Scoop – Donald Trump, Joanne Froggatt, Alicia Vikander, Lena Dunham

Sexual Harassment

Sure, when it’s a turkey he asks for permission

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Net Neutrality Porn Star Ajit Pai

And his Vivid sextape debut is coming before Christmas?

Charlie Rose Fired by CBS News Amid Harassment Claims

Among the claims being made by the women are that Rose would grope their breasts, buttocks and genitals without their consent, make lewd telephone calls, and walk around naked in their presence without warning. The women who have come forward with these claims about Rose, 75, were all between the ages of 21 and 37 at the time of the alleged misconduct and working for the legendary television host.

Two former employees said that the young female assistants and producers Rose would constantly surround himself with were known as ‘Charlie’s Angels.’

Two former interns are among the accusers who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

One, who worked for Rose in the early 90s, said she was summoned to work the desk at his New York home, where he would shower and use the bathroom with the door open.

She claims that at one point he turned on the shower and immediately began calling her name.

When she refused to respond he suddenly appeared standing over her in the nude, wearing nothing but a towel, she claims.

An intern working for Rose 10 years later claimed that he groped her breasts while also trying to get her to spend the night at his Bellport home on Long Island.

She claims to have refused that offer multiple times.

Kyle Godfrey-Ryan (above) claims Rose walked around naked in front of her at his home over a dozen times and said he fantasized about seeing her swim naked

Megan Crydt (above) worked as a coordinator after graduating from Harvard

Alicia Vikander in ‘The Crown Jewels’

John Lasseter‘s Pattern of Alleged Misconduct Detailed by Disney/Pixar Insiders

Sources say some women at Pixar knew to turn their heads quickly when encountering him to avoid his kisses. Some used a move they called “the Lasseter” to prevent their boss from putting his hands on their legs.
A longtime insider says he saw a woman seated next to Lasseter in a meeting that occurred more than 15 years ago. “She was bent over and [had her arm] across her thigh,” he says. “The best I can describe it is as a defensive posture … John had his hand on her knee, though, moving around.” After that encounter, this person asked the woman about what he had seen. “She said it was unfortunate for her to wear a skirt that day and if she didn’t have her hand on her own right leg, his hand would have traveled.”

The same source said he once noticed an oddly cropped photo of Lasseter standing between two women at a company function. When he mentioned that to a colleague, he was told, “We had to crop it. Do you know where his hands were?”
Rashida Jones is still credited as a writer on Toy Story 4, the next installment in the beloved franchise. But, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter, the actress and her writing partner at the time, Will McCormack, left the project early on after John Lasseter, the acclaimed head of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, made an unwanted advance.
Jones and McCormack did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Disney declined to comment on the alleged incident though a studio source said the departure was over “creative differences.” Multiple sources spoke with THR but asked not to be named out of fear that their careers in the tight-knit animation community would be damaged.

Lena Dunham Accused A Woman Of Lying About Her Rape. It Fits Her Controversial Past.

Casual, semi-ironic hipster racism would certainly fit the pattern that Dunham has established for herself. It would also suggest that her chronic scandal problem isn’t just an unfortunate byproduct of her tendency to put her foot in her mouth, but a consequence of a more deeply entrenched worldview.

In news that should astonish no one, people are angry with Lena Dunham again. This time, it’s for comments she made in defense of a man accused of sexual assault.

On November 17, the Wrap reported that actress Aurora Perrineau had filed sexual assault charges against former Girls writer Murray Miller, saying that he had raped her in 2012, when she was 17 years old. In response, Dunham and her Girls co-showrunner Jenni Konner sent a statement to the Hollywood Reporter defending Miller.

“While our first instinct is to listen to every woman’s story,” they said, “our insider knowledge of Murray’s situation makes us confident that sadly this accusation is one of the 3 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year.”

“I believe in a lot of things but the first tenet of my politics is to hold up the people who have held me up, who have filled my world with love,” Dunham added on Twitter.

For a self-proclaimed feminist, Dunham’s actions were not a good look, to say the least. The structure of our society and legal system is so stacked against victims of sexual assault that believing the victims is a basic pillar of feminism: If we live in a world where the standard response to sexual assault is to find a way to demonstrate that the victim was somehow asking for it, the basic argument goes, the least feminists can do is tip the balance the other way by giving victims their support as a default.

As a vocal feminist and someone who has made allegations of sexual assault herself, Dunham knows the importance of believing women; as a celebrity who has made feminism part of her brand, she has profited from taking the stance that one should believe women. In fact, shortly after the first accusations surfaced against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, she wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in which she discussed a director who had sexually harassed her. In no uncertain terms, Dunham condemned “the response by the powers that be,” which she summarized as: “defend [the harassing director], question the women ferociously and take ages before letting [the director] go from the network” in “a move based less on his skill than on some ancient loyalty.” This, she concluded, was the “kind of behavior that normalizes this abuse of power.”

So Dunham’s defense of Miller looked like the worst kind of hypocrisy. She was apparently willing to publicly state that it’s terrible when people refuse to believe that their friends and colleagues might be capable of hurting women, but if it’s her friend and colleague in question, then everyone should just be cool.

Things women do lie about: what they ate for lunch. Things women don’t lie about: rape.

— ???? Lena Dunham ???? (@lenadunham) August 4, 2017

To make matters worse, Perrineau is a woman of color, and Dunham is a powerful, wealthy white feminist using her position to discredit Perrineau’s allegations. In response, writer Zinzi Clemmons declared that she would no longer be writing for Dunham’s email newsletter, Lenny Letter, and encouraged other women of color to do the same. “She cannot have our words if she cannot respect us,” Clemmons wrote, going on to add that she knew Dunham in college and believed her to have a history of racism.

Emily Bett Rickards Getting Ready for some sexual harassment?

Why so many sexual harassment cases in US, not UK?

There are huge differences between UK and US media law – does this explain why more Americans are being accused of sexual harassment?

In the UK, there is a key point in libel law that explains a lot.

When someone sues, they don’t have to prove the story is wrong.

The publisher – for example, the newspaper or website – has to prove their story is right.

This means, before publishing, the media needs a water-tight case. To accuse someone of sexual misconduct, they would normally need proof (such as a recording) or a witness prepared to testify in court.

In cases of sexual misconduct, both things are hard to find.

Defamation in the UK – the main defences

Truth
Honest opinion
Protected by privilege (for example, court reports are protected)
Published on a matter of public interest

In the US, it’s far harder to sue for libel. The reason is 226 years old, but as relevant as ever.

The first amendment to the US constitution – adopted in 1791 – protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
It means American media law is “radically different” to the UK, says Stuart Karle, a professor at Columbia Journalism School in New York and former general counsel for the Wall Street Journal.
“In the US, the burden is on the plaintiff – the person alleging that he or she has been defamed – to prove the statement is false,” he says.

So – compared to the UK – the burden of proof is flipped. Americans are less likely to sue, so US media are more likely to break the story.

Indeed, a New York Times editorial in May said “hardly anyone jousts with the (New York) Times when it comes to formally asserting libel”.

And – for celebrities – there’s another hurdle to clear when suing in the US.
When a public official (such as a government employee) or public figure (such as a celebrity) sues for libel, they must prove “actual malice”.

“Actual malice basically means the journalist lied,” says Professor Karle.
“Either the journalist published a story they knew was false – or they acted with reckless disregard over whether it was true or false.

“That basically means – you lied.”