout the night, as well as screenshots of private text messages between the two, seemed like anything but a sincere contribution to the #MeToo movement.

Being that the two had only just met, a revenge plot seems unlikely. While it's always possible that "Grace" was traumatized enough by the encounter to release her story purely as a jab as Ansari, it seems more likely that the anonymous, 23-year-old, Brooklynite photographer was after a check. And hey, maybe she got it because the story has fizzled like crazy since Ansari's final statement on the matter.

All the same, upon Googling "Aziz Ansari", the top results are nearly all pertaining to the sexual assault allegations.

Much like with "Grace", Timothy Heller's story did not feel as if it was told out of a sincere desire to spread awareness about sexual abuse. In fact, any sincerity behind Heller's story seemed to be negated by the story itself.

First off, Timothy Heller and Melanie Martinez are eerily similar in both looks and music style. The artists met while both just beginning their careers. However, while Martinez took off, becoming a major pop star, Heller was left behind, doomed to be an opening act. It stands to reason that Heller would be jealous of her "best friend" and Heller's tweet all but outright states this.

(Timothy Heller (left) and Melanie Martinez (right))

"Some of her fans became my fans, but their loyalty never strayed from her. They are dedicated. She's perfect. To the public, she can do no wrong," Heller's note reads.

Secondly, Heller refers to her feelings of "codependency" with Martinez repeatedly throughout the post, admitting that her life "revolved" around that of her best friend's. She also frequently expresses how much she "loved" and "still loves" Martinez, both before and after her account of the actual "rape". Towards the end, Heller wrote, "Our friendship ended because she decided she didn't have time for me anymore. To worry about me anymore. She cared too much about me, it was holding her back."

These words, in conjunction with Heller's "last minute" decision to include Martinez's name in the post, seem to spell out "revenge plot", more than "awareness".

If Heller's end goal had been to ruin Martinez's reputation in the eyes of her fans then she succeeded.

Immediately after Heller's tweet started circulating online, Martinez released a statement on her own Twitter page, revealing that she was "horrified and saddened" to read Heller's version of events. "She never said no to what we chose to do together," Martinez's tweet read.

Of course, because modern day society operates under the notion of "guilty until proven innocent", Martinez found herself under fire (literally) within a few hours of Heller's tweet going viral, with angry fans were going as far as to burn her merchandise. Videos of the merchandise bonfires were posted online with, #MelanieMartinezIsOverParty; the hashtag soaring to the top of trending lists across social media.

(Fans burn their Melanie Martinez merchandise, following the rape accusation made by Timothy Heller.)

Since Martinez's initial tweet in defense of herself didn't work to calm down the angry mob, she attempted another tweet a few days after the chaos began. In this tweet, Martinez thanked those of her fans who hadn't taken Heller's story at face value, additionally, referring to the fact that many dedicated fans had dug up older social media posts which seemingly disproved much of Heller's version of events.

While many of Martinez's fans have finally stopped burning their belongings long enough to do some research about the situation, Martinez continues to lie fairly low. Once she regains her footing, Martinez will be working overtime to get her PR back to where it was at the beginning of December.

As the Martinez scandal wore on, fans noticed that Timothy Heller seemed to be releasing/ promoting new music, leading them to wonder if the whole ordeal was Heller's attempt to bring some attention to herself and her music, while simultaneously taking out her ex-best friend.

If you Google "Melanie Martinez", the very first result is a Billboard article, headline reading, "Melanie Martinez of 'The Voice' Accused of Rape By Former Best Friend".

Here are some problems in the entertainment industry, worthy of being included in the #MeToo movement:

-Men (or women) in power sexually assaulting/raping women and blackmailing them to keep it a secret.

i.e. Pop icon, Kesha's, repeated sexual abuseat the hands of her producer, Dr. Luke. Kesha was unable to free herself from his control, due to their binding legal contract.

(Pop singer, Kesha, understandably emotional, while attending the trial in her case against Dr. Luke.)

-Children in the industry being sexually abused or exploited by adults in power.

i.e.Kevin Spacey's attempted rapeof Anthony Rapp (14, at the time) at a party. Or, when Miley Cyrus was forced into a topless photo shoot for Vanity Fair, at only 15 years old.

(Kevin Spacey (left) and Anthony Rapp (right)) (Miley Cyrus, 2018.)

-Men (or women) in power, sexually assaulting/raping an unconscious individual.

i.e. Bill Cosby drugging unknowing women in order to take advantage of them.

(Bill Cosby, in custody following numerous women coming forward with allegations of rape.)

If we continue on this path of,

*taking every accusation at face value

*nuking the careers of anyone simply accused of sexual misconduct without an actual conviction

*and encouraging women who mislabel unpleasant sexual encounters as "rape"/"assault"

then the #MeToo movement will fade into history, in the same vein as the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials.

The #MeToo movement, at its core, is so incredibly important to eradicating the grotesquely overlooked problem of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, as well as amongst the general public.

This movement has the power to end the stigma around being a victim of this horrific type of abuse. It has the power to end the cycle of victim blaming, as well as the habit of sweeping accusations of sexual misconduct under the rug. However, if it is continuously hindered by baseless character assassinations and false statements, it might be eventually be tuned out, once again allowing society to turn their backs on a harsh reality.

Share your viewpoint in the comments.