This Hollywood Writer Had The Absolute Worst Response To The Weinstein Assault Allegations
Sit down, Paul Schrader.
Earlier this week The New York Times reported on multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault levelled at Harvey Weinstein, one of the most powerful film producers in Hollywood. Since then more victims have come forward with their own stories, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.
High-profile US celebrities and politicians including John Oliver, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have since spoken out against Weinstein. But one Hollywood screenwriter has provided a textbook example of what not to say in the aftermath of these kinds of allegations.
Paul Schrader has written dozens of films over the past few decades including the Martin Scorsese classics Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and more recently he wrote The Canyons, starring Lindsay Lohan. Over the course of his career he collaborated multiple times with Weinstein.
In a now deleted Facebook post Schrader addressed the assault allegations in the weirdest, and worst, way possible.
In what may be the worst Hollywood response to the Weinstein stories, Screenwriter Paul Schrader gives this take: pic.twitter.com/oYoIKc95Je
— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) October 10, 2017
Firstly, “sexual gangster” is a very, very strange phrase. But more importantly, claiming that Weinstein recutting your shitty film is more offensive than alleged harassment and assault is just bizarre and patently false.
This guy has turned one of the biggest sexual assault cases in the entertainment industry into a personal whinge about how his film didn’t end up the way he wanted it to.
WOMAN: I was assaulted
MAN: Why didn't you speak up
W: I was afraid–
PAUL SCHRADER: OH CRY ME A RIVER SUGARTITS MY FUCKING MOVIE GOT RECUT— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) October 10, 2017
Paul Schrader’s public dismissal & “so what” attitude is part of the reason women don’t report. Thanks to the “gentleman” who support us.
— Barbara Crampton (@barbaracrampton) October 10, 2017
In follow-up comments provided to The Hollywood Reporter Schrader said his post was “misinterpreted”.
“I’m going to wipe out all those posts,” he said. “It was clearly something stupid. The worst part of Facebook is you think you are part of a conversation, but in fact you got hijacked.”
It seems like a stretch for Schrader to blame Facebook given no one, least of all Mark Zuckerberg, forced him to write the post. Similarly, he wasn’t really “hijacked”. He just wrote something incredibly stupid.
Plenty of celebrities and Hollywood figures have managed to issue statements about Weinstein without making the issue about them or their terrible films. But Schrader’s comments disappointingly reveal a lot of people still don’t get it.
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