For all the minor infractions of abuse of power and sexual misconduct in Hollywood, elevated to a Killing Fields decorative pin and black Versace wearing wealthy actresses, there are real, sinister, heinous crimes that happen against the meek in the town, and largely underreported.
You may have valid questions to the “how the deal went down” weird sex play between a grown actress trying to catch a film role break and the fat producing holding all the cards. You should not question the victimhood of children molested, exploited, and raped in the pursuit of dreams largely not their own. Eighty years ago in this country we decided kids should no longer work on factory floors or climb down into mines; we still allow stage parents to place their offspring in the hands of grievous villains for a chance at fame and fortune. Literally, almost nobody cares about the latter.
Bella Thorne is one super sad case. She’s easy to mock because she’s now 20, vapid, largely topless in her never ending selfies, and she seems largely unqualified for her professional title of actress and entertainer. With a sense of false shock, the celebrity gossip world today accepted Thorne’s tear-filled revelation that she was sexually abused repeatedly, daily, by a man who must’ve had regular access to her, from as early as she can remember until age fourteen. For reference sake, Thorne’s father was deceased and out of the picture at the time, as her mom was thrusting Thorne and her sister siblings from Florida into every kid casting and filmed commercial opportunity available.
I was sexually abused and physically growing up from the day I can remember till I was 14..when I finally had the courage to lock my door at night and sit by it. All damn night. Waiting for someone to take advantage of my life again. Over and over I waited for it to stop and finally it did. But some of us aren’t as lucky to get out alive. Please today stand up for every soul Mistreated. #timesup
The #TimesUp hashtag has quickly become a universal female victim’s right signal across social media platforms. It replaces the heretofore #Metoo which had become so bandwagon, that it reversed itself like a circular universe of sycophancy into meaningless distinction. #TimesUp has another few weeks before it needs a new replacement. Though Bella Thorne’s use of the “enough is enough” female harassment rallying cry signals its ever so broad as to be completely useless symbolism.
You simply can’t compare a desperate ingenue in Hollywood encouraged to watch a disgusting older man shower to swing a speaking role in a movie to a girl who’s mother threw her into the lion’s den of lewd and lascivious adult males who have been raping unsupervised children with beyond ambitious parents for an entire generation. Is it disturbing to work in a superficial and gross business such as Hollywood and feel pressured into becoming superficial and gross yourself to succeed? No doubt. But certainly entirely optional. Far less so when you’re single digits and your mom says the family is counting on you to pay the rent and why don’t you wear this crop top and mini today. An exaggeration? Ariel Winter claims her mom dressed her as such and took her to parties at twelve? By then, the Coreys and Anthony Edwards were already being raped. Does your Time’s Up pound sign account for boys? Not waiting for your answer.
There’s a reason the harassed women of great means and mature ability to handle situations are conducting themselves in dance and yoga classes across Brentwood in between Goop coffee enemas. In sharp contrast to the broken down worlds of the dead, drug addicted, imprisoned, and mentally addled former child actors. The former are peeved, the latter are mortally wounded souls. What a great privilege to be offended rather than completely soulless and destroyed.
Every reasonably respected justice system relies on a tiered scale of offenses. Hammurabi figured this out back in 1750 BC. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We don’t punish jaywalking the same as murder, nor do we assign resources agnostically to cover all crimes. There is no SVU or SWAT rushed into the field to catch a college kid smoking a joint. Though Jeff Sessions is working on that currently.
The inherent problem with labeling all offenses under the same logo stick pin worn at red carpet events is the nature by which it diminished truly horrible crime. Like the repeated rape of a child by a man put into her midst by her own stage mom. Can you equate that to Reese Witherspoon being told she needs to wear a tank top in a scene that may not artistically cry out for cleavage? That’s what you do when you merge all causes under one grand march. It’s why Women of Color left Pantsuit Nation and these similar causes; you can’t mix struggles on the top end and the bottom end of Maslow’s pyramid. Self-esteem and feelings of creative comfort do not equate to the need for food and water. Nobody wants Charlie Rose waving his dongle around the office like a perverted Old Man and the Sea casting bait. It’s not the same as being raped. Against your preferred view of how the world worlds is not the same as against your will.
Bella Thorne has the celebrity standing to take on the real and disturbing problem of the gross exploitation of children in Hollywood. Turning her message into the one millionth #TimesUp tale of generic man vs woman injustice eliminates the potential benefit. Corey Feldman is a terrible spokesperson for the cause. Bella Thorne could fill this breach, launching with tens of millions of followers on social media. It’s not her duty or her obligation, but if you’re going to cathartically weep for the world, you could choose to make it really count.
