https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html
On Thursday, November 9th, five women came forward and accused famous comedian Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct, including exposing himself in front of them and other inappropriate actions. The women reported being invited to C.K.'s hotel room after his performances, and once in the room, were asked personal questions, and C.K. asked if he could expose himself. The comedian confirmed on Thursday that these accusations are true.
The allegations have cropped up in the midst of many accusations of sexual misconduct or sexist actions taken by famous celebrities. These include Harvey Weinstein, a major Hollywood producer, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, and now Louis C.K. The statements have raised awareness to the prevalence of sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry, many of the stories surfacing after decades of secrecy. Many of the accused have stated that their behavior was acceptable in the time period when it happened, Weinstein even mentioning that "The 70's was a different time."
Should these celebrities be punished by the entertainment industry, or should their actions be fought solely through the justice system? Do you think these scandals will pass over quickly like most celebrity news, or will they have lasting effects? Does the decade the instances happened in truly have a credible effect on wether they are acceptable? Does this effect how YOU view the people in question?
6 comments:
I think that on top of the justice system, the entertainment industry should provide some sort of punishment to these celebrities accused of sexual misconduct. Actions like those of Louis CK are shameful and it would be a big step for the industry to show that they are against it, discouraging any other similar behavior. Unlike other news, I feel that scandals like these will not simply pass, as they have already inspired other stories of misconduct to resurface. Furthermore, I believe that news like this definitely affects public views of the individuals involved. Most of these celebrities are well respected and celebrated by the public, but their character becomes tainted when incidents of inappropriate behavior are revealed. While damaging to the celebrities, the change in opinion of their character is directly consequential of their actions.
I would agree with Dhruv and I just want to add that the entertainment industry should play an equal role as the justice system. I think the justice system has the potential to provide legal action while the entertainment industry will have the ability to harm their reputation. Additionally, I believe that these scandals will not pass. This is primarily because the entertainment industry has such a broad audience that they can easily put such people and incidents in a shameful light and spread the information to a large number of people. I don't agree with Weinstein's statement that this should've been acceptable in the 70s. I do see where you would be coming from when you say they may not be credible because it simply doesn't make much sense for someone to make accusations after 30 or so years. However, I would still believe the witnesses because although such behavior is not acceptable, it must've been harder for victims to share their stories with authorities. Although it might seem suspicious, I don't think the decade should really make a difference at this point. Plus, there were 5 women who accused the person in question, allowing for reasonable credibility.
I agree with the others that these celebrities should be punished by the entertainment industry, as well. Hopefully, this will automatically happen as a consequence of being punished through the justice system. If all these actors are punished by the entertainment industry, it will create a stronger sense of fear in those up and coming actors that may have considered committing similar crimes. I doubt that these scandals will pass over quickly, or at least hope they don't, as Harvey Weinstein's accusations have created a domino effect and more and more people in the entertainment industry are surfacing as sex offenders. As more accusations come out, I think it will begin to have a strong and more lasting effect. Although such actions may have been deemed "acceptable" to some extent in past decades, they were still illegal actions and showed an inability to make the moral choice. This definitely affects the way I view the people in question, as people that I once respected no longer have my respect. In fact, this affects the way I view the whole entertainment industry, as all the allegations have made it clear that you never know what terrible things happens behind the image.
I agree with the comments above. It is unfair, and insensitive for victims to have to suffer through trauma and pain because they never get to gain closure. Celebrities need to be treated with equal laws, and rules instead of always being able to buy their way out of their problems.
I agree that these celebrities should be punished by the entertainment industry and must include involvement of the justice system. Because of how many accusations and claims of sexual misconduct have come to light recently and at once, I don’t believe these scandals, or this outbreak of news will pass over quickly. Louis CK did admit to the occurrences described by his accusers, unlike many others in the industry who were recently accused, so his admittance was a small step in the right direction. However, his statement was not exactly a full apology that has the ability to recover his image as he had maybe thought. Ultimately, these celebrities’ terrible actions definitely, and justly so, change the way the public perceives them to be.
These famous figures should be punished by both the entertainment industry and justice system. Even if the justice system doesn't do its job, I think its important that the entertainment industry and its audience holds people who partake in sexual misconduct accountable. While I feel like each separate account of sexual misconduct will eventually pass over as "celebrity news," I do think the cumulative effect of so many stories coming out will leave a lasting impact in the entertainment industry, as people are more inclined to come forward and share their accounts of sexual harassment.
In response to Weinstein's comment about the 70s being a "different time," I still think it was wrong for these figures to act in the way they did. There is no doubt that women were viewed differently in the 70s, but I still feel like it is wrong to completely forgive these celebrities for acting so terribly even if it was a few decades ago.
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