Several actresses have stepped forward about their own horrifying accounts of sexual harassment by media mogul Harvey Weinstein. Now, certain actors are talking about their own experiences, not with Harvey, but ones that are still incredibly troublesome that brings together the point that this is a major issue both in and out of the industry.
James Van Der Beek just took to his Twitter page last night to talk about what happened to him while in this industry, and the alleged details are quite horrific.
The first tweet was him putting his two cents in regarding the women who were harassed by Harvey Weinstein, talking about the importance of them not staying quiet and to not brush something like this off as being “boys being boys.”
Then he went in on Weinstein, saying what he is accused of is criminal, regardless of the industry, and he applauds everyone for speaking out.
Then, he goes in on his own experiences of harassment in Hollywood, saying that he was groped by "older, powerful men" and how they cornered him in inappropriate situations when he was much younger.
He finishes by saying that "I understand the unwarranted shame, powerlessness & inability to blow the whistle. There’s a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome.
Good for James for stepping up in a situation where it's assumed that only women would. This is something that happens to both sexes. Terry Crews was another actor who recently opened up about his own situation, where he claims a Hollywood exec assaulted him.
As time goes by, it would seem as if more and more people in the industry and out will come forward with their own claims. It's good to see that they are doing so, in order to create more of a conversation about sexual harassment and what we can do to ensure this eventually becomes a thing of the past.