When this week disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was officially charged with the rape and several counts of sexual assault, many said that it seemed like the #MeToo movement had taken a massive step forwards. Finally, predators were being held accountable for their actions, amid a backdrop of women and men uniting for real change.

But sometimes, it still feels like with every new day comes another of our favourite celebrities being accused of sexual impropriety of some kind or another. Understandably then, many fans were disappointed when news broke on Thursday that The Shawshank Redemption actor Morgan Freeman had been accused of sexual harassment by eight women.

The accusations, initially published by CNN, included testimony from a young production assistant who said that Freeman subjected her to months of unwanted touching and comments about her appearance. She also said the actor: "kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear."

After the revelations, Freeman was quick to a statement apologising any wrongdoing that may have occurred, intentionally or otherwise, saying: "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologise to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected - that was never my intent."

However, now tapes have surfaced appearing to show a number of journalists also receiving uncomfortable comments from the star. In one, Freeman is seen hitting on reporter Ashley Crossan, who was interviewing him, initially asking if she is married. When she confirms that she is not he responds by saying: "Fool around with older guys? I’m just asking".

In another Freeman is heard saying to Entertainment Tonight correspondent Janet Mock: "I don’t know how you all manage to do that all the time … You got a dress halfway between your knee and your hips, and you sit down right across from me and cross your legs." Mock later said that she was offended by the comments.

After his initial note apologising for his behaviour, Freeman released a further statement saying that: "I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday's media reports.

"All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humour."

He also added: "As a part of that, I would often try to joke with and compliment women, in what I thought was a light-hearted and humorous way," going on to state that: "But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false."

Whether you view these as cheeky throwaway comments or a pattern of inappropriate behaviour is, I guess, down to you. But with more icons than ever being called out on their behaviour towards other, Freeman's story is proof that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Actress Cara Delevinge has joined Asia Argento, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and many more in revealing the full extent of producer Harvey Weinstein's depravity. Hollywood is a cesspool for sexual abuse, and now Ben Affleck is being accused of groping his One Tree Hill costar Hilarie Burton. Affleck apologized on Twitter, but the cat is out of the bag. Hollywood is in bed with some terrible people. Who will be the next to be unmasked as a sexual predator? Worse, it has been an "open secret" since the 1990s. Think of your favorite movie star, male or female. Odds are, they knew at least a little bit about Harvey Weinstein's true nature. It's disgusting. The entire industry, like politics, is corrupted with sexual assault. Cara Delevinge, who starred in Suicide Squad, has come forward with her own harrowing Weinstein story. And since she posted the entire story on Instagram, here is the full content of her post below: [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BaHc485FRVx/]] "When I first started to work as an actress, i was working on a film and I received a call from‎ Harvey Weinstein asking if I had slept with any of the women I was seen out with in the media. It was a very odd and uncomfortable call....i answered none of his questions and hurried off the phone but before I hung up, he said to me that If I was gay or decided to be with a woman especially in public that I'd never get the role of a straight woman or make it as an actress in Hollywood. "A year or two later, I went to a meeting with him in the lobby of a hotel with a director about an upcoming film. The director left the meeting and Harvey asked me to stay and chat with him. As soon as we were alone he began to brag about all the actresses he had slept with and how he had made their careers and spoke about other inappropriate things of a sexual nature. He then invited me to his room. I quickly declined and asked his assistant if my car was outside. She said it wasn't and wouldn't be for a bit and I should go to his room. At that moment I felt very powerless and scared but didn't want to act that way hoping that I was wrong about the situation." "When I arrived I was relieved to find another woman in his room and thought immediately I was safe. He asked us to kiss and she began some sort of advances upon his direction. I swiftly got up and asked him if he knew that I could sing. And I began to sing....i thought it would make the situation better....more professional....like an audition....i was so nervous. After singing I said again that I had to leave. He walked me to the door and stood in front of it and tried to kiss me on the lips. I stopped him and managed to get out of the room. "I still got the part for the film and always thought that he gave it to me because of what happened. Since then I felt awful that I did the movie. I felt like I didn't deserve the part. I was so hesitant about speaking out....I didn't want to hurt his family. I felt guilty as if I did something wrong. I was also terrified that this sort of thing had happened to so many women I know but no one had said anything because of fear." She followed it up with this post. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BaHdEdxFjST/]] "I want women and girls to know that being harassed or abused or raped is NEVER their fault and not talking about it will always cause more damage than speaking the truth. I am relieved to be able to share this....i actually feel better and I'm proud of the women who are brave enough to speak....this isn't easy but there are strength in our numbers. As I said, this is only the beginning. In every industry and especially in Hollywood, men abuse their power using fear and get away with it. This must stop. The more we talk about it, the less power we give them. I urge you all to talk and to the people who defend these men, you are part of the problem" What more can be said? We hope that all this can help to stop future assaults and help more people come forward.

It seems that Hollywood is just coming apart at the seams these days. Coupled with the music industry, each new day brings a new accusation of sexual harassment, assault and abuse. I have a theory that fame and power just turns people into deranged lunatics. People simply cannot handle it - no individual is balanced enough to deal with fame in a 'normal' way. There is no normal way. It leads to an ego inflation that can only be compared to a total derangement of empathy and no understanding of consequences. Harvey Weinstein, of course, may soon be prosecuted for his serial rapes. Kevin Spacey has been ousted from his storied career as a great actor, and is now known for groping young men serially. Ben Affleck had to apologize for groping a co-star from One Tree Hill. Kaya Jones, of the Pussycat Dolls, said that members of the band were ordered to have sex with certain producers. Corey Feldman is on a major campaign to reveal the names of those who sexually abused him as a child. In the vast sea of all this, it's impossible to tell outright what is true and what is false. In the case of people like Harvey Weinstein, and Bill Cosby, the sheer number of accusers and detail of the accounts mean that they very, very likely are the monstrous men we believe them to be. As certain as scientific theories. But every day, new names are added to the roulette wheel of chaos. Now, Mariah Carey may be guilty of sexual harassment. Michael Anello, one of Carey's former security guards, worked for the pop superstar between June 2015 and May 2017. He alleges plenty of abuse, ranging from the sexual to bizarre accusations of him being a "skinhead". Carey would allegedly tease him by calling him a skinhead or a white supremacist, which made him very uncomfortable. She allegedly called him a Nazi and a Ku Klux Klan member, and she has said that she “wanted to be surrounded with black guys, not white people". It's a weird story, and in the area of sexual harassment, Anello describes a trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, where Carey wore a see-through garment and asked him to come to her room to move luggage. He protested, and she insisted, and finally he left the room with no physical touching. He says that Carey would routinely expose herself to him sexually, and performed "sexual acts with the intent that they be viewed by Anello." The accusations are all written in the draft of a lawsuit being put forth by Anello, also accusing the star of withholding 200,000 dollars worth of pay from him. She also bailed on a long-term contract that lost him even more salary, totaling an additional 511,000 dollars, as reported by The Daily Beast. What do you think of this? Mariah Carey isn't the first person we think of when it comes to sexual harassment, but women are just as capable of being absolutely creepy and crossing the line. It's yet to be seen if the allegations are true, as Carey's camp has not yet responded.

After Kevin Hart was announced as Oscars host, his homophobic tweets resurfaced, creating a firestorm of controversy. The comedian consistently used anti-gay slurs between 2009 and 2011, which included saying someone's profile picture looks like "a gay billboard for AIDS." In addition, people were seriously offended by his 2010 comedy special Seriously Funny.

"One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay," stated Hart. "Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, do what you want to do, but me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will."

Initially, the Night School star responded with defiance. On Instagram, he claimed he had grown as a person, and already apologised for the offending material in the past. It's true that he addressed the issue in 2015. Hart told Rolling Stone he was attempting to mock his own insecurities with those jokes, and would not repeat them today because the climate is more sensitive. However, he did not say he was sorry.

His stubborn refusal to show contrition, then and now, sparked an enormous backlash. Finally, Hart announced he was stepping down as Oscars host and apologised to the LGBTQ community for his insensitive words.

Some people jumped to Hart's defence, claiming he was a victim of "mob justice," and political correctness had gone too far. Wild N' Out's Nick Cannon pointed out that other comedians used anti-gay slurs in the past, and face no current backlash. "This is what a f** bird likes like when he flexes," tweeted Chelsea Handler in 2012. "I dont mean this in a hateful way but the new bachelorette's a f*****," tweeted Sarah Silverman in 2010. "Enjoy skyfall f***. I'm bout to get knee deep in Helen Hunt #thesessions," tweeted Amy Schumer in 2012.

None of them were publicly shamed, or forced to step down from a high profile gig. Why excoriate Kevin Hart?

With America on the brink of Civil War 2, actor-comedian Billy Eichner waded in to make sense of it all. Normally you see the him screaming random questions at pedestrians on Billy On The Street. However, on Twitter, he offered a nuanced response to the squabble, and it's absolutely perfect. Eichner states he found Nick Cannon's response "compelling," and explains why Hart's homophobic jokes differ from Handler, Silverman and Schumer's tweets. He adds that he is no fan of "cancellation culture" and favours having meaningful conversations.

Here's Eichner's full response:

"People have been tweeting me for my thoughts on Nick Cannon’s tweets and the use of the F-word by the comedians he points out. I think Nick's point is a compelling one. I obviously do not and cannot speak for the entire LGBT community (obviously). But here’s my personal opinion: Just don’t use the word. It’s as simple as that. There are so many other words to use. Now, because I am a grown up and not a child, I do take context, nuance and *intention* into consideration.

"I think these are comedians who felt they can use that term because they have very large, dedicated gay male followings, myself included. They feel like they’re ‘one of us.’ So I think in some of these cases it was being used with what is *intended* as some sort of endearing, if irreverent, affection. And I do think there is a sizable difference between using this one word in this type of context and saying with some amount of gravity and truth that you’re going to smash a dollhouse over your child’s head if they exhibit stereotypically gay behavior.

"HOWEVER – that is an explanation, not an excuse. I agree that the best thing to do is to just not use the damn word! As a gay man, unless it’s perhaps a gay friend of mine saying it to me at a LIVELY BRUNCH, I don’t like hearing it. Even when I know it’s coming from an ally – and certainly when I know that it isn’t. It’s not a fun word for us to hear at this point. We’ve come too far. So maybe let’s just drop it. I’m not into censorship and I know some gay men may disagree but, like I said, there are so many other words to use.

"Finally, I want to say this. I don’t like that word but I also don’t like ‘cancellation’ culture. Like I said in my first tweet about the Kevin Hart situation, many of us, myself included, have made jokes/tweets in the past that we deeply regret. Kevin decided to quit on his own volition. He had his reasons and that’s obviously his prerogative. But I’m not into people being permanently ‘cancelled’ over something like this. To me, ‘cancellation’ is childish."

"I'm into conversation, not cancellation. I'm into owning up to past mistakes, acknowledging blindspots and hurtful remarks and talking through it, discussing it, learning, moving past it and making progress together. And with that, I would like to announce my candidacy for President of the United States. Just kidding. Thanks for reading this if you've made it this far. To be clear - I don't consider myself any type of moral authority whatsoever. This is just my personal take on it, since I'm gay and people were curious what I thought. Happy holidays to all. Peace on Earth."

The Academy has not announced a new Oscars host yet, and according to the latest reports, they're considering not having a host for the event at all. Well, how about Billy Eichner? I'd watch him roam around the audience with a mic and scream at celebrities. (Or thoughtfully respond to sensitive issues.)

Last night's Oscars ceremony certainly left fans with many memorable and historic moments - from Ariana DeBose's monumental win for her role in West Side Story to Troy Kotsur becoming the first deaf man to win an Academy Award.

However, the moment on everyone's lips is sadly a more negative one.

Yes, during last night's 94th annual Academy Awards, drama ensued as Will Smith had a physical altercation with comedian Chris Rock.

The shocking moment came after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada, telling her: "Jada, I love ya! G.I. Jane 2 - can't wait to see it."

The joke - which appeared to be a comment on Jada's shaved head resembling Demi Moore's buzzcut in the 1997 movie, G.I. Jane - did draw laughter from the audience, but Pinkett Smith looked visibly unimpressed and rolled her eyes.

Seconds later, husband Will took to the stage, approached Rock, and slapped him across the face. When he returned to his seat, the Men In Black star shouted at the comedian: "Keep my wife's name out of your f****** mouth!"

An uncensored can be seen below (Warning - strong language):

Now, following the dramatic moment at last night's ceremony, this is how Hollywood has responded to the news...

"It was just a joke. Jokes are what Chris Rock does. Always has been edgy. This was a mild joke for him. And i love GI Jane," tweeted Rosemary's Baby star Mia Farrow.

Conan O'Brien quipped: "Just saw the Will Smith slap. Anyone have a late night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?"

Meanwhile, One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush explained: "Violence isn’t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather."

Star Wars legend Mark Hamill added: "Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers. Violent physical assault... not so much. #UgliestOscarMoment_Ever".

The Journey of Natty Gann star Meredith Salenger tweeted: "I’m sorry. But uh uh! No. Don’t equate standing up for your family to punching someone over a joke! That is assault. Sorry. I love you and your acting. But NOT okay. And GASLITE everyone that knows that was wrong!!! That was not okay! And your speech… I’m sorry. No."

Comedian Randy Rainbow asked the question we all should be asking ourselves: "Has anyone checked on Demi Moore?"

And rapper 50 Cent also shared his thoughts on the moment, before trying to flog his merch:

Following the dramatic moment, the Academy released a statement to its official Twitter page, reading: "The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."

Additionally, Smith did apologize to the Academy during his acceptance speech, after he won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard.

And while we're on reactions, here's my favorite meme from the event:

Featured image credit: Doug Peters / Alamy