Another week, another onslaught of big name stars to add to the list of sexual predators. Ever since Harvey Weinstein was outed by the press as a serial sexual abuser in early October, there’s been a domino effect of men and women accusing people in positions of power of sexual misconduct: filmmaker James Toback, actor Kevin Spacey, actor Danny Masterson, to name a few. The list goes on, and this week there’s a whole new lineup of sex offenders.
So, where should I begin? Here’s the list of the most notable allegations this week:
- Actor Ed Westwick, best known for playing the manipulative Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl, has been accused of rape by two women within a matter of days.
- Mariah Carey, known by many as the “Queen of Christmas,” was recently accused of sexually harassing her bodyguard.
- Producer Steven Seagal was accused by actress Portia de Rossi and others of sexual misconduct.
- Roy Moore, the Republican nominee in Alabama for a U.S. senate seat, was accused of initiating sexual encounters with underage girls when he was in his 30s.
- Comedian Louis C.K. was accused by multiple women of sexually harassment and misconduct.
Have I missed anyone? At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised — it’s amazingly difficult to keep up with what Woody Allen recently called a “witch hunt” against men. Not that we should listen to him, though — he was infamously accused of sexually abusing his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was a child.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: nothing about these allegations should be particularly shocking. Should they make us angry? Sure. Should we find them disturbing? Definitely! But should we be surprised? I wouldn’t go that far.