Harvey Weinstein (and assorted horrible people)... RIP career.

[tjg_marantz]

Next item up for bids.

[Paingod]

I sit in an office with three middle-aged or older women behind me, and I overheard them talking about all of this and how Matt Lauer was taken down. One of them look at the others and said "Geeze, enough is enough. I can't believe all these people making such a fuss and causing problems." ... as in the victims are causing problems.

I wanted to turn around, stand up, and say "Damn straight, enough is enough. These people have been victimizing others without fear and it should have been stopped generations ago" but didn't really want to pick that kind of fight at work.

It hurts my head that any woman would be offended by all of this "annoying rabble-rousing"...

[GreenGoo]

It must have been a pretty serious allegation with a lot to substantiate it for them to move so swiftly on Lauer. We'll get details soon I'm sure.

This is my take as well. They said it was one accuser but with sufficient evidence that it was a pattern of behavior. It's my understanding that the Today Show is one of the most profitable shows on TV, and Lauer was the main host on it. TV execs wouldn't move that quickly if it wasn't serious.

+1.

There is zero chance they cut him loose 2 days after they were made aware of his behaviour if all they had were allegations.

[GreenGoo]

It hurts my head that any woman would be offended by all of this "annoying rabble-rousing"...

I'm certainly not putting the idea into your head of turning your office into a hostile workplace. For illustrative purposes, you understand.

If that's not your cup of tea, don't even think about going to HR and claiming that all this normalizing of criminal behaviour by your co-workers has caused a great deal of stress and quite frankly, put you ill at ease at the idea of working with, or heaven forbid, being alone with any of them.

Don't do any of those things. The very idea is absurd.

[Carpet_pissr]

Ok, I am getting more fearful about Tom Hanks by the day.

Garrison Freaking Keillor?!

[Carpet_pissr]

It hurts my head that any woman would be offended by all of this "annoying rabble-rousing"...

In a country where so many women voted for an admitted pussy grabber to lead our country? I would have been astounded, Pre-Trump as well.

[Enough]

Ok, I am getting more fearful about Tom Hanks by the day.

Garrison Freaking Keillor?!

For me personally this one is at Hanks level of oh no this really sucks and I want to crawl under a rock and hide now. Very scant details and I'm confused if he was fired before for this why they are only now ending the syndication of old PHC and the Writer's Almanac. Why didn't they end it then? Ugh...

Edit: never mind the last sentence, I misunderstood the timeline. My apologies. Also, here's what he says it was http://www.9news.com/news/keillor-mpr-f ... /495516508:

Keillor told The Associated Press of his firing in an email. In a follow-up statement, he says he was fired over "a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard." He later told the Star Tribune that he was fired because he put his hand on a woman's bare back as he tried to console her. Keillor said in an email that he was trying to pat the woman's back after she had told him "about her unhappiness." Keillor wrote that the woman's shirt was open and his hand went up about 6 inches.

Keillor says he apologized when the woman recoiled, and also emailed the woman an apology. He says she replied she'd forgiven him and "not to think about it." The radio mainstay says he considered her a friend and they remained friendly "right up until her lawyer called."

[McNutt]

There is zero chance they cut him loose 2 days after they were made aware of his behaviour if all they had were allegations.

They probably had a bunch of information that they were sitting on prior to Monday's allegation. I'm not trying to smear Lauer, just understand why a network would be so quick to act against one of their biggest stars. It just can't be based on one allegation.

[hepcat]

Ok, I am getting more fearful about Tom Hanks by the day.

Garrison Freaking Keillor?!

I was just coming here to comment on that. I really hope they're investigating all these claims thoroughly at this point. I'm not saying women shouldn't report sexual harassment, or that it's not a crime. I just see a lot of people's lives being ruined...and if guilty, good riddance. But this could easily become a tool for revenge in this environment and in the wrong hands.

[LordMortis]

But this could easily become a tool for revenge in this environment and in the wrong hands.

Or attentions seeking or money seeking or expression of mental illness.

I'm glad for the purge but I fear the torch wielders just the same.

[GreenGoo]

There is zero chance they cut him loose 2 days after they were made aware of his behaviour if all they had were allegations.

They probably had a bunch of information that they were sitting on prior to Monday's allegation. I'm not trying to smear Lauer, just understand why a network would be so quick to act against one of their biggest stars. It just can't be based on one allegation.

Agreed. Plus they've actually said they have reason to believe that despite this being the first official complaint against Lauer, it has been a pattern of behaviour.

We're both just saying that they wouldn't have moved so quickly if they weren't sure. As mentioned previously, the lawsuit, which I suspect will still come, of wrongful dismissal would be extremely dangerous to be on the wrong side of.

[GreenGoo]

But this could easily become a tool for revenge in this environment and in the wrong hands.

Or attentions seeking or money seeking or expression of mental illness.

I'm glad for the purge but I fear the torch wielders just the same.

I think the innocent until proven guilty basis of your justice system is one of the best things about it, and I feel that way whether it's kids shoplifting or apparent monsters with sex slaves locked up in their basement for a decade.

With that said, private entities are free to do what they want within the boundaries of the law, although I personally still like them to behave extremely cautiously in this area. Just as I like private entities to follow the general concept and spirit of freedom of speech when at all possible, despite having no legal obligation to do so.

No one is firing Matt Lauer without damning evidence, is my opinion.

[Rip]

[Kurth]

But this could easily become a tool for revenge in this environment and in the wrong hands.

Or attentions seeking or money seeking or expression of mental illness.

I'm glad for the purge but I fear the torch wielders just the same.

I think the innocent until proven guilty basis of your justice system is one of the best things about it, and I feel that way whether it's kids shoplifting or apparent monsters with sex slaves locked up in their basement for a decade.

With that said, private entities are free to do what they want within the boundaries of the law, although I personally still like them to behave extremely cautiously in this area. Just as I like private entities to follow the general concept and spirit of freedom of speech when at all possible, despite having no legal obligation to do so.

No one is firing Matt Lauer without damning evidence, is my opinion.

Agreed with all of the above. As glad as I am to see claims of sexual harassment being taken seriously and the perpetrators being punished, I am wary that the pendulum is swinging back a little too far. In the whole #metoo environment, it seems like even questioning an allegation of sexual harassment is seen by some as being anti-woman or blaming the victim.

Pre-Weinstein, claims of sexual harassment (or assault, for that matter) were too often discounted out of hand. That was wrong and needed to change, and, thankfully, it looks like things are moving in the right direction on that front. Allegations should be taken seriously and scrutinized objectively, but we shouldn't abandon the fundamental premise that the burden of proof rests with the accuser and not the accused.

Also, on a somewhat related point, the media coverage of this movement is atrociously lacking in nuance. It seems like the most important thing is racking up a body count of the important men shamed and brought low. There's very little distinction paid to what it is they are actually accused of doing, and that's a very real problem. I mean, from what we can tell, there's a chasm of distance between the improper conduct of Garrison Keillor or Al Franken or Glen Thrush and that of predators/rapists like Weinstein. Yet, based on the media coverage, it seems like they're all one in the same. That's bullshit.

[killbot737]

This one time at work many years ago, there was a girl I was friends with. I was making it obvious I was interested in her (without exposing parts of my body or touching her or whatever the hell all these people are doing). You know, with talking and being nice and whatever. The usual sort of advances (or apparently not? I don't know anymore).

She said I should cut it out, so I did. We are still great friends, and we still work together.

Why is this so hard for some people?

[Carpet_pissr]

There's very little distinction paid to what it is they are actually accused of doing, and that's a very real problem. I mean, from what we can tell, there's a chasm of distance between the improper conduct of Garrison Keillor or Al Franken or Glen Thrush and that of predators/rapists like Weinstein. Yet, based on the media coverage, it seems like they're all one in the same. That's bullshit.

+1. I’m noticing that tendency even on typically more journalistic outlets (as opposed to say, sensationalist CNN)

[Paingod]

Zero tolerance always leads to insanity.

A rolled joint found under your driver's seat and a semi full of pot are not the same. An unwanted kiss and pushing yourself on people whose careers you control for decades are not the same.

[Kurth]

Zero tolerance always leads to insanity.

A rolled joint found under your driver's seat and a semi full of pot are not the same. An unwanted kiss and pushing yourself on people whose careers you control for decades are not the same.

Exactly. Which is why zero tolerance is just stupid. It's a phrase that people/organizations use to make it seem like they're addressing a problem when often they're really just taking a knee-jerk reaction with little thought.

[Carpet_pissr]

Russell Simmons
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... story.html

[Moliere]

Jeffrey Tambor signals he may not return to 'Transparent' after harassment claims

The "Transparent" star made a statement through his publicist on Sunday in which he also said allegations of harassment are "simply and utterly untrue."

Tambor, 73, reportedly has been accused by at least two people. He is also being investigated by Amazon, according to the website Deadline.

"Playing Maura Pfefferman on 'Transparent' has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life," Tambor said in the statement Sunday. "What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago."

"I've already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue. Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don't see how I can return to 'Transparent,'" he said.

[killbot737]

That's too bad for Transparent. I watched a few eps of that show. Didn't really hook me but I could see why it's so popular.

Oh well. There's always money in the banana stand.

[ImLawBoy]

I wondered why Tambor was saying this again, but then I saw the article was dated November 20.

[Moliere]

I wondered why Tambor was saying this again, but then I saw the article was dated November 20.

I didn't see him in this thread yet. Maybe we can talk tjg_marantz into editing the OP with an ongoing list of people being accused.

[McNutt]

I'm against lists of accused because it removes the necessary details. Does Andy Rubin, who had a consensual relationship with a subordinate deserve to be on the same list as Cosby and Weinstein?

[tjg_marantz]

I'll accept suggestions but I'm kinda liking having that pig in the title.

[Kurth]

I'm against lists of accused because it removes the necessary details. Does Andy Rubin, who had a consensual relationship with a subordinate deserve to be on the same list as Cosby and Weinstein?

+1

[Carpet_pissr]

Ad-Rock's Dad:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/thea ... nduct.html

[Isgrimnur]

Ad-Rock's Dad:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/thea ... nduct.html

His son, Adam Horovitz, said in his own statement: “I believe the allegations against my father are true, and I stand behind the women that made them.”

[Kurth]

Ad-Rock's Dad:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/thea ... nduct.html

Every time I get bothered by the feeling that the pendulum is swinging too far toward the nutty zero-tolerance approach, I read something like this and it makes it crystal clear why that's happening now:

Mr. Horovitz’s behavior around women had long been the subject of whispers. But since at least 1993, Gloucester Stage officials had known it was more than mere speculation: that year, Mr. Horovitz was the subject of an exposé in The Boston Phoenix in which 10 women accused him of sexual harassment and assault. The women’s names were not disclosed in the article. At the time the board’s president, Barry Weiner, dismissed the accusations and described some of the women speaking out against Mr. Horovitz as “tightly wound.”

[Moliere]

These awkward Matt Lauer moments are resurfacing

[Anonymous Bosch]

I'll accept suggestions but I'm kinda liking having that pig in the title.

"The Pervalanche of 2017"

Or, if you prefer, "The Harvey Weinstein Pervalanche of 2017"

[naednek]

These awkward Matt Lauer moments are resurfacing

Whoever edited that video needs to be fired. The background music is so bass heavy you can barely hear the audio of the video.

[Isgrimnur]

Danny Masterson

Last week, The Daily Beast published a statement from Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of at least four women who is accusing the actor Danny Masterson of rape.

Fired

Danny Masterson has been written out of the Netflix series “The Ranch” following multiple rape allegations against the actor.

"As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of 'The Ranch.' [Monday] was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him," a statement from Netflix read.
...
Masterson told the Huffington Post, “I am obviously very disappointed in Netflix’s decision to write my character off of ‘The Ranch.’ From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one."
...
Three of the four women accusing Masterson are members of the Church of Scientology, according to multiple media reports. The Church of Scientology reportedly tried to cover up the allegations against Masterson.

[hepcat]

I particularly like one of the first comments in the article's peanut gallery from a poster who believes Masterson is a Jewish name.

[stessier]

The comments I perused seemed the normal deranged. I was hoping the Scientology angle would bring a different flavor of weird. Overall 2 out of 8 - would not read again.

[hepcat]

Freakin' Xenu didn't even post a comment.

[Isgrimnur]

I really don't understand why someone would be dumb enough to grope Terry Crews in front of his wife and a room full of people. Pretty sure he could tear a man's head off with his bare hands if he wanted...

Because the culture of Hollywood made these guys feel invulnerable.

And/or any number of drugs.

From Terry's interview yesterday on Good Morning America it sounded like drugs may have indeed been involved. Terry said the executive was doing weird things with his tongue, flicking it in and out, as he walked across the room toward Terry. Terry said at first he thought it was a joke because the guy was acting so weird.

Lawsuit

Terry Crews has filed a sexual assault lawsuit against WME agent Adam Venit in regards to Crews’ claim that Venit groped him at a Hollywood party in February 2016.

News of the lawsuit comes a little more than a week after Venit returned to work at WME following a brief suspension as the agency conducted an internal investigation of Crews’ allegations. Crews was previously represented by WME, which is also a defendant in the suit, but fired the agency last month after going public with his claims.

The lawsuit, first reported by TMZ and obtained by Variety, repeats Crews’ claim that Venit groped his genitals, “squeezing so hard that he leapt back in pain,” and also says Venit stuck “his tongue in and out of his mouth provocatively.” The lawsuit alleges that Crews alerted Adam Sandler, who was at the party and is represented by Venit, by yelling, “Adam, come get your boy! He’s grabbing my nuts.”

The suit also says that Sandler called Crews while he was on his way home from the party to check up on him. It adds that Crews told his agent at WME of the alleged incident, and met with WME chairman Ari Emanuel. Crews expressed fear of retaliation from Venit for reporting the incident, but Emanuel reportedly apologized for him and assured Crews that Venit “did not have that level of power despite his title as head of the Motion Picture Department.”
...
The lawsuit argues that WME should have known that Venit was “unskilled, unfit, and unable to appropriately carry out the legal and other duties of a talent agent, and knew that he was reasonably likely to engage in the conduct herein” before he was hired.

Crews had previously filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department in regards to the alleged assault. He first went public with his story on Oct. 10, shortly after the New York Times and New Yorker ran bombshell sexual harassment exposés about Harvey Weinstein.

[Moliere]

John Oliver Interrogated Dustin Hoffman About Sexual Harassment

On Monday, John Oliver got into a heated public debate with Dustin Hoffman about allegations of sexual harassment against the actor while he was moderating a panel at a screening of one of Hoffman's films, the Washington Post reports.

[tjg_marantz]

[Isgrimnur]

Time Person of the Year: Silence Breakers

Time magazine is featuring "silence breakers," a group the magazine identified with some familiar faces behind the #MeToo movement and at least one that is obscured, as 2017's Person of the Year.

The focus is on those who triggered a #MeToo national outcry over sexual harassment.

"This is the fastest-moving social change we've seen in decades, and it began with individual acts of courage by hundreds of women, and some men, who came forward to tell their own stories of sexual harassment and assault," Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said Wednesday on TODAY when making the reveal. "The image you see partially on the cover is of a woman we talked to, a hospital worker in the middle of the country who shared her story with us and some others but doesn't feel like she can come forward without threatening her livelihood."