All of the recent buzz in media has been mostly regarding Harvey Weinstein being sued for sexual battery. Weinstein is known for co-founding the entertainment company Miramax along side his brother Bob, making him one of the biggest producers in Hollywood. Over 50 actress have been coming forward and claiming that the producer had sexually harassed and assaulted them to which the producer denied "any non-consensual sex". Following the publication of these allegations, Weinstein has since been fired from his company and criminal investigations are ongoing. This scandal has triggered numerous allegations to be made against powerful men all over the industry; it has led to the hashtag #MeToo gaining popularity as people have been using it to share their own accounts of sexual misconduct. The ongoing thread of sexual allegations being made against popular men in the film industry has come to be known as the "Weinstein Effect".
According to a Facebook post made by actress Kristina Cohen, Ed Westwick had raped her three years ago. Cohen stated that she was taking a nap in Westwick's guest bedroom before he came onto her. Westwick has denied the allegations posting on Instagram, "I do not know this women. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman."
Actor Kevin Spacey has been outed as a child molester. Actors have been claiming that Spacey had touched them inappropriately when they were underage. Spacey's own brother Randy Fowler stated, "His fans love the sinister characters he plays, but he's not acting, that's really him." In an interview with Buzzfeed, actor Anthony Rapp claimed that Spacey had made sexual advances towards him when he was only 14 years old and Spacey was 26 at the time.
After news of Harvey Weinstein's allegations broke out, Ben Affleck took to social media to post about how sick he felt after hearing of Weinstein's actions. Following his post, many women have come forward claiming that Affleck had known about Weinstein and that he, too, had taken part in sexually harassing women. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has been open about her encounters with Weinstein and she claims that she was sexually harassed by him. Paltrow later went on to date Ben Affleck and many speculate that Affleck had been aware of what Weinstein was doing. A clip of Affleck from 2003 has been resurfacing and in it Affleck is seen groping actress Hilarie Burton. The actor has since apologized for his actions against Burton via Twitter.
Roy Moore, running for the U.S. Senate seat, has allegedly pursued relationships with minors back when he was in his 30's. 40 years later, women are accusing him of sexual assault. Moore is an advocate for far-right politics and has received backlash for his anti-homosexual and anti-Muslim beliefs.
Women are not the only victims of sexual misconduct. Actor Terry Crews filed a report to the Los Angeles Police Department for sexual assault. Crews claims that a high level Hollywood executive came over and groped him.
We live in a society where people in power can easily get away with their actions. Men and women who are victims of sexual misconduct are paid off to keep their mouths shut. Those who come forward continue to be silenced. People like Roy Moore are still in power despite everything they have done. Is this the society we want to live in? If people do disgraceful things, they will continue to do so. The least we can do as a society is bring justice to the victims of these disgraceful acts.
