The response in the entertainment industry to the numerous allegations levelled at Harvey Weinstein was huge. In fact, the way the world reacted to the many counts of sexual assault and harassment the movie producer was accused of was so wide-reaching that there's a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to 'The Weinstein Effect'.
The global trend has led to people in different industries come forward to accuse those in positions of power of sexual misconduct, with them being given the courage to come forward by the solidarity of the Me Too movement. The effects of this watershed moment were most visible in the film industry, as police reports filed against the rich and famous tend to make their way into the news extremely soon after.
The levels of sexual misconduct reported vary greatly, from Harvey Weinstein's charges of rape to Morgan Freeman's alleged sexual harassment in the workplace. Regardless, it is often a shock to hear this about those that we regularly see on the big screen, and it can change how we think of them and their work in the future.
One of the more recent stars to be accused of sexual misconduct was actor Jamie Foxx, after an unidentified woman came forward to Last Vegas police on Friday last week. She claimed that a sexual assault occurred in the Las Vegas area in 2002, naming Foxx as the suspect. According to TMZ, the unnamed woman found the confidence to come forward last week as a result of the #MeToo movement.
TMZ also reported that the woman had told them that Foxx struck her in the face with his penis after she refused to give him oral sex. However, police said that they could not release details of the case "due to the nature of the crime", so the specifics of her allegation have not been confirmed. The police department did confirm that a report would be taken and they will be investigating the claims.
The actor claims to have only become aware of allegations once TMZ reached out to his representatives on Tuesday. BuzzFeed News spoke to Foxx's lawyer, Allison Hart, who stated that the actor will be filing his own report with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to dispute the woman's "absurd claims".
She said:
"Jamie emphatically denies that this incident ever occurred, and he will be filing a report with the Las Vegas Police Department against the woman for filing a false police report against him.
"The alleged incident was not reported to law enforcement in 2002, or at any other time in the last 16 years until last Friday because the incident never happened. We consider it to be extraordinarily reckless for any publication to publish this bogus story."
Now that the police are currently investigating the claims, we may see some further announcements in the future. However, as we've seen with Harvey Weinstein, these cases can go on for a long time before any legal action is taken.
