Matt Damon liet zich deze week uit over de #MeToo-beweging in Hollywood (en daarbuiten). En dit deed hij niet helemaal, uhm, lekker.

De acteur en goede vriend van Ben en Casey Affleck, beiden veelvuldig genoemd in de conversatie rondom seksueel wangedrag in de entertainmentindustrie, vindt dat we momenteel in een ‘cultuur van verontwaardiging’ leven waardoor iedere man die zich heeft misdragen, op dezelfde hoop wordt gegooid. Of zoals hij het zei tijdens Popcorn With Peter Travers van ABC News:

‘We live in this culture of outrage and injury, that we’re going to have to correct enough to kind of go, ‘Wait a minute. None of us came here perfect.’

Damon zei verder dat het geweldig is dat vrouwen hun verhalen delen en eindelijk worden geloofd. Ook denkt hij dat de ‘rotte appels momenteel uit de mand gehaald worden’. Maar hij meent ook dat we moeten uitkijken dat iemand die een vrouw een tikje op haar billen geeft door de ophefmachine niet hetzelfde behandeld wordt als iemand die een kind misbruikt.

‘I do believe that there’s a spectrum of behaviour and we’re going to have to figure, you know, there’s a difference between patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation. Both of those behaviours need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated.’

Over komiek Louis C.K., die zichzelf bevredigde in het bijzijn van meerdere vrouwen die daar niet om hadden gevraagd, denkt Damon hij dat hij zo ‘gestraft is’ dat hij het waarschijnlijk nooit meer zal doen.

‘I don’t imagine he’s going to do those things again. You know what I mean? I imagine the price that he’s paid at this point is so beyond anything that he—I just think that we have to kind of start delineating between what these behaviors are.’

Opmerkingen die wellicht niet kwaad zijn bedoeld, maar desondanks de plank van #MeToo aardig misslaan. Uiteraard is er een verschil tussen de vormen van misbruik die hij noemt, maar #MeToo ageert tegen de maatschappij waarin al deze vormen worden gedoogd en vrouwen amper kunnen terugvechten. Dankzij #MeToo hebben zij eindelijk een stem. En het feit dat alle vormen van misbruik momenteel onder de loep worden gelegd, betekent hopelijk dat er echt iets gaat veranderen.
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#MeAt14 I worshipped my brother. I loved my dog, Pucci. I loved OMD. I had Big hair. I was happy. I was innocent.

Please share your #MeAt14. pic.twitter.com/ccPyVHgcVS

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) 12 november 2017

Alyssa Milano and Sarah Silverman have joined the growing #MeAt14 hashtag campaign to bring awareness about the age of sexual consent.

The social media campaign was started following The Washington Post story last Thursday about US Senate nominee Roy Moore, 70, allegedly initiating a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was aged 32.

Twitter users have been using the hashtag to share photos of themselves at age 14 in an effort to raise awareness about the age of consent and to underscore how a 14-year-old child is not equipped to consent to sex with adults.

The Washington Post first reported on the sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama candidate Moore, including from three other women who say he pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s.
A fourth woman, Beverly Young Nelson, came forward on Monday to allege that when she was 16, Moore groped her against her will and when she resisted, ‘began squeezing my neck and attempting to force my head into his crotch.’

Shortly before Nelson’s press conference alongside attorney Gloria Allred, Moore released a statement doubling down on his initial denial of the allegations.
In the statement, Moore’s campaign described Allred as ‘a sensationalist leading a witch hunt,’ and again denied ‘any sexual misconduct with anyone’ by Moore.

The #MeAt14 hashtag was launched by North Carolina lawyer Catherine R. Lawson on Thursday night and has been used more than 50,000 times.
Lawson posted a throwback photo of herself as a girl at Sydney Harbour along with the message: ‘Can’t consent at 14. Not in Alabama. Not anywhere. #MeAt14′.
The Raleigh attorney tweeted her reasoning for the hashtag on Saturday and posted: ‘Why I started #MeAt14: Show what a 14-year-old looks like. Affirm they’re not capable of consent. Remind people *kids* deserve protection.’

The legal age of consent varies by state in the US, ranging from 16, which is the minimum, to 18.
The hashtag campaign gained steam after The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, 56, tweeted a picture of herself at 14 and asked followers to do the same.
‘Who were you at 14?’ she asked.

‘I was on the gymnastics team and sang in the choir. I was not dating a 32 year old man,’ she added.
Milano, 44, shared a photo of herself 30 years ago and wrote: ‘#MeAt14 I worshipped my brother. I loved my dog, Pucci. I loved OMD. I had Big hair. I was happy. I was innocent. Please share your #MeAt14.’
Silverman humorously joined the awareness campaign on Sunday with a black and white throwback photo of herself as a teenager with an older man.

‘#MeAt14 w my boyfriend – JK I’m with my math teacher, Mr James,’ the 46-year-old comedienne posted.
Katie Couric, 60, shared a photo of herself at age 14 and wrote: ‘I was eating a lot of chocolate chip cookie dough and learning to do the ‘hustle’ and not worrying about a 32 year old man trying to hustle me.’
The #MeAt14 hashtag was trending amid overwhelming calls for Moore, a Republican, to step aside in the Alabama Senate race to replace Jeff Sessions who vacated the seat to become US Attorney General.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday said he ‘believes the women’ who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct and said he should end his campaign.

Alyssa reageert op het seksueel intimidatie schandaal rond om Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, hierin laat ze .o.a. nog niet eerder te hebben gereageerd door haar vriendschap met zijn vrouw.

I’ve been asked a number of times to comment on the Harvey Weinstein scandal. While I am sickened and angered over the disturbing accusations of Weinstein’s sexual predation and abuse of power, I’m happy – ecstatic even – that it has opened up a dialogue around the continued sexual harassment, objectification and degradation of women. To the women who have suffered any form of abuse of power, I stand beside you. To the women who have come forward against a system that is designed to keep you silent, I stand in awe of you and appreciate you and your fortitude. It is not easy to disclose such experiences, especially in the public eye. Your strength will inspire others. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for fighting this battle so hopefully my daughter won’t have to.

I’ve been an actor for a long time. So long, that when I started, we were called ‘actresses’ – a feminized, watered down name for the same profession our male colleagues have dominated. Somewhere in the early 2000’s it became politically incorrect to call us actresses, and with good reason. After all, there’s no feminized moniker for a director or producer or a writer or doctor or a lawyer. So ‘actresses’ became ‘actors’. But sexual harassment and sexism in the industry did not change with the title change. We were still clearly ‘actresses’ to anyone that saw gender before talent and intelligence.

I can tell you what it meant to be an ‘actress’ then and what it means to be an ‘actor’ (with breasts) now. BUT more importantly, I can tell you what it means to be a woman in our society. In any – and every – profession, women are continuously mistreated. This is not an uncommon occurrence. This is a sick culture. Men like Harvey Weinstein are around every corner. Men who undermine women and their strength, ability and intelligence exist everywhere. Statistics say that 1 in 3 women are sexually harassed in the workplace. Really think about that. Really allow that statistic to become a part of you. Also, while you process it, think about the gender inequality women – particularly women of color – face in salary and opportunity. Actually, fuck the statistics, just do better, world.

Even with these strong feelings – not just about Weinstein but about workplace sexism in general – this statement is complicated for me for personal reasons. Harvey has a wife, who I have had the privilege of working with for the last 5 years on Project Runway All Stars. Georgina Chapman is my friend. She is one of the most special humans I have ever met. Harvey and Georgina also have two very young children who my children have known their entire lives. It is because of my love for Georgina, India and Dashiell that I haven’t publicly commented on this until now. Please don’t confuse my silence for anything other than respect for a dear friend and her beautiful children.

And please know that I fight for women’s rights every day. I am constantly part of this conversation even if I don’t publicly comment on specific scandals. Sexual harassment and assault in the workplace are not just about Harvey Weinstein. We must change things in general. We must do better for women everywhere.

In de nasleep van de affaire rond Hollywood-producent Harvey Weinstein lanceert de Amerikaanse actrice Alyssa Milano de hashtag #MeToo op Twitter. Met de hashtag wil mensen bewuster maken van de gevolgen van seksueel geweld.

“Als je ooit aangerand of verkracht bent, schrijf dan #MeToo als antwoord op mijn tweet”, schreef de actrice op Twitter. In geen tijd werd #MeToo een van de meest gebruikte hashtags op de sociaalnetwerksite met 27.000 vermeldingen.

In Frankrijk werd er de afgelopen dagen een gelijkaardige oproep gelanceerd door journaliste Sandra Muller. Met de hashtag #balancetonporc vroeg ze Twitter-gebruikers om namen te geven van mensen die zich op het werk schuldig maken aan seksueel geweld. Deze initiatieven zijn ontstaan in de nasleep van enkele beschuldigingen van seksuele intimidatie aan het adres van de 65-jarige Hollywood-producer Harvey Weinstein. Drie vrouwen beschuldigen hem zelfs van verkrachting, maar Weinstein ontkent alle aantijgingen.