Hollywood is an interesting place that as outsiders we don’t know much of. We have our theories and different beliefs, but have you ever wondered what really goes on behind the camera of your favorite tv shows or favorite films? What has happened to the stars that we have idolized for years and what terrible things have they done that we are unaware of? With the film industry being a male dominant field there have been many instances where women have been raped, sexually assaulted, and harassed once the camera’s were off. According to, “The Prevalence of Sexual Assault in Hollywood” by KMD Law it’s been recorded that a whopping 94% of people within the entertainment industry of been victims to sexual assault or sexual harassment during their careers. From this alone it’s evident that this issue is way too common. Directors and other men in charge of production have abused their power and use it traumatize, violate, and ruin the careers of many actresses in the past and still are today.

The earliest case of rape within Hollywood can be traced back to 1921. Virginia Rappe was an aspiring actress who innocently went to a party and had drinks with a fellow entertainer named Fatty Arbuckle. Later that night he threw her in a room and locked the door. He put his body on top of her and proceeded to rape her. With him being 266+ pounds Virginia had no chance at trying to get up. Afterwards he left her in the room screaming that she was dying and he is the cause of it. In the article, “The sexual assault case that shocked Hollywood almost a century ago” it states, “The hotel doctor and the nurse were called. They moved Rappe to another room to rest for a few days until finally being taken to a hospital where she died, on Sep. 9, of a ruptured urinary bladder.” Later in the trail for the murder and rape of Virginia Rappe it was concluded that Virginia died due to her long history of chronic cystitis which inflamed her bladder. The woman testifying against Arbuckle who was also at the party that night ended up getting exposed for having a group of girls falsely accuse men of rape to get money out of them. Unfortunately this was a bad look during the trial and Arbuckle was eventually acquitted of all charges and labeled a free man and in turn he got away with the rape and all of his lies. Therefore, the issue of sexual assault and harassment towards women in Hollywood has been an issue since the beginning and men have been getting away with it since.

  In the early years of 2000’s a show named Zoey 101 was created by Dan Schneider and debuted on Nickelodeon. With the success of this show came iCarly, Sam & Cat, Victorious and more. These shows were all fan favorites and still are labeled as iconic and unforgettable till this day. Though there was a weird theme within these shows that nobody picked up on at the time. Dan would make the feet of his teen actors and actresses a major point in many episodes across the shows. For example, in Victorious the cast had an entire episode about them getting their feet cleaned and smooth by fish that ate away at the dead skin, another where the main actress Victoria Justice had ketchup squirted all over her feet, and another viral clip with Cat putting her own toes in her mouth. iCarly would have scenes where both Carly and Sam would shove their feet in the camera and wiggle their toes with food on them as well as foot messages. In the article, “What Has Jennette Mccurdy Said About Dan Schneider?” it states, “In Sam & Cat, there’s also a moment of foot massage; and a scene where Sam has to use a remote control with her feet.” Back then not many people questioned these things, these were kids shows. Back then even I did not see an issue because the shows were good and it looked like harmless fun. Though now it is extremely obvious that Dan is a predator and exploited these kids for his own foot fetishes. After these shows not many people spoke out besides Jennete Mccurdy the actress famous for playing Sam in both iCarly and Sam & Cat. According to the article, “What Has Jennette Mccurdy Said About Dan Schneider?” It states, “McCurdy is not part of the iCarly reboot, not surprising given her previous statements of being ashamed of her role in the original show. It can be remembered that in 2013, she shared a Vine video addressed to Schneider, which some say was a cry for help. McCurdy ended that post with, “Look what you’ve done to me.” This shows how the role as Sam and the sexual harassment from Dan has damaged her. Today Jenette has quit acting and pursues music, writing, and directing, embarrassed and scarred of her past role.

 Lastly, the man notorious for over 100 cases of rape and sexual abuse Harvey Weinstein. This man is terrible in every way and has produced many famous films such as Django Unchained, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Sin City, Scream 1, 2, 3, and 4, She’s All That, Spy Kids, and so much more. After Rose McGowan spoke out about being raped by Weinstein it sparked a chain reaction of women coming forward about their awful and traumatizing experiences with him. The article, “Rose McGowan describes alleged rape by Harvey Weinstein, her thoughts on the Hollywood ‘system’” covers what happened between McGowan and her abuser as well as her thoughts on the twisted system within Hollywood that protects abusers and continues the cycle of rape and sexual assault against women. He is said to have organized and planned these rapes and get the women in situations where they would be alone and vulnerable. In order to do this he had accomplices to get women at “parties” with him being the only one there. The night that Rose was raped Harvey called her in for a “meeting” and before she knew it she was in a jacuzzi room getting her clothes ripped off and getting thrown on edge of the jacuzzi. Harvey then forcefully performed oral sex on her. In this moment Rose was frozen and detached from her body unable to react or process what was happening. Rose also claims that after being raped she met with Ben Affleck and told him “I just came back from a meeting with Harvey” and Ben replied “Damnit, I told him to stop doing that.” This shows why Harvey was able to do this for so long. People who knew let him continue by not doing anything, the victims did not speak out for good reason, though the people around Harvey who were aware are guilty as well. In the article Rose says, “I would have night terrors. I would sweat through to the mattress, an inch down into the mattress. I would wake up screaming. And this went on for years,”. This is the result of men in the entertainment industry who believe what they do is okay, they live with life long damage and it’s never the same. The article, “The Prevalence of Sexual Assault in Hollywood”, covers this and explains the truth behind what a victim has to go through after something like this. In the text it states, “Sexual assault can have long-term effects on survivors, and the psychological effects can be long-lasting and devastating. Victims may experience various emotions, including shame, guilt, fear, and anger, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that often can occur after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event like a sexual assault. Symptoms of PTSD can include nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, and feeling on edge or irritable.” This and Rose’s experience proves the everlasting effects that the victims of Harvey most likely all go through. 

  The events of Harvey Weinstein’s accusations sparked the #Metoo movement. This movement has helped thousands of victims of abuse from across the world join together in order to finally come forward about their own traumas and be there for each other. This movement has put a lot of terrible people away but there is still work to be done. This issue has been evident since the very beginning of cinema. Hollywood and the people in it will never be completely safe, there will always be men like Harvey, Dan, and Arbuckle. Though we can make a difference by being there for those who have gone through these awful experiences and be vocal about what we see and hear. Bystanding will only cause more harm and having the knowledge of what may be going on behind the camera can save a life. 

KMD Law. “The Prevalence of Sexual Assault in Hollywood” KMD Law, 07 April 2022, https://www.kmdlaw.com/blog/2022/april/the-prevalence-of-sexual-assault-in-hollywood/ 

Dr. Markel, Howard. “The sexual assault case that shocked Hollywood almost a century ago” PBS NewsHour, 09 September 2020, https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/166456/The%20sexual%20assault%20case%20that%20shocked%20Hollywood%20almost%20a%20century%20ago%20_%20PBS%20NewsHour.pdf?sequence=1 

Bhatia, Aunindita. “What Has Jennette Mccurdy Said About Dan Schneider?” TheThings, 18 March 2022, https://www.thethings.com/what-jennette-mccurdy-said-about-dan-schneider/ 

Louszko, Ashley

Redman, Meagan 

Valiente, Alexa. “Rose McGowan describes alleged rape by Harvey Weinstein, her thoughts on the Hollywood ‘system’” ABC News, 30 January 2018, https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/rose-mcgowan-describes-alleged-rape-harvey-weinstein-thoughts/story?id=52684109