In reaction to the events surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was one of the few in Hollywood to voice his opinion immediately after one of the most notable executives in the industry was fired from his own company. Today, he gave a lengthy response not only to Weinstein’s firing but to the sexual harassment and abuse epidemic that has been widespread in Hollywood and beyond.”
“If even 1/10th of the stories about Harvey Weinstein are true (and I believe they are), then good f****** riddance. That shit’s gotta stop,” Gunn tweeted on Sunday night. “And f*** you to anyone who knew about it and let him get away with it. The enabling also needs to end.”
Gunn took to Facebook for a post titled “On Sexual Predators in Hollywood (and the World)” and talked about how his female friends were sharing stories about how they were sexually harassed in their own lives, not only in Hollywood but at their jobs at restaurants and nightclubs. He wrote, “to them this conversation was casual – they’ve gotten used to sexual harassment being a part of their everyday lives – but to me it was horrifying.”
He went on to say that “sexual predators have no political affiliation” and that it is not only rife in Hollywood but everywhere and that they are “killing us.” The recent events certainly have struck a nerve with Gunn as he was very passionate about the issue saying, “It demolishes trust and comfort in all of society. And evil men are doing this everywhere, every day, in every occupation, and every type of household, all over the world.”
After using some suitable graphic language to take down sexual predators he ended with saying, I am hoping with recent truths coming to light, that their reign is coming to an end, in Hollywood, and everywhere. I promise to do everything I personally can to stop it, and I applaud and have deep love for every human being who breaks the silence.”
Read his entire post below.
Gunn is not the only one sharing passionate words in regards to Weinstein’s sexual harassment allegations. On Tuesday, October 10th, UltraViolet, a leading women’s advocacy organization, will fly a plane banner over Hollywood urging the entertainment industry to stop enabling sexual abuse with silence.
Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet, said in a statement:
If we are going to tackle rape culture in this country, we need to address the entertainment industry and its willingness to cover up decades worth of sexual abuse on Harvey Weinstein’s account. Not only has Hollywood normalized Weinstein’s abhorrent treatment of women, they enabled it by doing and saying absolutely nothing.
It’s no secret that Hollywood is egregiously sexist, from pay discrimination to sexual abuse and body image standards, but it is appalling that an industry would cover the tracks of a man who spent literally decades abusing his power by abusing women. Sure, the Weinstein Company’s board fired Harvey Weinstein, but only after the New York Times investigation sparked enough outrage for people to speak up and say, ‘enough is enough’.
No one should ever get away with sexual harassment. Hollywood’s silence over Harvey Weinstein shows just how far we have to go before sexual harassment in the workplace is no longer a topic of discussion.
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