I tend to underestimate the interest in stories about casting couches and who “got the part” for reasons other than “talent”. I’m trying to figure out why so many of you are so fascinated by the stories and why I’m almost always just kind of “meh” about it. Am I really jaded? Could be. I think the casting couch is a real thing, and I think we see the effects of horny producers making terrible casting decisions all the time in Hollywood. But I do think we should differentiate between the casting couch and the simple fact that – at least in my mind – people in Hollywood hook up and sleep with each other a lot. Like, I think the majority of producers, actors, directors and assorted personnel treat the Hollywood experience as a chance to bang as many people as they can. So, does every affair between an actress and a producer or director automatically equate to “casting couch”? Eh, not really. It depends.
But this story is particularly creepy, and it’s not the kind of story that even little ol’ jaded me could throw some shade on. Susan Sarandon says that in her early days as an actress, she was pretty much sexually assaulted when she came in to audition for a role:
Susan Sarandon isn’t afraid of letting her skeletons out of the closet! The 66-year-old actress opens up to Elle magazine in the November 2012 issue about a “disgusting” casting-couch experience that happened in her younger years – and RadarOnline.com has the details.
“It was not successful – for either of us,” Sarandon admits, when asked if she had ever had a casting-couch experience.
“I just went into a room, and a guy practically threw me on the desk. It was my early days in New York, and it was really disgusting. It wasn’t like I gave it a second though, it was so badly done.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Academy Award winner also defended her romance with her much-younger boyfriend, ping-pong entrepreneur Jonathan Bricklin.
“People make him out to be much younger than he is – and me older,” Sarandon “wryly” explained to the fashion magazine, clarifying that he is 35, not 33 as the media has widely reported.
Ugh. I kind of don’t understand what happened in between “the dude threw me on a desk” and “he’s disgusting and it wasn’t successful” – did she slap him? Did she fight back? Did she kick him in the balls? Did she laugh at him and threaten to slice him up? How did it stop being a story about a horrible sexual assault and become a tale of some pathetic dude in her youth? And no, I don’t consider this a casting couch situation. This is straight-up sexual assault. I would love to know what Susan Sarandon would do with someone like Michael “You Have to Wash My Ferrari While I Videotape You” Bay.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Makes me think that the guy is still very much alive for her to say it was badly done and unsuccessful. One measure of success for sex is that the parties….you know… Finish.
I’m sure this kind of stuff goes on still.
It is odd that she left off the most important part of the story. Did she give in? Did she fight him off?
I’d be interested to hear what she told Eve Amurri to do in that situation. How do refuse the casting couch without pissing off the powerful directors so you can keep getting hired?
Be the child of three successful individuals with world-wide influence in your chosen field. (Amurri’s father is an Italian filmmaker Franco Amurri and her other father figure was Tim Robbins. Fun fact-Susan has been into younger men for a while. Amurri was 23 and she was 35 when they got together.)
Is it safe to say her story confused me? “So badly done?”- What does that mean , there’s so much to her story that’s missing for me to make sense of her comments.
Maybe the person is still alive and in a powerful position. So she shares a bit of the story but stops short of details that can be seen as criminal behavior. These actresses should get together to write tell all books.
What does “badly done” mean?
Seems a bit lame that she’s not naming names. The statute of limitations has passed, so why won’t she say who the man was?
Surely other women were assaulted over the years, too…they deserve to know they aren’t alone.
The same reason no one else gives names, either… these producers basically run Hollywood, and black-listing isn’t just a threat; it happens all the time. People like Harvey Weinstein wield so much power that even when reports do emerge, they get brushed under the rug just as quickly… along with the women involved.
I doubt Susan’s career could suffer at this point as a result of coming forward with the details, but there are other ways of getting revenge on a person.
I’m sure it still goes on but the manner in which it happens and the way it is received has probably changed somewhat. At the moment the UK is awash with scandal from the past few decades of how BBC personalities harassed and sexually abused girls (as young as 12) and women throughout the industry. It was common place in a time prior to anti-harassment legislation.
That said, girls and women nowadays are meant to feel sexually empowered and indeed the suggestion is they can use their sexuality to their advantage or indeed as a weapon to negotiate a better position – so to speak. Whether we really are that liberated … I don’t know.
I didn’t quite understand her story to be honest.
I think what she was trying to say is, it was unsuccessful for both of them..as in, he did not get what he wanted from her and she did not get the part. Then maybe when she says,”It was so badly done, it’s not like I gave it a second thought”…she might mean, she did not regret not giving into him. It certainly was a vague story, but Susan Sarandon has class and maybe she wanted to share the story without giving all the tiny details. Either way, it is terrible and disgusting that that shit happens to anyone.
I take “badly done” to mean she liked it, and she has no problem with sleeping around to get a role or not. She whine’s a bit for the article, but I don’t think she has the moral code to be offended about sexual harrassment/abuse in Hollywood.
Other then the older woman in Bull Durham, she doesn’t impress me on or off film.
Completely disagree.
She strikes you as enjoying the attempted rape? And why exactly she seems to have no moral code? Please explain.
Why didn’t she go public with “it” when it happened? Referring to being sexually assaulted as “It was not successful – for either of us,”. She thought it was “disgusting”. How about illegal Susan? How about making sure there weren’t any other victims or potential victims by reporting it? This woman is so outspoken on so many issues and political positions yet she said nothing about sexual assault? Until now? And did nothing at all then? the crusader she puts out there? Come on…*total eye roll*
Educate yourself on the range of reactions victims of rape or sexual assault demonstrate. And no, it is not the duty of the victim to go after the assaulter. You sound like, because you don’t like a woman, you think that “she asked for it” or “she probably enjoyed it.”
Videli please, I am a woman and I NEVER blame the victim…woman, man, child, animal so don’t dare go there with me. Of course you missed my point. Ms. Sarandon for years upon years has been extremely outspoken on so many topics and woman’s issues using her “fame” as a platform and yet in reference to the casting couch scenario her take is “badly done”. You are looking to insult and shame in the wrong place in my post…not shocking, but 100% wrong.
Sorry, unconvincing try from your part. According to your logic, Sarandon is an outspoken woman, hence she should have reported it, and because she did not, in your words, she liked it and had no problems with sleeping around for a role! What a shudder-worthy logic. Hey, how about that other slut who did not pursue her rapist, Helen Mirren? And I don’t believe your female genitals recommend you by default for a strong moral core.
As for the exact wording of Sarandon’s revelation, any Rainn social worker will tell you that at first you have to listen without a preconceived image of what a testimonial should be.
Holy crap, Chatcat! How can you sit in such judgment on her for speaking about it now? Things were different in the 1970s. She could certainly have been blacklisted had she gone public. You know how they treat women who object to being treated like meat now, much less back then. She’d have been hung out to dry and forgotten. Have a little compassion. Usually I really appreciate your comments, so I was a bit shocked by this one.
As to her (presumed) fear of blacklisting : I think it quite disturbing that anyone actually sexually assaulted would “keep quiet” –AND NOT EXPOSE HER ATTACKER” for fear of not getting acting jobs. I was around in the 70’s — things weren’t so very different. it’s likely she’s a very classy woman who didn’t want to spit out vulgar specifics… But even If the “attempt” was “badly done” or unsuccessful, SPEAK OUT. She is very outspoken ….now. Maybe that’s a trait she’s learned as she matured and her confidence grew.
But I will also say i just loved how she split that hair : he’s not 33, he’s 35. Two whole years makes What kind of difference, at that age?
As to her (presumed) fear of blacklisting : I think it quite disturbing that anyone actually assaulted would “keep quiet” –AND NOT EXPOSE HER ATTACKER” for fear of not getting acting jobs. I was around in the 70’s — things weren’t so very different. it’s likely she’s a very classy woman who didn’t want to spit out vulgar specifics… But even If the “attempt” was “badly done” or unsuccessful, SPEAK OUT. She is very outspoken ….now. Maybe that’s a trait she’s learned as she matured and her confidence grew.
But I will also say i just loved how she split that hair : he’s not 33, he’s 35. Two whole years makes What kind of difference, at that age?
I don’t understand this story, and don’t really understand why you even reported on it.
For all you saying you “don’t understand” the story. Read between the lines. Not every woman is required to give you a play-by-play of rape so that you “understand” what happened. It’s a traumatic experience and even someone as seemingly strong as Susan Sarandon may have difficulty going back there – hence the comment about not giving it a second thought. If she’s still thinking about it now, well…
I interpreted it differently. I thought she put him in his place,i.e., let him know he was going to get nowhere, so back off. She strikes me as a woman who has always been able to take care of herself. I did the same thing when I was younger, told the guy to knock it off and he knew I wasn’t kidding. Then I moved on and did not give it a second thought either.
I hope this is what she did. These women should not give in to these sick creeps. Unfortunately, a lot of them do it for a shot at fame. I couldn’t live with myself if that’s what I had to do to be successful. Actresses are basically prostitutes, when it comes right down to it.
Hollywood is sure a sick place. This stuff has always gone on, and it will keep going on for years to come, unfortunately. Actresses don’t talk about it or name names because they are afraid of being blacklisted. Some people have so much power, and abuse the heck out of having that power. It’s really sickening. Google Harvey Weinstein. Dude gives me the creeps. Many stories about him doing this sort of thing to young woman wanting to make it in Hollywood.
My thoughts exactly. Sarandon halfheartedly depicts a bleak picture of HW’s casting techniques. What’s event more worrying is that things like this don’t seem to stop and women rarely speak about it. I see a lot of actresses dismissed even on this site for their presumably getting their roles this way. I find this judgement to be particularly harsh and unfair because in my book, someone who has to resort to this to be employed is a victim. If this happened to someone of Susan’s talent, you can see that is not just a matter of lack of talent or morals on an actress’s part (thus resorting to couch casting..) but a full-fledged exploitation of the female body in a context that is falsely presented as ‘professional’ thus making it somehow more ‘acceptable’. I know this must be hard but unless experienced heavy-weights like Susan (and not only) take a serious stand against it, HW will continue to inflict unspeakable personal dammage. And no, money and fame can’t make up for this. The people in this industry are victims just like anyone else having to deal with harassment and abuse.
I love acting as a hobby, and even thought about trying to pursue it professionally. But I did some research, looking into what it really entails, and I changed my mind very quickly. No amount of success or career satisfaction is worthing having to put up with being manipulated and exploited like this. I wish more actresses would speak out about this, and maybe we can work towards putting an end to it.
I thought about going into acting, but I became a nurse instead 🙂
Am I the only one that only saw this as an attempted sexual assault? I took it as he very badly tried to throw her up on the desk, she resisted the badly attempted coercion, left and of course didn’t get the part. That’s why it was unsuccessful for both of them and why she didn’t give it a second thought. The guy didn’t even know how to coerce a young actress into giving him sex. Also, she was most likely an unknown at the time, so her coming forward–especially back then–would not have accomplished anything.
Well, it wouldn’t have accomplished anything except making sure her career never took off. Really wish I could say “look how things have changed since then”…
It is sexual assault which is why it’s so gross that people make jokes about it and shame young actresses for allegedly participating in it. The whole thing is vile.
I’m so jaded from reading celebrity gossip everyday that I wouldn’t be surprised if she gave in. Unless you have connections in the business, the chances of anyone giving you a chance are slim.
I was expecting, by the title of the article, to feel some sympathy for her. But she is so vague here, I don’t know what to think. I get it wasn’t a good experience, but was she somewhat willing and the man couldn’t perform or was it a case of her being attacked and she attacked back and got out of there? Or did something happen and then she didn’t get a good part? I mean, you could almost make anything out of this. I can understand she might not want to name the man, esp if he is still in a powerful job, but she basically started telling a story and then didn’t tell anything, which is kind of pointless.
What exactly are all the other “casting couch” stories supposed to be? I would assume that many more are also tales of assault and rape — look at Polanski and all the people who didn’t care because they were doing the same thing.
It seems to me if most casting stories are used to shame some no-talent woman who screwed her way to a part, then it can’t be much fun to think about all the no-talent women who got assaulted and got coerced their way to a part. But that’s still a better description of the way the world’s power works.
Her discription was very vague like she didnt want to give a lot if details about the incident. But whatever happened it sounds terrifing. Being an struggling actress sounds rough. I coundnt do it.