Sexual Allegations Thread.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Hamato Yoshi

Age of consent varies from country to country : Norway 16 , Spain 13 etc.........

This allegedly took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[ZariusTwo]

Add Pixar co-founder John Lasseter to the list

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...ssteps-1057113

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Add Pixar co-founder John Lasseter to the list

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...ssteps-1057113

Wow, now THAT might require its own thread! This could be big fallout and shakeup for the future of Disney Animation Studios.

[plastroncafe]

Wow! I knew there was a problem with this in the animation industry, but...Lasseter?

Dang.

[Jester]

Good night. And sadly this is all hitting a little close to home now because a person I knew and deeply respected (IRL...in the past there was also gobo on this very site) pulled a Kevin Spacey.

[CyberCubed]

Lock the filthy criminal scum behind bars. Lock them up and throw away the key. Let them suffer and die of starvation in the dungeons of old yore.

[Papenbrook]

Originally Posted by Jester

Good night. And sadly this is all hitting a little close to home now because a person I knew and deeply respected (IRL...in the past there was also gobo on this very site) pulled a Kevin Spacey.

I'm so sorry, Jester.

I hope that the victims have some sort of comfort for their recovery and safety. I wish them well.

[The Deadman]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Lock the filthy criminal scum behind bars. Lock them up and throw away the key. Let them suffer and die of starvation in the dungeons of old yore.

Well you cant really do that until they've been charged and convicted of said crimes.

[Shark_Blade]

Rurouni Kenshin creator charged with possessing child pornography: https://kotaku.com/rurouni-kenshin-c...d-p-1820633519

[PApagreg]

Originally Posted by Shark_Blade

Rurouni Kenshin creator charged with possessing child pornography: https://kotaku.com/rurouni-kenshin-c...d-p-1820633519

That just depressing, Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite titles from Shonen Jump and to see the creator do that is just heartbreaking

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Papenbrook

I'm so sorry, Jester.

I'm sure you mean that but....

I hope that the victims have some sort of comfort for their recovery and safety. I wish them well.

The fact this is what you've said in multiple threads about the high profile examples makes me think this is the "atheist's 'Thoughts and Prayers'" platitude Plastron was searching for a few threads back.

[Shark_Blade]

Originally Posted by PApagreg

That just depressing, Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite titles from Shonen Jump and to see the creator do that is just heartbreaking

It is truly disheartening indeed.

[dl316bh]

I'm amazed to learn through this that apparently possession of child pornography didn't become illegal over there until recently. Like, 2014 recent.

Either way, this really sucks, because Rurouni Kenshin is a damn good manga - and, well, two thirds of an anime - and now it's saddled with this. I sometimes have trouble doing the whole "separate the work from the artist" thing when cases are particularly bad. A lot of the time, when something nasty comes out, it's harder to look back on the work because you start to see a lot of warning signs you missed or things that stand out.

[Papenbrook]

Glenn Thrush, a New York Times reporter, has been accused of sexual misconduct.

[Spike Spiegel]

Damn, Rurouni Kenshin was the first manga I read all the way through as a teenager.

[Papenbrook]

Nick Carter, an inactive member of the Backstreet Boys, has been accused of rape.

[Shark_Blade]

Rurouni Kenshin Update: Now broadcasts of the live-action movies are being cancelled.

https://kotaku.com/rurouni-kenshin-m...ium=Socialflow

A whole studio and actors and a bunch of people worked really hard on making that movie and manga. To just burn away all of their hard work and earnings simply because he created the story and contributed to the projects? Sad.

[Refractive Reflections]

Looks like it's not just the men, but the women too who are permitting this behavior in the workplace even when it's affecting other women.

...
Given Huffington’s new role as Uber’s toxic culture clean-up consultant, Gizmodo spoke with nine Huffington Post employees, current and former, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they continue to work in media and fear retaliation from Huffington. A former employee with direct knowledge of the investigation not only independently confirmed that the investigation was indeed the reason for Soni’s transfer, but that Huffington “100 percent knew” about Soni’s actions before they were reported to HR. Another employee in a senior leadership role at that time also confirmed Huffington’s direct knowledge of Soni’s harassing behavior before she sent out the memo, in which Huffington called it a “dream of Jimmy’s, as both his parents were born and raised there.” Huffington also noted in the memo that it was great for the company that Soni would be the one spearheading such a significant launch.

Gizmodo has also independently confirmed just what Huffington would likely have known regarding Soni’s reputation in the newsroom and the ensuing allegations against him. Soni selected the individuals for HuffPost’s Editorial Fellows program, and reportedly saw this program as a way to find a romantic partner. According to Gawker, when an editor reportedly pointed out to Soni that the group of fellows was predominantly white, blonde women, Soni reportedly responded in a semi-joking manner, “Yeah, I’m using it to find myself a wife.”

One former staffer said that on one or two occasions while Soni was managing editor, he tried to kiss or make-out with her. She also added that when Soni took over as managing editor, “**** hit the fan,” and that he created a toxic work environment, enforcing unrealistic goals and working everyone tirelessly. “Allies became enemies, enemies became allies. It was a mess.” She described Huffington as someone who may value portraying herself as a feminist, but ultimately prioritizes a ruthless work ethic over issues of sexual harassment, or what she believed Huffington viewed as “the softer side of things.” She added that Huffington “thinks those things can be swept under the rug, but earnings can’t be,” noting that “everything for her is about the optics.” In response to Huffington’s recent Uber tour, she called Huffington “a major hypocrite.”

Another woman, a fellow at the time, said that Soni was making her uncomfortable based on how he interacted with her over Facebook messages after hours. She noted the disproportionate power dynamic, given Soni was in part responsible for determining who among the fellows would be hired full time. Her Huffington Post fellowship was her first job out of college, and she remembers feeling confused as to why the editor of the entire newsroom was sending her flirty messages. She said that he was allegedly communicating with a number of other fellows in the same manner he was with her, and had also done so in the past. Another former Huffington Post employee, who was an 18-year-old intern at the time, confirmed that she had an ongoing consensual sexual relationship with Soni, who was not only her superior but, as managing editor, a member of Huffington’s senior leadership team.

The woman who received unwanted advances over Facebook messenger was made so uncomfortable—the messages had increased in frequency and evolved to requests that she go out for drinks with Soni at a time when a big hiring decision was coming up—that she told a higher-up individual within the company in April or May of 2014 of Soni’s behavior; that higher-up then reported the issue to HR. The woman told Gizmodo that she was contacted “maybe less than a week later” by the legal team at Huffington Post.

The source with knowledge of the investigation said that Huffington didn’t want to deal with Soni’s behavior, so she left it to HR. “She didn’t handle it in a good way,” they said, adding that “HR protected Arianna and the company more than the employees.”

The woman who reported Soni to a higher-up said that she was happy with Soni’s swift departure from the New York newsroom, because at the time she expected that no action would be taken. She did, however, find the India announcement odd. She said that Huffington never sat down with any of the fellows or apologized for what happened with Soni. “Do I think she is a truly feminist advocate? No. By no means.” Numerous anonymous sources said that, internally, the announcement was widely considered to be a PR strategy to move Soni out of his position in light of the allegations. Four former Huffington Post employees said they were skeptical about the memo’s explanation and Soni’s sudden departure from the newsroom.

Huffington’s knowledge of the investigation into Soni, together with an absence of recognition of the issues internally or externally, cast doubt on her commitment to advocate on behalf of women. A Huffington Post employee who was an editor at the time said that Huffington was “very protective of those who were in her inner lair,” adding that “I don’t doubt for a fraction of a second that she would protect them whether it’s for sexual misconduct or professional misdealings.”
...

https://gizmodo.com/arianna-huffingt...huf-1820389889

[Sumac]

Not to derail this topic, but I wonder, how much probability that "keyboard-progressives" will give this news a proper attention?

They love to tell how all conservatives are hypocrites, but I wonder what are they gonna do about when hypocrites are one of "their own"?

[Refractive Reflections]

With this photo of Minnesota senator Al Franken:

Franken had written some skits for the show and brought props and costumes to go along with them. Like many USO shows before and since, the skits were full of sexual innuendo geared toward a young, male audience. As a TV host and sports broadcaster, as well as a model familiar to the audience from the covers of FHM, Maxim and Playboy, I (Leeann Tweeden) was only expecting to emcee and introduce the acts, but Franken said he had written a part for me that he thought would be funny, and I agreed to play along.

When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’. I suspected what he was after, but I figured I could turn my head at the last minute, or put my hand over his mouth, to get more laughs from the crowd.

On the day of the show Franken and I were alone backstage going over our lines one last time. He said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him. Then he said it again. I said something like, ‘Relax Al, this isn’t SNL…we don’t need to rehearse the kiss.’ He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.

He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.

I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time. I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth. I felt disgusted and violated.

Not long after, I performed the skit as written, carefully turning my head so he couldn’t kiss me on the lips. No one saw what happened backstage. I didn’t tell the Sergeant Major of the Army, who was the sponsor of the tour. I didn’t tell our USO rep what happened. At the time I didn’t want to cause trouble. We were in the middle of a war zone, it was the first show of our Holiday tour, I was a professional, and I could take care of myself. I told a few of the others on the tour what Franken had done and they knew how I felt about it.

I tried to let it go, but I was angry. Other than our dialogue on stage, I never had a voluntary conversation with Al Franken again. I avoided him as much as possible and made sure I was never alone with him again for the rest of the tour. Franken repaid me with petty insults, including drawing devil horns on at least one of the headshots I was autographing for the troops.

But he didn’t stop there. The tour wrapped and on Christmas Eve we began the 36-hour trip home to L.A. After 2 weeks of grueling travel and performing I was exhausted. When our C-17 cargo plane took off from Afghanistan I immediately fell asleep, even though I was still wearing my flak vest and Kevlar helmet. It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one:

I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep.

I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated.
How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?
I told my husband everything that happened and showed him the picture.
I wanted to shout my story to the world with a megaphone to anyone who would listen, but even as angry as I was, I was worried about the potential backlash and damage going public might have on my career as a broadcaster.

http://www.kabc.com/2017/11/16/leean...or-al-franken/

And what Arianna Huffington considers part of a "comedic sketch" photoshoot is now raising eyebrows...


https://pagesix.com/2017/11/20/new-p...asts-and-butt/