WTF: Are we gonna just pretend like this weird-ass Kevin Spacey video didnt happen

He's an amazingly talented actor, but this seems an ill-timed effort to stir shit.

Louis CK is also putting out feelers (errr.. so to speak) to test the waters for a comeback. Seems way too soon for either one, if ever. But dark, chaotic times are ahead, and maybe they think there is a space in it for them.
 
B8EB7B04-B78C-4A0E-B0FB-A36921696CBE.jpeg
 
Jbird said:
He changed his name to Frank?
Click to expand...

That is his house of cards character, who he appears to be portraying...though the video also seems to be directly related to his real life issues and current predicament. The series is done and Netflix has publicly stated they will not work with him again so it’s all pretty fucking weird
 
That isn't a clip from someone's cell phone, it appears to be a very high quality video, so he wasn't acting alone.
I'd like to see what happens next. He's been charged, not convicted, in this incident from 2016.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
 
Given the stories, research, and statistics that have become more and more prevalent over the past couple of years, my thinking has pretty much come to the conclusion that sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape are unique and deserve to be treated as such by the system. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘benefit of a doubt’ shouldn’t apply here. It’d absolutely be unfair to the 1% of the accused who are wrongfully accused, but the current reality is that it’s absolutely unfair and traumatic to virtually 100% of victims/survivors, even for those very few who do get to see justice done. So, on principle, I’m gonna believe them.

And yeah, as a theatre scholar and practitioner, I’d say that Spacey’s video (on top of being weird, creepy, and delusional) almost certainly required quite a fair bit of scripting and rehearsal time.
 
Flamencology said:
Given the stories, research, and statistics that have become more and more prevalent over the past couple of years, my thinking has pretty much come to the conclusion that sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape are unique and deserve to be treated as such by the system. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘benefit of a doubt’ shouldn’t apply here. It’d absolutely be unfair to the 1% of the accused who are wrongfully accused, but the current reality is that it’s absolutely unfair and traumatic to virtually 100% of victims/survivors, even for those very few who do get to see justice done. So, on principle, I’m gonna believe them.
Click to expand...

I absolutely get where you are coming from, but I have to disagree in part. There are way more than 1% who are wrongfully accused, and given that the societal definition of sexual assault/rape seems to be a moving target right now there is just too much grey area to definitively come down on one side or another. All sexual assault/rape cases need to be taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated from both sides. A couple of decades ago a friend of mine was accused of sexual assault. Legally he was 'innocent until proven guilty', but in every other way he was assumed to be guilty. The accusing party had absolutely no evidence aside from word of mouth, and it was later determined that the charges were made with the express intent of suing my friend and his employer (it was work related) for financial gain to the accusing party. He was ultimately proven innocent beyond any doubt. BUT - the presumption of guilt on his part ended up destroying his career, his marriage, and his standing in the community. He lost his job, got divorced, and had to leave the state all because he was falsely accused of sexual assault. So please - NEVER assume the assault/rape actually occurred unless the evidence says it does.
 
Last year, a couple of students that received low grades from me visited a website and 'reported overhearing a rumor from someone else' that I'd been involved with a student. (If you knew me, you'd know this is ridiculous). It didn't take long for the required investigation to exonerate me, but it was terribly upsetting on many, many levels.

Then I found out that I was the fifth male teacher to have received that treatment in one school year. I found this out because I did not remain quiet about my mistreatment - I was not pleased, and discussed it with others. I was actually encouraged by some to go to the police (we have an officer on campus) and lodge a complaint, but I couldn't see how that would help.

I also am highly aware that I was fortunate to be treated appropriately and fairly. And to be kind to myself, I earned that treatment by being a good guy for a number of years.

Previously, I'd probably have agreed with the sentiment of the 1% post, but not the legality. Now, I am much less sure what to believe. There are websites dedicated to successfully making false allegations - this shocks and saddens me. I am dismayed that people ... do harmful things to others.

That said, I can't imagine that Kevin Spacey isn't very guilty of many assaults. Too much consistency in accusations over too much time.
 
Denverdave said:
I absolutely get where you are coming from, but I have to disagree in part. There are way more than 1% who are wrongfully accused, and given that the societal definition of sexual assault/rape seems to be a moving target right now there is just too much grey area to definitively come down on one side or another. All sexual assault/rape cases need to be taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated from both sides. A couple of decades ago a friend of mine was accused of sexual assault. Legally he was 'innocent until proven guilty', but in every other way he was assumed to be guilty. The accusing party had absolutely no evidence aside from word of mouth, and it was later determined that the charges were made with the express intent of suing my friend and his employer (it was work related) for financial gain to the accusing party. He was ultimately proven innocent beyond any doubt. BUT - the presumption of guilt on his part ended up destroying his career, his marriage, and his standing in the community. He lost his job, got divorced, and had to leave the state all because he was falsely accused of sexual assault. So please - NEVER assume the assault/rape actually occurred unless the evidence says it does.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there are always going to be outlier examples, and it sucks, and there’s no way around it. But for every case like your acquaintance, there are hundreds or thousands more cases of women (and, to a lesser extent, men) who experience sexual violence/assault/rape who suffer untreated PTSD, who aren’t believed, who are traumatized further through a legal system that is weighed against them, etc.

A quick look at academic stats suggest that it is 8458 times more likely for a woman to be raped than it is for a man to be falsely accused of rape. And it is 230 times more likely for a man to be raped than it is for a man to be sexually assaulted.

Only about a third or less of rape incidences are reported, and of those that are reported, less than 5% are prosecuted.

So. Yeah, of course, anyone in court should have able to defend themselves and have access to counsel. Never said otherwise.

But while I may have sympathy for individual cases, I have little to no sympathy for the general argument that many more lives will be ruined by false accusations.

Don’t want to veer too far away from the original discussion, but this is essentially the same argumenta that are made by the “guns save lives” crowd.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top