Next Up In The Sexual Assault Allegations List

cornflake said:

Morgan Spurlock outs himself before someone else gets the chance, then sort of vaguely wonders if he harassed his employee, apparently raped a girl in college and cheated on everyone he's ever been in a relationship with because he was apparently abused, or has a drinking "problem" that's not clarified or something. He doesn't really wonder if it's just because he's an entitled asshole.

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Here's a little tip - If the other person says they don't want to have sex, then proceeds to cry during the sex you end up having anyway... you JUST MIGHT be raping them.

Has anyone mentioned Russell Simmons, yet? Of course, he's the victim.

"The current allegations sent to me by the New York Times range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful."

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ETA to clarify: *sarcasm alert*

Tazlima said:

Here's a little tip - If the other person says they don't want to have sex, then proceeds to cry during the sex you end up having anyway... you JUST MIGHT be raping them.

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*shudder*

I honestly can't get the Morgan Spurlock "apology" out of my head. The part where he says we are all part of the problem, we are all at fault (paraphrasing) has particularly riled me.

Tazlima said:

Here's a little tip - If the other person says they don't want to have sex, then proceeds to cry during the sex you end up having anyway... you JUST MIGHT be raping them.

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Yes, that was a particularly cringe worthy read. And he's trying to justify himself. Any sort of real hesitation should be enough to count as a "no" anyways.

Tazlima said:

Here's a little tip - If the other person says they don't want to have sex, then proceeds to cry during the sex you end up having anyway... you JUST MIGHT be raping them.

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This.
Sadly the statute of limitations must have expired, but I would support one last reality project from Spurlock: Incarcerate Me!

SciSarahTops said:

I honestly can't get the Morgan Spurlock "apology" out of my head. The part where he says we are all part of the problem, we are all at fault (paraphrasing) has particularly riled me.

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Yes. For him to say that, he's implying that his behavior is something that all men do. He's trying to normalize it.

Where's #NotAllMen now?

Tazlima said:

Here's a little tip - If the other person says they don't want to have sex, then proceeds to cry during the sex you end up having anyway... you JUST MIGHT be raping them.

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[sarcasm] No, couldn't be. She wasn't screaming or trying to gouge his eyes out. That's what it takes to make it rape, right?[/end sarcasm]

Interesting comments today by Peter Jackson about how Weinstein convinced directors that Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino were "difficult to work with" and not worth the trouble of hiring.

Female Kansas congressional candidate drops out over harassment claims made by male subordinate.

The first two paragraphs are mansplaining at its finest.

eqb said:

If he does turn himself around and make himself part of the solution, that's wonderful. But that post...

He makes it all about him and his problems. Drinking caused him to abuse and cheat and harass. Depression was the problem. The fact that he was abused as a young man. Yes, I have complete sympathy for him that he was abused, but blaming drink or depression is a cop out. Plenty of men with the same background *don't* do what he did.

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And here's a radical thought: if you were abused and hated it, then maybe making an effort to not cause others the same pain would be the empathetic--and decent--approach to take.

Celia Cyanide said:

Yes. For him to say that, he's implying that his behavior is something that all men do. He's trying to normalize it.

Where's #NotAllMen now?

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I've wondered the same thing. Men's advocates seem to go back and forth between insisting that their gender is unfairly maligned (so women should just shut up and stop complaining about abuse and violence against women) and insisting that men are the more aggressive and oversexed gender and they just can't help themselves (so it's down to women to avoid those situations).

Whatever they think will get them off the hook in their immediate situation.

It's not unlike the inability of pop culture and armchair sociobiologists to decide whether or not men are the more competitive gender or women are. Men are lauded for being more competitive when one needs a convenient explanation for why men get paid more or don't whack against a glass ceiling (or tend to do better at games, for that matter). Women are said to be more competitive when it's time to insist that they are petty, bitchy and untrustworthy, and therefore incapable of truly understanding teamwork in a way that allows them to function in the corporate world (or to work with other women).

The owner of the Carolina Panthers

The SI article detailed accusations made against Richardson that include sexual harassment of multiple women and the use of a racial slur toward a scout who has since left the team.http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...thers-owner-jerry-richardson-selling-nfl-team

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Puffy wants to buy it.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...to-diddy-tweet-about-buying-carolina-panthers

RedRajah said:

The owner of the Carolina Panthers

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I've never liked Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Panthers. Now I despise the bastard.


Friday was Jeans Day, when most staffers at the Carolina Panthers team offices would wear denim to work. The female employees knew what that meant. As the team’s owner, Jerry Richardson, made his rounds on the way to his spacious office, he would ask women to turn around so he could admire their backsides. Then, in his rolling Southern drawl, he’d offer comment, drawing from a store of one-liners he’d recycle each week. Among those in heaviest rotation: Show me how you wiggle to get those jeans up. I bet you had to lay down on your bed to fit into those jeans. Did you step into those jeans or did you have to jump into them?

Richardson’s conduct was treated as something of a running office joke, according to multiple former Panthers team employees, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. Male employees would knowingly ask the women whether the Carolina owner had noticed them that day. Women subjected to Richardson’s comments would often dismiss them with a sheepish wave of a hand. “No one ever said anything, at least not that I heard,” says one former Panthers employee. “He was the boss. It was [viewed] more of a creepy-old-man thing than a threat.”

During its own investigation in the weeks prior, SI learned that on multiple occasions when Richardson’s conduct has triggered complaints—for sexual harassment against female employees and for directing a racial slur at an African American employee—he has taken a leaf from a playbook he’s deployed in the past: Confidential settlements were reached and payments were made to complainants, accompanied by non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses designed to shield the owner and the organization from further liability and damaging publicity.

SI has been made aware of at least four former Panthers employees who have received significant settlements from Richardson or from the team in exchange for what amounted to a vow of silence. One of the deals was confirmed by a recipient’s significant other, who had contemporaneous knowledge of Richardson’s conduct. On the condition that no potentially identifying details (such as dates or dollar figures) be revealed in this story, SI viewed the physical legal document—which included what appears to be Richardson’s signature—for one such settlement. No public documents or EEOC complaints have been found linking Richardson to workplace abuses, but a former Panthers employee tells SI that, while working for the team, she personally saw documents detailing sexual harassment claims against Richardson that were being investigated by the Panthers.

Richardson is 81, and has been slowed by a 2009 heart transplant. But he still cuts an imposing figure as one of the most prominent owners in America’s most prominent professional sports league. His aura, mannerisms and values ring through the Panthers’ headquarters. Though the antebellum echoes trouble some African-American employees, Richardson is referred to by all simply as Mister, no surname required. When Mister swings by and asks you to lunch, you accept the invitation even if you’ve already eaten. When he confuses your name, you don’t correct him. When the Panthers hold staff meetings, you know to arrive early—punctuality is a core Richardson virtue—and sit as close as possible to Mister’s position, a bar stool and high-top in the middle of the room. Even before you park your car in the lot, you feel Mister’s towering presence: On the occasion of Richardson’s 80th birthday last year, the Panthers unveiled a 13-foot statue of him outside Bank of America Stadium.

A proud traditionalist who long resisted email and waited until later years to acquire a mobile phone—a flip phone at that—Richardson often sent employees handwritten notes. It was a gesture perceived as chivalrous and quaint. Recipients often felt obligated to send handwritten notes in return. Multiple female employees recall that their notes eventually came accompanied by small cash payments and encouragement to use the money to treat themselves to massages or dresses. The women would thank Richardson; when he responded with lines on the order of You won't find another man to treat you the way I treat you, it was still viewed as flattery, if clumsily rendered, by an older man from an older era.

But multiple former female employees recount that Richardson's behavior began to feel like a violation when he spoke of their bodies. He had a special interest in female grooming, they say. He would notice when their nails were not up to his standards, and pay for them to get manicures. Multiple female employees recalled to SI that Richardson asked them if he could personally shave their legs.

Richardson was also known for what multiple women call the “seatbelt maneuver.” He would invite female employees out to lunch, and in keeping with his reputation as a self-styled gentleman, he would open the car door for his guests. Once they were seated, however, he would insist on fastening their seatbelt for them, reaching across their lap and brushing his hand across their breasts before putting the belt in the clasp.

That Richardson thing is just--ugh.

As is the Mario Batali "apology" in which he includes a PS with a recipe for cinnamon rolls . I thought it was a joke at first, but...

He was a creep, but Richardson was a rich old creep, so he got away with it for years.

I wonder what would have happened if one of those women had "accidentally" brushed her fist across his jaw when he was pulling the seatbelt maneuver? Would such a "gentleman" have brought assault charges against a lady who was defending her virtue?

hester said:

That Richardson thing is just--ugh.

As is the Mario Batali "apology" in which he includes a PS with a recipe for cinnamon rolls . I thought it was a joke at first, but...

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I can't figure out if Batali's message indicates he's totally clueless, or whether it was a "screw you" to his accusers. Or if he's just lost his damn mind.

Roxxsmom said:

He was a creep, but Richardson was a rich old creep, so he got away with it for years.

I wonder what would have happened if one of those women had "accidentally" brushed her fist across his jaw when he was pulling the seatbelt maneuver? Would such a "gentleman" have brought assault charges against a lady who was defending her virtue?

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If he were fool enough to take it to court, she shouldn't even bring her virtue into it:
As he was a 'gentleman' fixing her seatbelt, she was a 'lady', automatically moving the rear-view mirror to check her lipstick. Not her fault that his head suddenly got in her way.

In the gaming journalism industry: Steve Butts of IGN (yes, that's his real name)

This article lists fifty men who have stepped down or been fired/dropped etc. as a consequence of allegations of sexual assault or harassment. It lists 27 more who have had "interesting" fallout over allegations.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/10/us/men-accused-sexual-misconduct-weinstein.html?_r=0

Of course, the silent (and overwhelming) majority of cases don't involve prominent people or celebrities. Women struggle with sexual assault and harassment in shops, restaurants, offices, schools and other academic institutions, all manner of workplaces, law enforcement situations, and even within their own circles of friends and family (as one close friend did many years ago).

I really hope this publicity changes the culture in all settings in a way that improves things for all women. It's one thing to have laws and policies in place re sexual harassment, it's another to enforce them and to not punish (intentionally or inadvertently) victims who report. Optimism comes hard to me on this issue, though. I remember the supposed backlash back in the 90s after Anita Hill. And the investigation of Weinstein has failed to produce any charges so far.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices...rges-johnny-depp-sexual-assault-a8089401.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...n-cases-review-la-police-latest-a8138976.html

Can we do Trump again? Pretty please? (bolding mine)

President Trump used to brag that sleeping with your friends' wives makes "life worth living," according to a shocking new book.

A passage of author Michael Wolff's Washington tell-all, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," describes how Trump would devise calculated plots to get the wives of his friends into bed, using jealousy and revenge as bait.

"In pursuing a friend's wife, he would try to persuade the wife that her husband was perhaps not what she thought," reads the passage, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News.

Trump would then have his secretary ask the husband to stop by his office. Once the husband got in, Trump would subject him to "constant sexual banter" — all while having the wife listen in on the conversation via speakerphone.

"Do you still like having sex with your wife? How often? You must have had a better f--k than your wife?" Trump would apparently ask friends. "Tell me about it. I have girls coming in from Los Angeles at three o'clock. We can go upstairs and have a great time. I promise."

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Alessandra Kelley said:

Ah. A genuine news story about ethics in gaming journalism.

Are we hearing massive support for this move from all the boys and men who were so very very keen on ethics in gaming journalism a few years ago?

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I was wondering the exact same thing. The silence is deafening, isn't it?

[h=1]Casino Mogul Steve Wynn Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Dozens of Women (Report)[/h]