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Predator and Prey: Assault, harassment, and other aggressions in the entertainment industry


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Yes, calling an actor a 'horrible woman' and celebrating another man saying negative things about her is misogyny. Because someone doesn't say the specific words "I hate women" it's not? You have heard of microaggressions I hope.

One incident of doing that, no, I don't see it as misogyny, which is what is what the original point about the email was. Now, all of that other stuff mentioned in the article, yeah, that does add up. But taking that one incident on it's own, out of context, is a different matter.

Having read this forum and the one preceding it, and other articles off this site in general no, never heard of microaggression before, it must be some new word coined in 2021 that is new. 

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23 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

never heard of microaggression before, it must be some new word coined in 2021 that is new. 

No, it was coined back in the '70s.  It has only been in the past ten, five, and then several years that a significant - and increasingly wider - general audience took notice of such acts and how they fit into and perpetuated systemic racism, sexism, etc., but the term describing them is not at all new.

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Yeah one email of a person who is horrible to EVERYONE calling one actor -- who happens to be a woman -- horrible and hope they quit acting is not misogony.    The emailer would have said the exact same thing about a man they hated/stood up to them, etc.   Rudin et al, are horrible to EVERYONE.    Rudin wasn't just a terror to his female assistants, he was a terror to ALL his assistants.

Weinstein ONLY preyed on women and threatened to ruin their careers if they didn't sleep with them.   Not sure if he retaliated against any man who called out his bad behavior but there is a difference between the two.

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One email isn't "proof" but I don't necessarily agree that the person who sent the email would have written that about anyone.  The person writing the email wasn't Rudin. He was writing to Rudin.

Take the information about the Philip Roth and his biographer.  You take any of those incidents in isolation and people could, and probably would, argue that it's not "proof" of anything.  "Maybe he doesn't care about cheese.  Maybe she went back on her word about an open marriage...etc."  Of course, once they are put together, especially if you know that part of what persuaded Roth to select that biographer is an unflattering remark about another woman, and a clearer picture is formed. 

But we're not in a court of law.  The thing about misogyny through life and experience is you sometimes just kind of know. It's a gut feeling before having a complete picture.  Take someone like Joss Whedon. He tried to make sure his self-avowed feminism was as much, if not more, of the story as the female-lead show he created while some of the writing of the female characters on his show also leave a lot to be desired and C Carpenter disappeared after her pregnancy. Long before Joss Whedon's true behavior came out, there were feminist critics who picked up on the fact that he might be less women positive than he thought he was or claimed to be.

But it took years before their intuition became widely accepted.

10 hours ago, merylinkid said:

Weinstein ONLY preyed on women and threatened to ruin their careers if they didn't sleep with them. 

He was an ass to men too and screwed them over.  It was just usually more on a professional level than a sexual assault level.  What he did to women was illegal which is why most of the coverage is focused on that.

Weinstein was just better at cultivating both male and even female friends/defenders than maybe someone like Scott Rudin. 

Weinstein is a good example, though, of how someone can be abhorrent to both genders but reserve something special for women. 

Edited by Irlandesa
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8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

He was an ass to men too and screwed them over.  It was just usually more on a professional level than a sexual assault level.  What he did to women was illegal which is why most of the coverage is focused on that.

Yeah I'm a little rusty on my Weinstein stories since it's been over a year since I was reading about it, but IIRC, there was quite a bit of him being generally verbally abusive with everyone. His brother Bob was estranged with him over the way Harvey talked to him, I believe. What he did to women definitely deserved more attention during his downfall, but he came across as a really unpleasant person for just about anyone to deal with. 

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Goddammit.  Why do predators have to get their hands in everything? Those poor women.

Cue him talking about his efforts in diversity/inclusion and how he fought so hard to make Bulletproof with two Black leads. The two things aren't mutually exclusive, unfortunately - you can champion representation AND harass/threaten/exploit women.

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29 minutes ago, angora said:

Goddammit.  Why do predators have to get their hands in everything? Those poor women.

Cue him talking about his efforts in diversity/inclusion and how he fought so hard to make Bulletproof with two Black leads. The two things aren't mutually exclusive, unfortunately - you can champion representation AND harass/threaten/exploit women.

This is why I am so infuriatingly disappointed and frustrated. The stories were sickening to read.

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Oh, for f's sake, not Mickie Smith!

There have been times with these revelations when I've been shocked or surprised.

Now I'm just so bloody disappointed when it's someone I like.

I have run out of shock or surprise. 

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16 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

And I hope that we never, ever, ever have to hear from that creepy, loathsome, sanctimonious family of his again as a result. Seriously, I hated the Duggars long before these allegations came to light. Anyone that eager to exploit their kids and frame themselves as secular saints morally superior to the rest of us miserable sinners deserve to be blasted off their undeserved pedestal. 

Thank you!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

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12 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

And I hope that we never, ever, ever have to hear from that creepy, loathsome, sanctimonious family of his again as a result. Seriously, I hated the Duggars long before these allegations came to light. Anyone that eager to exploit their kids and frame themselves as secular saints morally superior to the rest of us miserable sinners deserve to be blasted off their undeserved pedestal. 

I've actually heard some people defend the Duggars, saying they're "nice". Well, as the great Stephen Sondheim said, "Nice is different than good".

 

Eh, I'm sure he and his family will find that God gives them the strength to forgive themselves for all their misdeeds, including this one. Ain't it strange how that always happens?

Almost as strange as the frequency with which self-righteous guardians of 'family morals' end up being the worst abusers.

Bunch of creepy, Quiverfull weirdoes.

5 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

The attention on Noel Clarke has also resurfaced an old interview with the cast of Torchwood where Clarke says John Barrowman repeatedly exposed himself on the set. And he has actually admitted to doing it during a BBC radio interview in 2008. People are now thinking it's not so funny.

Hmm. I've never really thought about it, but as I do I realise that the odds of John Barrowman being squeaky clean were always slim. He's always had this energy to him that's part playful part sleazy, and perhaps a lax understanding of where the line is. He just has the charisma to play it off. Exposing himself on set seems very much in his wheelhouse. And I say that as someone who likes him.

As for Clarke, that one was a surprise. He's an actor and creator who has gained a lot of plaudits and appreciation in the industry, and seemed to have been in a position to give a lot of other people opportunities too. I guess that kind of power is just too tempting to abuse. Just goes to show that this sort of thing isn't really sexual in nature. Clarke could have found plenty of women eager to hook up with him, but that obviously wasn't the motivating factor. Again, it's about power over the women.

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22 hours ago, angora said:

Goddammit.  Why do predators have to get their hands in everything? Those poor women.

Cue him talking about his efforts in diversity/inclusion and how he fought so hard to make Bulletproof with two Black leads. The two things aren't mutually exclusive, unfortunately - you can champion representation AND harass/threaten/exploit women.

This is why I'm so disappointed. Clarke has become a powerful advocate for racial diversity in the industry, has fought hard to get where he is. But behind the scenes...this. 😟

I never quite forgave Bulletproof for fridging its female lead in the S1 finale.

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11 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

The attention on Noel Clarke has also resurfaced an old interview with the cast of Torchwood where Clarke says John Barrowman repeatedly exposed himself on the set. And he has actually admitted to doing it during a BBC radio interview in 2008. People are now thinking it's not so funny.

That makes me remember reading about how Robin Williams reportedly used to expose himself frequently on the set of Mork & Mindy too.

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38 minutes ago, Jaded said:

That makes me remember reading about how Robin Williams reportedly used to expose himself frequently on the set of Mork & Mindy too.

The reaction to this has always bothered me.  Williams gets a pass for doing something another actor would be crucified for.  

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19 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

The reaction to this has always bothered me.  Williams gets a pass for doing something another actor would be crucified for.  

I agree! Somehow because he was 'naturally zany' and 'a genius', his parading around  . .whoever in the altogether was supposed to be an ' harmless'  but there's NO WAY Mr. Williams (or TPTB) didn't know that there are LAWS against adults being in the altogether in a public place that's not designated as clothing optional (and one can't pretend that a studio set wasn't a public place).  Yes, Miss Dawber just seemed to consider at an annoyance at the time but that in itself doesn't make it acceptable for the late Mr. Williams to have done so (and I say this as someone who DID like his comedic and even dramatic work AND knows that there was a lot of good he did in this world and was saddened by his tragic, torturous end). 

FWIW, the late Bill Macy (of Maude fame) had been a featured player in  Oh Calcutta! (in which he appeared nude onstage with the rest of the cast)- and somehow thought that that somehow entitled him to drop his draws,etc. on the Maude set in front of Miss Barbeau,etc. (who tried to shrug off his actions by yelling 'PROPS!') but why didn't Miss Arthur, Mr. Lear or ANY of the show's PTB just tell him that he wasn't working on the previous production  any longer so if he wanted to keep his steady, sitcom job, he was to knock it off? 

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49 minutes ago, Blergh said:

FWIW, the late Bill Macy (of Maude fame) had been a featured player in  Oh Calcutta! (in which he appeared nude onstage with the rest of the cast)- and somehow thought that that somehow entitled him to drop his draws,etc. on the Maude set in front of Miss Barbeau,etc. (who tried to shrug off his actions by yelling 'PROPS!') but why didn't Miss Arthur, Mr. Lear or ANY of the show's PTB just tell him that he wasn't working on the previous production  any longer so if he wanted to keep his steady, sitcom job, he was to knock it off? 

I never heard about this before - makes me think a lot of crap like this happened back in the pre-Internet/cell phone days before the world and his uncle was privy to gory details of the backstage world.  Was it a case of shrugging off behavior because "hey, boys will be boys" or did the show's PTB just think it was funny or just the way crazy actors behave all the time so who cares?  I am betting there are a lot of stories out there waiting to be told that many of us do not want to hear because they involve actors we grew up admiring.

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I don't think exposing yourself is actually defensable, but I DO think that people's changing perceptions when hearing about it is. I think it used to often be considered as being in the "practical joke" camp, and it's only in recent years that people have been paying more attention to the subtleties, for example repeat offending with it, and especially seeming to "direct" it towards specific people. 

I think nobody made distinctions, unless touching or direct innuendo was part of it.  Like it was streaking.

And of course it's not just men who expose themselves. A certain New Orleans tradition with tossing beads wouldn't exist otherwise.  I suppose there's an inherent agreement between people with that... except there are typically witnesses who never asked for it. 

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5 hours ago, Jaded said:

That makes me remember reading about how Robin Williams reportedly used to expose himself frequently on the set of Mork & Mindy too.

It reminded me of Robin, too. There was this belief people like Williams and Barrowman were just so zany and fun to be around that it was okay. Anyone who didn’t find it fun was a buzzkill or prude who just needed to lighten up. 

The stories about Barrowman puts a new light Christopher Eccelston’s exit from Doctor Who and his statement that he was blacklisted by BBC as a result. Barrowman really painted Eccelston as an asshole with a chip on his shoulder for years. 

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15 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

The reaction to this has always bothered me.  Williams gets a pass for doing something another actor would be crucified for.  

Has any actor been crucified for it?

14 hours ago, Blergh said:

FWIW, the late Bill Macy (of Maude fame) had been a featured player in  Oh Calcutta! (in which he appeared nude onstage with the rest of the cast)- and somehow thought that that somehow entitled him to drop his draws,etc. on the Maude set in front of Miss Barbeau,etc. (who tried to shrug off his actions by yelling 'PROPS!') but why didn't Miss Arthur, Mr. Lear or ANY of the show's PTB just tell him that he wasn't working on the previous production  any longer so if he wanted to keep his steady, sitcom job, he was to knock it off? 

What would be the point?  It seems like people in power just straight up don't care about male behaviour like this.  It reminds me of Michael Weatherly on Bull.  He's on camera sexually harassing women on set and everyone knows about it but the show is STILL. GOING. ON.

13 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

I never heard about this before - makes me think a lot of crap like this happened back in the pre-Internet/cell phone days before the world and his uncle was privy to gory details of the backstage world.  

In the case of Michael Weatherly for instance it IS on video and he still gets to have a show on CBS.  So before the internet or not it barely seems to matter.

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Has any actor been crucified for it?

Louis C. K., for like 5 minutes. Granted, he did a little more than just whip it out, but still...

Edited by Hiyo
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3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

In the case of Michael Weatherly for instance it IS on video and he still gets to have a show on CBS.  So before the internet or not it barely seems to matter.

Michael Weatherly's involvement with Jessica Alba way back when is what introduced me to him and made me side eye him all at the same time. Alba was 18/19 when that show started and it was only on for a couple seasons. In TV interviews he gave off that creeper vibe to me at least. I've gone through periods of watching all of the NCIS series sticking with the NOLA version almost the entire time. I never really wanted to watch the original series because Weatherly was on it. It's only in the past few years where I've given in and watched newer episodes on CBS without him from time to time.

I hope I didn't give the impression I was excusing Robin Williams when I mentioned him upthread. Here's one of the interviews I read that mentioned Williams behavior on the M&M set when Pam Dawber was doing promotion for her book. 

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19 hours ago, Kromm said:

I don't think exposing yourself is actually defensable, but I DO think that people's changing perceptions when hearing about it is. I think it used to often be considered as being in the "practical joke" camp, and it's only in recent years that people have been paying more attention to the subtleties, for example repeat offending with it, and especially seeming to "direct" it towards specific people. 

I think nobody made distinctions, unless touching or direct innuendo was part of it.  Like it was streaking.

And of course it's not just men who expose themselves. A certain New Orleans tradition with tossing beads wouldn't exist otherwise.  I suppose there's an inherent agreement between people with that... except there are typically witnesses who never asked for it. 

The women knew if they complained nothing would be done.   They would told to "lighten up" and if they didn't they would be labeled "difficult."   Women had to put up with a LOT back then just to keep their jobs.   Because "boys will be boys."   Even when they are in their 30s and 40s.

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11 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

n the case of Michael Weatherly for instance it IS on video and he still gets to have a show on CBS.  So before the internet or not it barely seems to matter.

This is another case that I only heard about here - my husband is a big fan of his current show and I just asked him if he had heard anything about this.  He had not and his reaction was that if this was actually true then CBS would have cancelled the show.  I think it's sweet that he is so trusting.  But given the current climate I do have to wonder what would more would Weatherly have to do before action is taken?

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(edited)

Eliza Dushku got $9 million out of being fired and harassed which makes me very happy.  But I find it so disgusting that the show is still going on.  I can't believe it.  

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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6 hours ago, merylinkid said:

 Because "boys will be boys."   Even when they are in their 30s and 40s.

A lot of the events in the news for the past few years has made me see language in the news in a whole new light.

Alarms should go off if we ever see the term "underage women".  That's not a thing.  Girls are underage.  Not women.

And people using "Boys" for anyone over the age of 18 and "Girls" for anyone over the age of 18.  I notice it all the time.  Sure, people often do it innocently and casually, but I've spoken about how much I hate when people refer to me as a girl at work.  It's really disgusting.  It makes me so uncomfortable.

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3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Eliza Dushku got $9 million out of being fired and harassed which makes me very happy.  But I find it so disgusting that the show is still going on.  I can't believe it.  

One thing I found fascinating/horrifying is how willful blind the production was to how bad Weatherly’s behavior was. They submitted to court behind the scenes footage that showed that Eliza cursed on set as if that was somehow worse than sexual harassment.  This evidence that they assumed would damage Eliza’s case just ended up providing the judge with footage of her harassment and the toxic environment on set.  Somehow the people in charge of the didn’t see the harassment even when looking at their own footage.  
 

It’s so hard to come forward when the people you are dealing with refuse the see the problem right in front of them.  In the end, the person who points out whats wrong is treated as the problem while the people causing the hostile work environment are protected.  So Eliza gets fired for pointing out there’s an issue, but Weatherly continues without consequences.  It’s like you see a person burning down a house and you report it but everyone is mad at you for pointing out the fire instead of being mad at the person who set it.  It’s so unfair.  And people have the nerve to wonder why victims have a hard time coming forward. 

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(edited)

These people have deep biases about what men should be allowed to do - basically, anything, and harass without consequence, and what women should be allowed to do - they should be seen and not heard, be objectified, not make waves, do not make "problems" for men, they should play along, laugh, be flirty, playful, and dear god, never swear.

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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If we're talking about Bull, it just got renewed.

In one of the articles about Barrowman's antics, an actress was asked basically why the women put up with it and she said it was because he was a gay man. So it was perceived as non-sexual in the sense that he wasn't trying to be sexually aggressive, I guess?

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1 hour ago, Vermicious Knid said:

So it was perceived as non-sexual in the sense that he wasn't trying to be sexually aggressive, I guess?

Tell that to Sue Hawk.

Survivor fans know what I'm talking about.

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16 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Basically, be a good sport, or the "Cool Girl". Ugh.

This reminds me: why do we put so much focus on how a woman reacts to these situations as opposed to the dude who committed sexual harassment or worse? Who gives a shit? She's not the one with her private parts in people's faces!

Because its always a woman's job to control the situation.   the boys just can't help themselves.   It goes right up there with "she shouldn't have been wearing that outfit if she didn't want to be raped."   And "why was she in the neighborhood."   It also goes along with the advice to "watch your drink so no one puts anything in it."   You know instead of telling men -- don't rape women, don't spike their drinks.   

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(edited)

There is so much deep analysis into the behaviour of anyone that reports assault.

Why are you reporting it now?
What is your motive?
Why are you reporting it?
Are you trying to get fame?
Are you trying to get money?

Then there's the opposite if you don't report it.  Why DIDN'T you report it?  Why didn't you report it SOONER?  So if you report it you want fame and money and if you don't report it you are a liar and if you don't report it soon enough you are a double liar.  If you don't report it you must have liked it.  If you do report it you want to ruin a man's life. There is no right time to report and there is no good motive to report.  There is no way to do it "right".  No matter how and when and why you report you are doing it "wrong".  This is all by design so that a victim never wants to report and so victims are constantly discouraged from and punished after doing so.

It's so weird when people make these comments under stories about men's sexual assault instead of commenting on the men's actions.

A lot of people want to deny that it's a patriarchal society but the fact that there is so much immediate  reflex analysis, obsession, and scrutinization of a victim's behaviour and actions reminds us that it is.

Sorry to revert back to "Bull" again but I can't get over it.  The sexual harassment is on tape.  There is no question of believing Eliza.  It's on tape.  And yet, there are so many defenders of Michael and this show online.  Every once in a while I will tweet asking why this show is still on the air and his fans come out of nowhere to defend him.  It's so weird.  And his 2 major female costars publicly supported him too.

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sorry to revert back to "Bull" again but I can't get over it. 

Don't forget Bull is a CBS show where Les Moonves was in charge until a couple years ago when he had his own metoo reckoning. 

4 hours ago, merylinkid said:

Because its always a woman's job to control the situation.   the boys just can't help themselves.   It goes right up there with "she shouldn't have been wearing that outfit if she didn't want to be raped."   And "why was she in the neighborhood."   It also goes along with the advice to "watch your drink so no one puts anything in it."   You know instead of telling men -- don't rape women, don't spike their drinks.   

Women are always told what we must do to protect ourselves. Young women going to college are given a list of things to not do so they can avoid sexual assault.  But as far as I know young men aren't given the short list of what not to do which is don't sexually assault women.  

A few years ago during the Cosby trial I was in a garage waiting for my car to get an oil change and they had the tv on a cable news station and it was doing a story on the trial. A guy who worked there said why are they prosecuting him now. I looked at him and said because he committed a crime.  Way too many people think sexual assault and sexual harassment is just a he said/she said situation.  Just because a guy says "I didn't mean any harm" doesn't mean the woman wasn't harmed.  

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Beyonce inserted this speech made by Feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie into her song "Flawless".

[Verse 2: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]
We teach girls to shrink themselves
To make themselves smaller
We say to girls,
"You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful
Otherwise you will threaten the man."
Because I am female
I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices
Always keeping in mind that
Marriage is the most important
Now marriage can be a source of
Joy and love and mutual support
But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage
And we don't teach boys the same?
We raise girls to see each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are
Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes

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2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sorry to revert back to "Bull" again but I can't get over it.  The sexual harassment is on tape.  There is no question of believing Eliza.  It's on tape.  And yet, there are so many defenders of Michael and this show online.  Every once in a while I will tweet asking why this show is still on the air and his fans come out of nowhere to defend him.  It's so weird.  And his 2 major female costars publicly supported him too.

Yeah, we hear all the time in these situations, "Where's the proof? Show us proof! You can't just make accusations with no evidence!". Well, okay, here's a situation where we DO have evidence-pretty obvious, basic evidence-and yet...nothing. So much for the "We need proof" argument, then, huh? 

(To say nothing of the fact that depending on the situation, you may not always have concrete physical or video evidence to back up your claims, as some men are really good at knowing how to cover their tracks and not leave any obvious evidence behind. This isn't like a murder scene where you'll have all the blood and the body and the fingerprints everywhere or things of that sort.) 

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To return to Noel Clarke for a moment, Christina Chong has been very busy on Twitter since the allegations against him came out, calling him a sexual predator, and aggressively reblogging and agreeing with everyone speaking out against him. Chong was effectively the lead female in S1 of Bulletproof and was the putative love interest of Clarke's character, then got fridged in fairly classic fashion in the S1 finale, purely so his character could be sad about it for five minutes. It bothered me at the time, and Chong's reaction to the allegations against Clarke now tells its own story. Whatever her experience with him was, I'm glad her career hasn't suffered for it.

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