The Famous Men

This is the story of what it’s like to be a woman in Hollywood:

Friends and acquaintances tell you horrible stories about famous men. You watch other men and women praise the famous men for years and years. The famous men get richer and more powerful. You wonder what you’ll do if you’re ever given the career-making opportunity to work with the famous men.

Sometimes, you mention to other women that you’ve heard that this man or that man is disgusting or scary. The other women say, “Yeah, me too,” or “I’m not surprised,” or they tell you their own stories.

Sometimes, you mention to other men that you’ve heard that this man or that man is disgusting or scary. The other men ask you questions about these so-called rumors or muse about the great roles the famous man has written for women. More often, at least among the men I’ve told, they shake their heads sympathetically. They feel a little annoyed that you told them this stuff as though they’re supposed to do something about it. You didn’t ask them to do anything about it, but they feel like you did. They never mention it again.

You feel guilty for not doing anything about it yourself, but there’s nothing you can do. “I’ve heard from a bunch of people that he sexually harasses women.” What, you’re gonna write an article about it? Sounds like a pretty dumb article. I mean, did it even happen to you? So how do you know that it happened at all?

If it did happen to you, you feel guilty for not doing anything about it yourself. I mean, you told your manager. You told your friends. But it feels like you should be doing something more. Everyone agrees that the famous man’s behavior is unacceptable. You know the famous man is hurting other women. It feels like someone should do something. There are laws about this, right? No one suggests anything. You’re afraid to push it. You move on.

Sometimes, you wonder about the women that you met in passing, that you bonded with briefly on set. The women who told you stories about one or more of the famous men 5 years ago, 10 years ago. The famous men are as famous as ever. How is that woman doing? Or that other woman? You didn’t keep in touch.

Then, sometimes, eventually, a story comes out in the press about one of the famous men. He denies it and blames the women. It’s kind of boring. People write articles blaming the female lawyer who’s representing him, or the women who didn’t speak up sooner. Nothing happens, or the man is fired and goes off somewhere to live out his old age, rich and self-pitying. People call him complex. The women he harassed are forgotten.

The End

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