Louis CK

My wife and I were talking about this stuff earlier in the week. At the time Spacey was the latest Hollywood perv. She brought up a good point. If this stuff keeps coming up, TV/Movies will be like watching replacement players during an NFL strike. I have never avoided a Polanski or Woody Allen movie if I thought it looked good. I guess I just assumed that Hollywood is full of sick, weird fucks that happen to be talented and it doesn't really bother me. I mean, why is everyone acting all shocked about Harvey Weinstein? The casting couch has always been a part of Hollywood. It isn't a good thing but why should I care more today than I did a year ago?

 

It was absolutely predatory, and he let his manager do the dirty work of buying silence

 

The Goodman and Wolov stuff is so frustratingly vague, I'm kind of upset an editor let it through. Did they consent or not? It's not obvious. They "heard" that C.K.'s manager was upset with them. They "heard" that they would have trouble getting opportunities. They heard, they heard, they heard.

Not to get all lawyerly, but that's a whole lot of vague hearsay, and the reporter seems to have failed to push the most important question of all re: consent.

"They thought it was a joke and laughed it off."

I don't know what that means.

 

Is there reporting in there that indicates that? I keep missing it, apparently.

 

He tells Corry he "misread" the situation. A lot of his comedy is premised upon his social awkwardness with women, so that doesn't seem completely out of character:

Ms. Corry replied that he had never done that, but had instead asked to masturbate in front of her. Responding in a shaky voice, he acknowledged it and said, “I used to misread people back then,” she recalled.

The call confounded her, Ms. Corry said: not only had he misremembered the incident, which made her think there were other moments of misconduct, he also implied she had done something to invite his behavior. “It is unfair he’s put me or anyone else in this position,” Ms. Corry said.

 

The Onion covered this three weeks ago.
https://www.theonion.com/motion-picture-academy-releases-complete-list-of-films-1819708993
LOS ANGELES—In light of numerous allegations of sexual harassment made against producer Harvey Weinstein and other powerful film industry figures, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released Friday a complete list of feature films that can be enjoyed without supporting a sexual predator. “Sexual harassment is a systemic issue in Hollywood, and we understand that many fans don’t want to support any movies made by its perpetrators, which is why we’ve taken it upon ourselves to compile a list of all 14 movies that viewers can feel comfortable watching without being complicit,” Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said of the list of films, which includes Stranger Than Paradise, Marie Antoinette, and The Brave Little Toaster, that are completely free of influence by any producer, director, actor, or crew member who had sexually harassed someone.

 

Edit: Wrong thread.

 

Nos. 1 - 4 were all trying to get a foothold in the business, where Louis C.K. is a big star. When 1 and 2 discussed it, C.K.'s manager got pissed. So when you say they 'consented', it has to be taken in the context that their fledgling careers could be on the line. He was in a position of power.

Shit, haven't we been through this with some of the other pervs?

 

With stories like this about C.K. and Weinstein, one of the questions for me is how was this made manifest before they acquired power? Also, at what point did they start thinking they could get away with it? I mean, how do you go from unsuccessful comic to guy who feels confident whipping his dick out and jacking off? Hopefully C.K. can answer that in his next standup special.

 

I know. I'm wrestling with some of that. Part of it is that the reporting is so incomplete and vagued up that it's hard to figure out exactly what happened. I'd have to figure out a timeline. Was he a "big star" for all these incidents? Certainly he was a name in the industry, but not the cross-over star he is today, right? Anthony Rapp was actually in a cast with Spacey. These women just happened to be less successful, at that point, than C.K. in the same business. Off limits for consensual sex? I don't know what the answer is. What constitutes a "position of power"? Is there anybody that Brad Pitt or George Clooney or Ben Affleck could possibly proposition in their industry, if that's the standard?

 

Damn. He got himself into a sticky situation.