Ah, another day, another high profile Hollywood 'god' getting called out for BS behaviour towards women. This time it's beloved penguin-explainer Morgan Freeman, who has played actual God in films at least once.
As it currently stands, eight women have come forward to Chloe Melas of CNN (who had started her investigation after inappropriate comments were made to her by Freeman) to accuse Freeman of 'inappropriate behaviour' including harassment. A production assistant has documented months of harassment, including inappropriate touching, comments and - ew ew ew - asking her if she was wearing underwear and trying to lift her skirt.
A further eight people came forward to support these claims, saying they had witness this alleged conduct. Admittedly many people approached by the channel said there had been no problems working with him, but I find this quote from CNN Entertainment rather telling:
'Several other times during this investigation, when a CNN reporter contacted a person who had worked with Freeman to try to ask them if they had seen or been subjected to inappropriate behavior by an actor they had worked with -- not initially even naming the actor they were asking about -- the person would immediately tell them they knew exactly who the reporter had in mind: Morgan Freeman.'
This all broke on May 25th and was swiftly followed by a statement from Freeman:
"Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent."As apologies go, this one sucks.
I particularly like the use of the word 'intent'. It's hard to imagine what the intent of someone asking a younger colleague if they are wearing underwear could possibly be other than: a) to make them uncomfortable, b) to exercise power, c) to make another (male) bystander laugh, d) to weigh up the possibility of them being willing to sleep with you, or e) all of the above.
Which of these was your intent, Morgan?
It gets better still, because suddenly a day after this, he realises what a terrible statement he's made. After all, an apology is an admission of guilt, which is career suicide. Here's some hasty back-tracking:
“I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday’s media reports. But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false.”
In other words: "I'm very sorry for a thing I didn't do, but keen to apologise anyway. I have a lovely life in Hollywood which I would be very sad to lose over something I may or may not have done. I did not do anything, but if I did, it's their fault they got upset and also I'm sorry. But I'm not."
Clear as the sewage tunnels under Shawshank Penitentiary.
These sorts of apologies really get under my skin. Either admit you're a total creep and apologise, or, if you are genuinely innocent (unlikely but not impossible) then take it to court. These half-arsed 'I'm sorry you were so highly strung and not bright enough to understand my witty bants' are an insult to the bravery of the women calling you out.
I admit that aside from his back catalogue of films, I didn't know much about Morgan Freeman's personal life before this story broke, but I was horrified to discover that he allegedly had an affair with his step-granddaughter (something he has publicly denied.) Apparently rumours had been swirling for years, and yet he was allowed to go on with his award-winning career, no questions asked. No wonder he felt invincible. This is ringing some serious Woody Allen bells here.
I know a lot of people are finding the #MeToo era unsettling, or even a bit ridiculous ("Who will be next?" "Is no one safe?") and I get that it can feel personally disappointing when it's one of your heroes. I also imagine that it's potentially even more of a blow when it's a successful, beloved man of colour, who has risen up to wealth and success in a system weighted towards white privilege. That was, after all, one of the saddest things about Bill Cosby's fall from grace.
I haven't yet seen an opinion piece about Freeman from a person of colour (I'm on the lookout) but I thought this quote from Gene Seymour for CNN in the wake of the Cosby trial summed up the conflicting feelings of many very well:
"It will be difficult, if not impossible, for example, to completely forget that in his early years of fame, he was determined to avoid doing the kind of overtly racial material expected of black comedians and to stay true to his personal vision of what was funny to everyone, and to do so without running away from his heritage, to instead assert racial identity through the cool-jazz delivery of his monologues and the good works he was doing in support of black institutions.
"It can also never be forgotten -- and won't -- that he committed monstrous, willful acts against a number of women through decades of his ascending renown."
This is why it's difficult when powerful people become figureheads; when we rest our own feelings and worries about the state of the world on their shoulders, and look to them as examples of greatness. When we project our own concerns onto people we don't know (and, heartbreakingly, often those we do) it leaves us very vulnerable when their bad behaviour gets dragged into the light.
Ultimately, it's better to know. Better that influential, popular, rich men are held to account for manipulating less powerful men, women and children, whatever their background.
How are we supposed to teach young boys that consent matters, if it's one rule for normal folk, and another for the people at the top?
Think of it as lancing a boil - we can't start to heal until all the pus-covered creeps are squeezed out. (Sorry if you were eating during that metaphor.)
It might be a slow process, but it's an incredible one, that (hopefully) signals a wider change.
No one is 'safe' if they've done something to be ashamed of, and that's how it should be.
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