To those of us that have never been charged with sexual assault or have never had the need to file such charges against another person it does seem pretty hard to not say something like ‘stand up and face your accuser’. But in the case that B. Alan Orange from MovieWeb speaks of it would seem that Kevin Spacey has been allowed to simply walk on the charges that were levied against him a while back. Well, maybe putting it in such simple terms is a little too easy, but the fact is that his accuser, who had refused to be identified and still hasn’t been by name, passed away due to complications from cancer recently. Some people claim that this is a severe injustice since they wanted to burn Spacey at the stake metaphorically-speaking, but others would agree that if there’s no accuser that has firsthand knowledge of the event then there’s no way that the matter can continue. Another case against Spacey was dropped a while back when the defendant decided to plead the fifth, which is kind of fishy when you really think about it since if a person has a serious beef with someone then it’s important to stand up no matter who you are.
Maybe that’s why I and a good number of people have an issue with the MeToo and TimesUp movements as Eunice Barron of Talon Marks might agree, because they came at a time long after those who had been wronged should have spoken up and spoken out about the abuse they’d suffered. The mess that’s been created in Hollywood as a result is justified in that it’s managed to lay bare a lot of sins that were allegedly going on despite the idea that a lot celebrities that were constantly around the people that were found to be the worst offenders had no idea of what was going on. In the wake of the Weinstein scandal people were ready to tar and feather many men within Hollywood since there was a general run on anyone with a past that might have included sexual harassment, assault, or any other kind of misconduct that could have occurred. But why in the world didn’t anyone speak up? The usual explanation is that they were scared, they were confused, and might have even thought it was their fault somehow. Then there’s the idea that their careers could have been ruined if they’d decided to speak up, but at the very least their self-assurance and dignity would have been preserved. They would have been able to look at themselves in the mirror and live life without becoming a horrendous wreck later on. Too many people found themselves as neurotic wrecks later on in life due to this, and it is very easy to sit back and condemn the victim as well as those that were in truth responsible for this mess. But in all honesty, the victim mentality is what kills people more than anything, and there was bound to be a chance that those who ‘ruined their career’ by speaking up could have become someone all the same.
Living in fear and uncertainty is one of the worst ways to live since knowing who you can talk to in a certain way, knowing who you can trust, and being able to say or do what you want within reason should never be a question that runs through a person’s mind in their average day. The thought that you can be penalized for simply living a decent life and somehow offending someone is not the manner in which we need to exist. Did Spacey do anything wrong? That’s hard to say since the individual that accused him this time has unfortunately passed away. But whether he did or didn’t doesn’t matter when put next to the ramifications of the MeToo and TimesUp movements as they seem to indicate that he’ll always be on their radar no matter what. The individual passing away doesn’t necessarily mean that Spacey is off the hook in the minds of the people, but as far as the law is concerned he’s free to go and live his life. Whether he’ll be welcomed back into show business though is another matter since at this point the damage has been done and like a few others he’s not bound to be welcomed back in by everyone with open arms. It could be that his reputation and his career might be over and done with, or that he might have to do some serious damage control to get back to where he was. Caroline Framke of Variety has more to say on this matter.
Whether he’ll get there or not is going to be interesting to see since the downfall of a celebrity is quite a thing when it happens, and considering all he’s done, Spacey had a lot to lose. Whether that will stand will be seen eventually.
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