Power Play in the Entertainment Industry & Beyond3 min read

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been dominating headlines the past week after numerous allegations of sexual assault were put on him.

A reported 25 female celebrities and counting have progressively revealed their experience with the 65-year-old and as a result, he was fired from The Weinstein Company board as chairman.

Time and again well-respected figures of the TV & film industry, politics and sports have been exposed for crimes that went unreported for decades.

Before Weinstein’s exposure, the likes of Bill Cosby, Jimmy Savile and Rolph Harris have come into the light for a history of sexual abuse against women and young children.

Many in the general public wonder why victims of these horrendous crimes simply do not report the perpetrators immediately.

One must understand before making any assumptions that the victims in these cases equally carry a burden when they keep the experience to themselves or reveal it to the public.

The factor of industry power also plays a part in creating fear in the victims’ eyes that could remain under the radar for years, even decades.

With the reputation that these ‘powerful’ individuals in different sectors carry comes the harrowing thought of humiliation and even disbelief in some of the victims’ minds.

Big name perpetrators in the film industry get away with abusing newcomer by threatening them of being blackballed from Hollywood – the fear of never getting a movie or TV deal again because the actress refused to be sexually exploited by a high status movie mogul.

This was evident in Weinstein’s leaked audiotape that surfaced recently as he threatened a model to not look for a career in the industry if she didn’t enter his hotel room.
Humility and post trauma is something that psychologically damages the victims of sexual abuse and is the reason why most do not report the crime immediately.

The fear of being blamed by other and backlash from the media is usually something that comes to mind whenever famous perpetrators are involved in historic cases.

However, living in the digital age, exposure has now become easier in western countries as it is easier for news to get viral in the media.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom are ranked in the top 10 countries for sexual assault cases (with the US at no.1).

A recent surge in both countries’ media has lead to the exposure of historical rapists and given strength for victims to come out and report the crimes these famous people have committed.

Exposure has now taken the power away from high status individuals and is slowly giving power to the people.

The media must step away from sensationalism and invest more in investigative journalism in order to maintain the role of The Four Estate, also known as The Watchdog.

The efforts from investigative journalists in recent years have bought into light the heinous crime figures of entertainment, politics and sports have committed in the past.

This has indeed given power to the people over industry big shots.