Hollywood Sexual Harrasment/Assault Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

A former Disney actor files sexual assault charges against the same agent that has had four others either file charges or walk away from.

 

The sheer enormity of it all made me angry, now it makes me mostly sad.

 

Tyler Cornell files sexual assault report against agent Tyler Grasham

Edited October 30, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[amybrickwallace]

 

I hope that they all band together like Bill Cosby's victims did. These stories have just literally made me sick. I know firsthand what it is like to be cornered in a bedroom and be ordered to strip. I know what it is like to tell the truth only to have the perpetrator deny it and have him tell others that I was crazy (thankfully, I had a paper trail which I was able to use to prove that I was telling the truth). I know what it is like to be told to keep this a secret; this is no one else's business but ours. The difference was that it wasn't a work/business situation. This was a man I had known for a long time. I thought he was my friend - and I trusted him. I didn't know that he was grooming me until it was too late. It was over a year before I told anyone in my family, and I went into intense therapy shortly thereafter. It's been a hard road, but I also have a great empathy for victims that I never would have had before. I loved Annabella S. from when she played Chris Noth's cop partner on L&O:CI...never would I have guessed at the hell she has been through.

[Taoboi]

Quite honestly, knowing for sure Spacey is gay for me is like knowing Clive Barker was.  Which I didn't know until his appearance on Bill Maher late night ABC debate show with Sophie B Walker and he said matter of fact in passing during the debate. Mind blown then. Same here. All I knew was what can best be called rumor a la the DC mention above.

 

Just saying. Though to be fair I am a Gem and we do get distracted into a coma so...;)

[Khan]

 

Reading about your ordeal just breaks my spirit, Amy.  Thank God that you were ultimately vindicated and that you were able to receive the professional help that you needed to cope.  I pray that all women out there who have been through what you went through come out on the other side as well.

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I see what you mean.  Mama Khan was STUNNED when she learned Luther Vandross was gay.  But I was, like, "C'mon, you couldn't tell??".

 

Truthfully, I suspected Spacey was gay when I watched him all those years ago on "Fall from Grace," the NBC miniseries where he portrayed Jim Bakker.  My gaydar pinged before I even knew the concept, lol.

 

Meanwhile: Celebrities ain't havin' none of his [!@#$%^&*].

Edited October 30, 2017 by Khan

[dragonflies]

Netflix doesn't play........

 

 

[amybrickwallace]

 

👏👏👏👏👏

[Taoboi]

Wait? What? It's true about Vandross? I admit I wondered but I have never been allowed to even say something like that in my Mom's household to not dark old soul/r&b memories.  Mind blown again.

Yep. Pretty much.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Thank you so much for your kind words, Khan. I'm not quite on the other side yet, but for the longest time I blamed myself and was so ashamed. Here I was, a woman in her mid-30s, going to the house of a man I had thought was a good friend, and who I had known for nearly a decade. I trusted him...in good part because we knew each other from church. He was the lead guitarist and sang in the church band. I thought he was a strong Christian man.

 

He managed to corner me in his upstairs bedroom and I completely froze. My shoes, purse, phone and car keys were all on the first floor. I let him do what he wanted because I felt if I put up a fight, it would be even worse. He also wanted to watch me go to the bathroom, amongst other things. It was months before I got out of the situation, and I went to our pastor and one of the elders, who confronted him. He of course denied everything, until I showed the pastor the texts he had sent me (and had ordered me to delete as soon as I read them). 

 

It was deeply humiliating to show Pastor these texts, but they were the only proof I had that I was not lying. In short order, the guy did finally tell Pastor that I had been telling the truth, and he left our church effective immediately. That was over a year ago and there has been no contact since.

 

Thank God, my therapist is awesome and has helped me enormously. I was diagnosed with PTSD, but am only starting now to recover. I made sure to get tested for any and all STDs, and all the tests came back negative. 

 

I was under this guy's spell for a long time, and as a grown woman I blamed myself for being so blind to his deceptions. Not to mention that he made me feel like I was two feet tall. Because he had sworn me to secrecy, I didn't feel like I COULD tell anyone. It wasn't until he got tired of me and threw me away that I finally felt that I could share with others (family, clergy, etc.). I thought I would be hated and blamed. Instead, I was embraced. 

 

I hope by sharing my story that anyone going through the same situation might be emboldened to seek help. Thanks to my friends at SON for the support.

Edited October 30, 2017 by amybrickwallace

[JaneAusten]

Amy you are a courageous woman. Your story is all too familiar and I hope you get some comfort going forward that perhaps the tables have turned. It's still frightening to me how much harassment and abuse has been normalized and expected.  I had my own experience with my first employer and I won't say I forgot about it, but in many ways I was lucky because I worked for a large company and transferring into another group was an option. Fortunately the man who was culpable was a "dick" to men who worked for him also. He had a high turnover of personal and was ultimately fired, but everything that has happened in the past several weeks makes me wonder how many more people were victims of his regardless of where he ended up.

 

Best of luck and wishes on your journey through your recovery. You will come out stronger in the end. You already are.

[DramatistDreamer]

@amybrickwallaceI'm sending out a virtual hug of encouragement to you for your continued recovery. I have been through a few 'scary' episodes but nothing on the sustained level that you have endured. 

 

I was watching an interview with Maggie Gyllenhal of all people, on the Daily Show, of all shows and she talked about the willingness of many women (and now men) to come forward, especially in Hollywood, is linked to the fact that the U.S. now has a President who faced no consequences for sexual assault and many women got fed up as a result.

 

I do believe the timing is not coincidental.

[JaneAusten]

There have been reports that this was to be the shows last season. I don't know if that's true, but this gives Netflix an out I guess. The show should have switched the focal point to Claire anyway a few seasons back vs Frank.

 

Here's hoping Spacey never works again. This latest attempt to try and cover his abuse with a coming out story is putrid. Good riddance.

 

By the way to all, Lip Stick Alley has had stories of Spacey over the years, including the pedophile aspect and some fairly outrageous conspiracies which are way out there. A number of years ago there was a story regarding Spacey on a visit to Chicago that quickly disappeared from the media and press. His handlers got out ahead of it.

[Khan]

 

Here, here!

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[amybrickwallace]

Thanks again, everyone, for the kind words and support. I appreciate it.

 

I don't have good "gaydar", probably because it's not something I think about or care about (I don't judge people on their orientation; it really doesn't matter to me). Having said that, I realized that Kevin Spacey was gay when I saw his bedroom scene with Kate Bosworth in Beyond the Sea. He looked so awkward, and that's when it clicked to me. 

 

I don't doubt we'll be hearing more stories about him in the days and weeks to come. It also shows that this is not a women-only issue in Hollywood. People of both genders, on both sides of the camera, are sharing their stories. I applaud them for their bravery.

[dragonflies]

 

[~bl~]

It isn't anyone's fault except the person who crosses the line. People shouldn't have to be afraid to be alone with another person in a private setting as that doesn't give either person the right to do something the other doesn't want. Amy that was brave to share your experience, glad you are getting help, and that you were believed and not blamed.

 

With the situation with Kevin Spacey well the gay part I knew, but the rest I did not because I didn't take the time to look. With Weinstein I knew about the rumors about him before it blew up in the media.

Edited October 31, 2017 by ~bl~