OPINION
In many ways, this explosive #MeToo moment we’re living through now was born in the entertainment industry.
Though the movement was created by activist Tarana Burke 10 years ago, it was the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, and the wave of allegations that flowed out of Hollywood following his banishment, that spread the #MeToo hashtag and its accompanying message across the world in October last year.
And so it comes as no surprise that at Hollywood’s night of nights, the 2018 Academy Awards, #MeToo and its accompanying hashtag #TimesUp were a major talking point on the red carpet and in the ceremony itself.
Outspoken celebrities donned Time’s Up pins, the Weinstein scandal and its subsequent reckoning was a feature of host Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue, and the Oscars ceremony devoted a segment to #MeToo, bringing out actors Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and Annabella Sciorra to pay homage with a montage about the movement and diversity, which received a mixed response from commenters online.
But despite the laser focus throughout the night on #MeToo and its associated message, there are some serious inconsistencies in the way Hollywood, and the Oscars institution are choosing to approach and honour the movement.
The Case Of Ryan Seacrest On The Red Carpet
The bronzed face of E! Network’s iconic pre-awards red carpet show has recently been embroiled in scandal following allegations from his former personal stylist Suzy Hardy.
Hardy told Variety Seacrest sexually assaulted her in private, grinding his penis against her while clad in his underwear, groping her vagina and “slapped her buttocks so hard that it left a large welt still visible hours later”. Although Seacrest denies the allegations and claims Hardy offered to withdraw them privately for a multi-million-dollar pay-out, Hardy has stuck to her story publicly, so the mud has stuck to Seacrest.
When it was announced that Seacrest would continue to co-anchor E!’s Oscars red carpet special as usual, there was an uproar from viewers and celebrities alike, who felt E! should remove Seacrest from his privileged position until the allegations had resolved.
Nevertheless, when the red carpet began Seacrest was there with his toothy grin and a 30-second delay on the live telecast, to protect him from any celebrities wishing to speak their minds about his assault scandal. Not a good look, E!.
Time’s Up For Whom?
Following the popularity among entertainment industry professionals of the #MeToo hashtag, a backlash emerged about the industry’s tendency to commodify movements without contributing to any real change. Some celebrities, including Shonda Rhimes, Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera and Laura Dern, took the criticism to heart, and so began the Time’s Up Now legal defence fund for victims of sexual harassment and assault who could not afford to defend themselves against their abusers.
So it was with #MeToo, #TimesUp has now become a rallying cry of the gender reckoning movement, especially in Hollywood. But at the 2018 Oscars, it appeared that time was not up for everyone.
Time wasn’t up for Kobe Bryant, the basketball star and short film producer who won an Oscar for the animated short film Dear Basketball, which he wrote and narrated. Bryant was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a Colorado hotel employee in 2003.
Time wasn’t up for Gary Oldman either, The Darkest Hour star and now winner of his first-ever Best Actor Oscar, who in 2001 was accused of domestic violence by his then-wife Donya Fiorentino, who filed papers in Los Angeles Supreme Court stating that Oldman assaulted her with a telephone receiver.
Hollywood, it seems, has rather a short memory.
Snubbed, Shut Out Or Celebrated?
Hollywood’s fickle attitude to who is swept up in the reckoning of #MeToo, and who is protected from it, is so unpredictable, you could almost make a game of it: Snubbed, Shut Out or Celebrated?
At the 2017 Oscars, before #MeToo had even reached the gilded gates of the entertainment industry, actor and director Nate Parker rode the rollercoaster from sensation to scandal when his Sundance hit Birth Of A Nation turned from Oscar frontrunner to nominations poison after his sexual assault history was exposed.
At college Parker was charged an acquitted of rape by a young woman who subsequently committed suicide. The tragic story stuck to Parker like glue, and his buzzed-about film, once a favourite to win the whole thing, was suddenly shut out of the Oscars completely.
Not so for Casey Affleck, brother of Ben and star of Manchester By The Sea, who had his own history of sexual assault allegations but went on to receive a nomination for Best Actor and eventually win the gong. The hypocrisy was rife.
Affleck’s extraordinary good fortune at being spared from the reckoning was this year dredged up again when the public expressed concern that he was engaged to present the Best Actress award to the 2018 winner (as is customary at every Oscars). This time, Affleck didn’t escape so easily, and was relieved of his presenting duties and replaced by Jennifer Lawrence and Jodie Foster.
Men, Men, Men
God, aren’t you sick of talking about men!? I know I am – and it seems like Frances McDormand is too. McDormand, who won this year’s Best Actress award for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, began her epic acceptance speech with this immortal phrase: “Okay, I have some things to say”. And, boy, did she.
Not only did McDormand encourage Hollywood stars to push for Inclusion Riders in their contracts (a phrase all the media began googling immediately), she also asked all the female nominees in every category in the room to stand with her and be recognised (joking, “Meryl, if you do it everybody else will, come on!”).
And what was astonishing about the request was how few women actually stood. And here’s the thing: no matter how much we’re discussing #MeToo, how many words and speeches and video montages and tears are devoted to this movement, men remain at the centre of everything.They’re still the subjects of the articles and the discussions, and they’re still leading the nominations and making the movies – and hosting the awards shows.
It’s all very well for the Oscars to devote one segment of their broadcast to #MeToo, but why didn’t they ask a woman to host the Oscars, instead of a male host again (Jimmy Kimmel, again)? And why doesn’t E! just employ Giuliana Rancic, Seacrest’s entirely capable co-anchor, to host the red-carpet special alone in his absence?
Come on, Hollywood. It’s time… to stop just talking about it and start making room and taking action.
