The number of sexual harassment and assault allegations that have come to light recently is certainly alarming. It has barely been two months since the New York Times published their damning exposé investigating the sexual harassment claims levelled against the now disgraced film mogul,
Harvey Weinstein, but since then, it seems as if the torrent of allegations is never-ending.
Household names such as
Kevin Spacey,
Louis CK and Steven Seagal, have found themselves defamed, and for good reason too. Among other things, Spacey was accused of groping actor Anthony Rapp who was underage at the time; Louis CK admitted to masturbating in front of non-consenting women and Seagal has had over four women, including Portia De Rossi, accuse him of sexual misconduct.
And, while it's about time that Hollywood has its sordid history of systemic sexism and sexual harassment exposed, as a woman, it's rather unnerving to see the full scope of it all. And moreover, it's disheartening to see a woman of influence, like Pamela Anderson condone such behaviour.
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During her appearance on Megyn Kelly's show on Thursday, the 50-year-old glamour model and actress asserted that the women who accused the film producer, Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment are themselves culpable for what occurred. Yes, it appears that Pamela Anderson has just joined the ranks of victim-blaming celebrities.
And her reasoning didn't exactly improve matters much - she claimed that it was "well-known" in Hollywood that women shouldn't be alone with Weinstein. Speaking to Kelly, Anderson asserted:
"I think it was common knowledge. That certain people or certain producers in Hollywood are people to avoid privately. You know what you're getting in to if you go to a hotel room, alone."
Watch the entire clip below:
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Kelly then pointed out that many of the women who came forward said that the meetings with Weinstein were set up by their own agents, who they implicitly trusted. However, this didn't sway Anderson who replied by saying that it wasn't a good enough excuse. "Then go with them. That's what they should have done. Sent somebody with them. I just think there's easy ways to remedy that. That's not a good excuse," she replied.
Anderson continued:
"When I came to Hollywood, I had a lot of offers to do private auditions and things that just made no sense, just common sense. "Don't go into a hotel room alone. If someone answers the door in a bathrobe, leave." Things that are common sense. But I know Hollywood is very seductive and people want to be famous and sometimes you think you're going to be safe with an adult in the room. I don't know where this security comes from, but somehow I dodged it all."
This is especially unfortunate as in the past, the model has been open about her own history of sexual abuse. Certainly, it seemed rather contradictory that she added:
"We naturally blame ourselves. I didn't tell my mother for a long time, and even when I told her she said, "Oh, well that's in the past, don't even think about it anymore." But you somehow think that you were to blame, but I learned never to put myself in those situations again."
Not only is it incredibly dangerous to perpetuate a culture of victim blaming, but Anderson's comments have certainly cast a shadow on her character and reputation as a forward-thinking feminist.
In related news,
this new lawsuit accused Harvey Weinstein of sex trafficking.
