I get tired of hearing people say “of course everyone knew about That Guy” when certain celebrities are being “outed” as sexual predators. Granted, I think most of us had some idea about Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, although few people probably knew the extent of it. Here’s one name that genuinely shocked me: Ed Westwick, the British actor best known for his role on Gossip Girl. An actress named Kristina Cohen has published her account on her Facebook, detailing how Ed Westwick raped her three years ago. You can read her Facebook post here. Here’s the main part of Cohen’s story:
I was sexually assaulted three years ago. It was a dark time in my life. My mom was dying of cancer and I didn’t have the support system or time to process and deal with the aftermath of the rape. I buried my pain and guilt to make space for the onslaught that came after my mom’s death, just three months later.
…I was briefly dating a producer who was friends with the actor Ed Westwick. It was this producer who brought me up to Ed’s house where I met Ed for the first time. I wanted to leave when Ed suggested “we should all f–k”. But the producer didn’t want to make Ed feel awkward by leaving. Ed insisted we stay for dinner. I said I was tired and wanted to leave, trying to get out of what was already an uncomfortable situation. Ed suggested I nap in the guest bedroom. The producer said we would stay for just another 20 more minutes to smooth everything over, and then we could leave.
So I went and laid down in the guest room where I eventually fell asleep, I was woken up abruptly by Ed on top of me, his fingers entering my body. I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me, telling me he wanted to f–k me. I was paralyzed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me.
It was a nightmare, and the days following weren’t any better. The producer put the blame on me, telling me I was an active participant. Telling me that I can’t say anything because Ed will have people come after me, destroy me, and that I could forget about an acting career. Saying there’s no way I can go around saying Ed “raped” me and that I don’t want to be “that girl.”
And for the longest time, I believed him. I didn’t want to be “that girl”. I now realize the ways in which these men in power prey on women, and how this tactic is used so frequently in our industry, and surely, in many others.
I’m sickened to see men like Ed respected in such a public way. Interviewed by prestigious platforms such as the Oxford Union Society at Oxford University, where he was honored as one of their “People who Shape our World.” How does this end? Men like Ed using fame and power to rape and intimidate but then continue through the world collecting accolades.
I believe you, Kristina Cohen. It seems like so many stories we’ve heard, of someone – this time, a producer boyfriend – procuring victims for a rapist or assailant. It seems like Cohen was brought to that apartment just to be assaulted. And what followed compounded the trauma, what the producer said to her and how he blamed her. God, this story is horrific. All of these stories are horrific.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Ed?? Oh damn! 😞😡😲
That’s the thought that went through my mind too.
The WORST part of this story is how little power I actually feel like Ed has. Like he is barely famous, was on a popular show that hasn’t been on the air for years and I haven’t really seen him in anything since.
But still, this mildly famous man is capable of assaulting and silencing a woman. This is horrifying. Bury him.
I agree. some small “once upon a time” actor rapes you, and you’re made to feel he can divide the sea? I would investigate the producer and this Raper Ed guy. I also get the image alcohol or drugs were being used that night. I hope these men don’t try to use that bullcrap to discredit the woman.
Exactly. The power structure is designed to protect even mediocre men. Their mediocrity is constantly elevated to something more. This is why the rest of us have to be twice as good to get half as far.
Is she willing to press charges? It was only three years ago and the producer can be called to testify and corroborate her story. Let’s get him. Lock him up!
The actual power is not that important, its more like someone believing he has the power. If he wasnt a little famous it would have been a threat of violence or death.
Right?
On what planet can he ‘destroy’ her. Even at the peak of his career, he was on fing Gossip Girl – hardly powerful enough to damage anyone’s career? F these dicks and their delusions of grandeur.
I wonder if this was during production of his short lived ABC show?
Either way, I’ve stopped liking any actors, because I am fully expecting this to be a landslide.
No name men rape women all of the time.
It’s not so much having the power over a specific industry but the power of he said she said, the power to twist the truth to their own gain, the power to make a woman feel that in some way she let this happen or lead them on.
Power to her and every woman who speaks out on these vile depraved men
I wouldn’t call it the worst part, but I agree. So much was made of Weinstein’s power…this guy is a C lister, CW star at best? And still had people willing to throw other human beings into the fire to appease him. WTF.
For the record, this guy has always given me the creeps, and I was not shocked to see him accused. Sadly I’m sure this woman is not alone. I hope, if there are others, they feel empowered to speak up too.
I know. I absolutely adored him. But f*ck him, now. Another one bites the dust. Just went to unfollow him on Instagram and noticed he’s turned off the comments on his last 3 posts. That silence is DEAFENING. I am disgusted and i believe Kristina.
Ed came out saying he doesn’t even know the woman. I hope for his sake that this is true, because liying about not even knowing the woman who you allegedly raped is not going to look good once all the dirt comes out. ugh. I didn’t think he was important enough to pull smth like this. Terrible.
Yup.
And my radar is waaaaayy off!
Nooooooooooooooo. Ugh.
When I first started reading, I thought she was protecting the producer’s privacy because he was unaware of what happened. Now that I’ve read it all, why isn’t she naming the producer. Throw his enabling arse out in the open. Lift the veil!
@Peeking – yes! Why isn’t she naming the producer? Let the producer be uncovered named as the pimp that he is.
She didn’t name the producer in her Facebook post but later identified him to the Hollywood Reporter as Kaine Harling .
Disgusting. I hope she someday she feels brave or safe enough to name the producer because it sounds like he set her up, and found this creep more important than her well being, even if he was dating her at the time. And he may be out doing this to others.
This guy Westwick’s comment in another newsfeed that he doesn’t remember her….classic demeaning put-down of a victim.
Ugh……..it never ends
Hollywood is full of pervs 🤢🤢🤢🤢
The WORLD is full of pervs. It’s an epidemic and many people would prefer it if victims stayed quiet because these conversations make them uncomfortable. We see this everywhere sadly. And many people unconsciously try to silence the conversation by always blaming victims.
My friends were being so disgusting about it yesterday. I get waiting for more facts to come out but they were immediately accusing her of lying, of having sex and then changing her mind in the middle of it, of being on drugs and not remembering it, of being there at all. Every little thing you can say to shame a victim, they said it all. Sometimes you don’t act like you “should”, people. Sometimes you don’t think things through or leave immediately especially when the guy you’re dating is there. Just because she was uncomfortable but didn’t leave doesn’t mean she’s lying.
I believe you, Kristina. <3
I’m so disappointed, cos I loved him in wicked city and white gold. He’s just another Hollywood sicko from the UK.
Prayers to this brave woman. Of course i believe her. Wonder if she’s the only one
He was ok in White Gold, but the other 2 actors are favourites of ours, all the way back to Inbetweeners. 🙁
He is a sicko and F him, but what does this have to do with him being from the UK?
Is there any evidence to suggest that a higher number of actors from the UK are predators v from elsewhere?
Oh dear, no. I was just saying he was from the UK, as in they come from all over the world. You have them young, old, american, british, polish. They only connection so far is Holywood. We are yet to get to other industries. No disrespect towards the Brits, in fact I’m rather obsessed with British music, but that’s not what this is about.
As much as it hurts to see another day filled with more horrific stories of sexual assault, I can not say I’m surprised. Somehow Ed strikes me as a person I would not want to be left alone in a room. He just seems like a guy who generally thinks very high of himslef and treats women like a fancy accesory
I believe her. I always thought there was something off about this guy. Enjoy being unemployed rapist!
Yup. He has that creepy face/vibe. This is so unsurprising.
Agreed and I’m a bit boggled by people declaring their shock. There has always been something off about him, something skeevy, that I picked up on. Not even surprised by this.
Same here, he’s always given off a douche vibe
I third (or whatever) this. Really just an ‘off’ kind of guy. Of course, not all abusers are like that, but it’s not at all surprising in this case.
See, I don’t buy that. Mel Gibson looked normal. Polanski looks like a tiny grandpa full of stories. Ed IMO looked hot. Like playing the I don’t care card.
There’s no pattern here. There’s no age restriction. Nothing makes sense, hence people are confused. His roles have nothing to do with his actions. He’s a pos and so are the rest of them who get off to rape.
I agree, Milla, there’s no pattern, a lot of these predators can hide in plain sight. However, I too have always gotten a bad vibe from this guy.
He has always repulsed me. I feel no shock at all. Now if rumors pan out about certain men I will be shocked (ish).
“There’s no pattern here.”
There is no actual pattern but it is there because people want to see it. Its pretty easy to post “I knew he looked like a predator” below an article talking about that. Confirmation bias.
Your brains are just playing a trick on you. If we had a different article about him no one would be saying he looks like a rapist and his face would still be the same.
Piece of shit actors. You’re nothing little power hungry criminals playing make believe for a living you can’t just take lives because you felt like it you sick little fuck. I believe her!
Thank you for your bravery Kristina. I am so sorry.
…holy sh¡t. Just, holy f*cking sh¡t. I believe her too. I don’t even know what to say.
I’m not sure of the right way to word this, and obviously all these stories are so awful and harrowing, but I’m actually happy every time I see a new name crop up. I was worried it would stop at Weinstein and the other obvious open secrets, but it increasingly feels like the floodgates are truly opening and won’t be easily closed. Like things might actually change at least a little.
It’s a difficult feeling to describe, isn’t it? I don’t think happy is the wrong word to use. I’d say I’m relieved. Whether someone speaks up or not, these things already happened. So you’re not wishing for something to suffer, just that someone has the strength to speak up. It’s the only way this doesn’t die down and the only way to get to the bigger fish eventually.
I agree. I feel relieved when another one is outed. We need to keep tally so we can organize and bombard anyone who hires them. Shame them and drag them.
I just thought the same thing. I hate the abusiveness of powerful people but LOVE that they are being dragged into the spotlight.
There is strength in numbers.
I get what you mean. The one silver lining in this sad and scary situation is that abusers and harassers are being exposed (and that the ones who haven’t been exposed yet are probably very afraid right now). And the fact that at least victims are feeling like this is a time when they can talk about it.
Trump was exposed. Fat lot of good that did.
I know what you mean. It’s like a dam has broken, and it’s horrible, but necessary.
There is almost zero possibility that producer/date wasn’t in on it. It’s frat boy 101.
I must be very naive, because I didn’t put that together. That is some sick, sick stuff. It really takes courage to speak out like this, and I hope she charges him, it was only a few years ago.
Me too. It didn’t occur to me just how twisted this got until I saw the comments.
I’m glad women are coming forward. I just wish there wasn’t so much filth to expose. This makes me sick.
Yea that’s what I thought. The producer wasn’t mad at Ed, just her? No, he was totally in on it. He and Ed planned to rape her, which probably means this guy has other victims out there. I hope they all start coming forward.
Yup, ‘let’s go to this random guy’s house’, ‘let’s have drinks’, ‘let’s see you get weirdly sleepy’, ‘let’s discourage you from leaving when you are weirdly sleepy’, ‘let’s just have you take a nap in some random (to you) guy’s house’, ‘let’s not wonder where that random guy went and left me (the producer) alone while you were sleeping. o look! You got yourself raped. (sarcasm btw). I want the producer’s name.
I thought the exact same thing. No way this wasn’t planned or something that happened just once.
I thought so too. BF is a producer, and that is higher up on the Hollywood food chain than actors so why would he tell her Ed has the power to ruin her? I guess if a D list reality show on a little-watched channel in outer Mongolia is a goal maybe I guess but it is a lie and he knew that. I am confident she is far from the only one.
yeah, a normal boyfriend would drag your ass out of there. Also, wondering if she was drugged. The whole needing to take a nap while wanting to get out of there seemed weird at first, but if the guys were in on it, she may well have been drugged.
ITA. She was set up. I can’t even process this depravity, partly because an ex put me in a similar situation. I wasn’t physically harmed, thankfully, but it left a scar.
Exactly – reminds me of the Nate Parker situation.
So glad she found the courage to tell what happened to her.
Woooo boy! Just hit my limit for internetting today! Mad woman coming through. Must redirect this nasty energy into something else. Peace out, world! See ya tomorrow
Got online 10 min ago, and will be following you right out again, E T. All the best to you.
we believe you, Kristina
Yikes! Those pictures make him look the part!
I get what you’re saying, but rapists don’t look any different than anyone else. There is no look.
He looks like a skeeve, but a rapist can be the very nice guy who gave you a drink and didn’t stop when you said no. A skeevy looking guy can be the one who makes sure you get home safe. Behaviour and appearance are not related.
Someone has already gone to Wikipedia and changed his bio to read, “Ed Westwick is a rapist…”
That’s how all their wikis should read, the first line should be either “Is a rapist” or “An accused rapist” let people know right off the bat that these people are trash.
Public humiliation, sustained public humiliation at that, is the only stick that will work on these scum.
Don’t want to be known as a rapist? Don’t rape!
It’s just terrifying how so many men used their power to abuse women (and men) into fear and submission.. I’m actually shocked on this one, I could never imagine the horror that poor woman suffered.. I just hope he’ll pay for this.
I’m trying to understand what’s happening in their heads. Ed for example, he’s a good looking guy and he was able to pick up women left and right. But noooo, he had to be in charge, to her someone beg and scream for mercy… What’s that? Is there someone who gets it? Cos I don’t. It’s just sick and perverted and it has to be stopped. Arogant pieces of shit…
Its not about sex, its about power. The power to make someone do something they don’t want to.
Actors on the whole don’t have a lot of power until they are higher up than Ed – they are told what to say, what to wear, how to promote their show/movie.
Then there are also those who get off on other people’s pain. Truly sick in the head.
Milla—Sounds like supreme ego and arrogance to me. “What do you mean *no*? Of course you want me. Everyone does. You’re here, I want sex. So it’s settled.” I don’t think he was getting off on her pain, just refused to believe no meant no.
@helonearth
Maybe that’s what ticks assholes like him off. He’s not that high up on the food chain, he believes he should be higher, so he compensates by torturing those he believes are under him. Classic abuser.
I believe her.
Ed, you little shit. I hope you get what you deserve.
I believe her. Westwick and the producer both belong in jail.
He played such an asshole on Gossip Girl that I believe it. Still I’m so shocked by the amount of rape that male actors commit in Hollywood.
I don’t like this narrative. He’s a creep because he’s a creep. Just as the perfect victim fallacy is real and dangerous, so too should this kind of line of thinking. Guys who play shitty assholes for their professional roles aren’t inherently more likely to be a rapist. He could’ve been the sweetest actor in the role and he’d still be capable of this.
I always liked him, mostly because he was the Chuck to Leighton’s Blair Wardorf, one of my favorite fictional women of all time.
But that’s over, of course I believe Cohen, and I never want to see his face onscreen again.
Darla, I mean this in the kindest way possible: Please try to consider what was appealing to you about that relationship and reflect on that. It really wasn’t a good one. My best to you, and all of us, and continued strenght.
Thank you for saying this, as I could never quite understand exactly what was so appealing about that relationship. In no way did Chuck treat Blair well. At all.
I agree his character was not a good guy, but he and Blair IMO had off the charts chemistry. I mean, I certainly wasn’t looking for a guy like Chuck. Don’t worry. 🙂
They were fun to watch. They had chemistry. They were best actors of the show. It was a TV show, not reality TV, not inspired by real events.
I love Chuck and Blair. Ed and Leighton are not them.
I love Gossip Girl and Chuck & Blair, and let’s not confuse fiction with reality. Ed Westwick is a good performer and some of us liked his character and the way he portrayed it, Kevin Spacey is a great performer, Weinstein is a great producer. We can acknowledge that AND we can condemn them for being sexual predators. Because you can’t watch a TV show or a film and say, “Oh, that guy is *definitely* a rapist because his character skeeves me out,” just as you can’t look at a piece of media and say, “Oh, that guy is definitely *not* a rapist because his character is so sweet and kind!”
Uhm, that’s not at all what I was saying / what my comment was about. It’s about the continued perpetuation and elevation of abusive relationships in mainstream cultural productions to romantic #goals, which in turn influences women in how they assess their personal relationships.
ETA: that’s good to hear, darla. 😊
I understand that Dair shippers are invested in depicting Chair’s relationship as “abusive.” That’s not how Chair shippers see their relationship. Chuck hitting a wall in anger/frustration (never striking Blair) does not constitute an abusive relationship in my view. The show had Chuck undergo therapy to overcome his daddy issues and his inability to believe that he was worthy of lasting love and his character development arc was a strong one. You are entitled to your ships and your opinions, just as I am entitled to mine. Plenty of Chair shippers (like myself I am happy to say) have great and healthy non-abusive relationships and know 100% that abuse and violence in relationships are unacceptable and wrong.
I don’t care about gossip girl. I am not a shipper of anything. Please stop assuming/projecting.
Intermedial popcultural studies with a focus on gender is my area of scholarship. The fact that you would make this important conversation about “shipping” is very distasteful to me. I hope anyone following this thread will understand my point of sociocultural currents and the depiction of relationships.
ETA: if your partner demonstrates his physical capability by hitting a wall in anger in front of you, that would indeed be considered abusive.
@I, Pet Goat, 2
I was going to write the same thing. Hitting a wall is indeed abusive. It is a display of physical ability to intimidate as in “See what I could do to you.”
Thanks for the backup, @magnoliarose.
The elevation of the Chuck character’s status to ‘desirable’ always creeped me out. If I recall correctly didn’t he start assaulting Serena before she managed to fight him off in season 1? And didn’t she and Dan have to go and rescue Jenny on the roof of somewhere so Chuck wouldn’t rape her?
His long, drawn out ‘redemption’ story with Blair was kind of sickening in light of the fact that he didn’t just have daddy issues and punch a wall once, his character was a sexual predator. That producers and writers thought it was a good idea to make a relationship with that character ‘aspirational’ or feed the trope that the right woman with oodles of patience and enough love can ‘fix’ a man like that is disturbing, particularly considering the show’s target audience.
@Gretchen on point.
No, no, this got off track. I don’t even know who Dair and Chair, (chuck and blair I can guess, no idea about Dair?) I don’t agree that punching a wall is not abusive. That is abusive. I do agree that they were the best actors on the show, actually Leighton I would say by far was. I love her. I don’t know how they had that mad chemistry, but they did. It brought something to the show.
Gretchen you’ve got a great point there. I guess as a longtime General Hospital watcher, I am used to those kind of changes in character, I don’t think much about it. I suspected they went that way because the chemistry between the two characters created a following, so they cleaned chuck up. I never thought Ed was hot, but while watching Gossip Girl, I thought Leighton made him hot.
I understand what you are saying I,Pet goat. I am not confused. I am actually laughing because speaking of soap operas, this whole thread reminds me of how people act about soaps. It’s as if you said you don’t like Liz, and were accused of being a Jasam worshipper. It’s very funny, but only to me. But anyway, no I never thought you were a Chair or Dair (which I now realize must mean Dan) worshipper, or that your post had anything to do with fictional couples worshipping.
I agree 100% with @Darla and @Milla.
Ed and Leighton were fun to watch and had incredible chemistry. But there was nothing aspirational or progressive about Gossip Girl. All the main characters were shady and manipulative and kept doing terrible things to one another. It was just a fun juicy soap opera and I enjoyed the Chuck and Blair storyline. It was the main reason I kept watching. You can enjoy, hell even SHIP a fictional pairing without thinking it’s aspirational.
But the bottom line is that Ed Westwick’s behavior has nothing to do with the writing on Gossip Girl. His behavior is on him. Lots of actors have played terrible characters and not engaged in terrible off-screen behavior. Let’s not mix up reality and fiction.
He looks like a very unkind and mean person
Totally out of left field the other names unfortunately were no surpirse but then again who still thinks about this trash dude at all?
No No No No..this shocks me..
All the other claims did shock me, But I didnt feel the need to comment.
All those actresses paid their movies and Oscars with their silence.. THEY should’ve spoken up.
The team AROUND them should’ve spoken Up. Im notsayingthese Women are guilty, im just so dissapointed they didnt speak up.
THIS….i just cant
They did speak up. They told people. No one thought it was a big deal. Have you read Ronan Farrow’s recent piece in the New Yorker about how he hired Mossad people, etc. to infiltrate Rose McGowan and the journalists working on the piece to try to gather info to discredit them if the article ever came out?
Way to blame the victim. Even when women speak up they often get shouted down.
I believe her. What is wrong with men? I’m so disgusted.
The purge continues.
Just this example alone.
This 3rd rate actor was supposedly so powerful her career would be over?
Yes because women were expected to go along and keep quiet or tge guys in power would unite and shut you out.
Disgusting!!!
Who was the boyfriend /producer? He is complicit as well.
My gawd this is a sick culture that has existed for so long…so many were hurt.
“But the producer didn’t want to make Ed feel awkward by leaving.” I’m sorry, I have to throw up. The producer, a friend of the woman was either leading her to get assaultet/raped or he didn’t want to make EW feel awkward by getting his friend out of an an already terrible situation.
Kristina, I believe you.
What a nightmare. I’m so sorry. God, wtf is wrong with people?!?!?!
END HIM. END EVERY ONE OF THESE SCUM.
so i guess he didn’t really need to act when he was playing chuck bass
she should out the producer as well
She didn’t name the producer in her Facebook post but later identified him to the Hollywood Reporter as Kaine Harling
Hey remember back few months/weeks ago when we used to get mad at actors for working with problematic people? Not for doing anything harassing or abusive themselves, just for making questionable choices and we would hope they would do better in the future …remember that….The good old days? 🙁
This is absolutely repulsive. Toss this guy and his producer in the garbage.
“Hey remember back few months/weeks ago when we used to get mad at actors for working with problematic people? Not for doing anything harassing or abusive themselves, just for making questionable choices and we would hope they would do better in the future …remember that….The good old days? 🙁 – ”
So true as always Mia4s. So true.
I believe her. I have a frighteningly similar story. Of course I believe her.
HE IS A RAPIST.
Purge them all
I believe her. And I am so relieved more and more women are coming forward with their stories. It breaks my heart that any of this happened. Four years ago, something terrible happened to me and I paid dearly for it. I’m still not the same, and I’m still finding the strength to move on with my life. This is as personal as it gets for me and I want these awful people to get exposed for what they are.
Gods, I’m angry. I can’t wait to hear Uma Thurman’s statement.
@Hmmm…
I’m sorry you had to go through that experience and I give you internet hugs. Stay strong.
I am sorry too. Hugs.
The anger is overwhelming and mixed with absolute disgust.
I believe her. This sucks. I hope people continue to have the courage to come forward because these low lives deserve to be outed and taken down.
God, I just have to comment again to say how heart-warming it is, how comforting it is to see so many people saying “I believe her.” It makes me tear up, and I don’t cry easily. It also makes me think of how many times I could have spoken up when I was younger and blew the whistle on sexual predators in my life. Maybe others might have believed me.
((((Anastasia)))) I believe you. And I literally have tears streaming down my cheeks from your reply.
You did the best you could, and it is not your fault. I have a feeling we all have someone we wish we felt strong enough to name in our past. I believe you too.
We do have some power in this. We can support the victims and never allow these guys to move on without being reminded they are rapists as often as we can.
I hope you are healing and wish you well.
Big GG fan, loved him and Blair and also the other main couples/ characters.
assumed he was nice I guess because he dated Jessica szor and was pals with leighton… though once when he was going on about how delicate or tiny leighton is I found it kind of off..
Definitely believe Kristina
I guess pics of her weren’t available? Never heard of her.
Men (like her boyfriend) suck
I always got a creepy, douchey vibe from him.
This is so disgusting. I feel so bad for. I hope that she finds the courage to press charges on both of them– Ed and her so-called boyfriend. It appears that she was drugged and still hasn’t come to terms with it. No one wants to believe that this sick and depraved stuff happens to them. I think our brains/self rebels against the horror of what happened and shuts down. I hope that he goes to prison, but unfortunately, it won’t make her fear go away!
It seems as though she doesn’t realize that she was most likely set up. They both need to be outed.
While it’s her choice not to name the producer-“boyfriend”, he doesn’t deserve her protection. The guy is every bit as complicit as Weinstein’s assistants. (“Boyfriend” in quotes because he certainly wasn’t acting like one, or even acting like a decent human being.)
Ugh. I went to her Facebook post and the number of people calling her a liar and/or victim blaming was disgusting. “Ed would never do that,” they say? What do any of us know about who he is?
REVEAL. THEM. ALL. I am so sorry for the victims and what they have endured but I am also so happy (not happy? Lack of a better word) that these predators are being revealed for all to see. I feel like this is just the beginning and the tip of the iceberg.
Is anyone else more surprised that Ed Westwick is one of the “People Who Shape Our World”? Since when? In what world?
News to me. I guess those movers and shakers and ultimate power brokers J Woww and Snookie were too busy shaping stuff to attend.
.
.
Just this a.m., after reading about HW’s spies, the thought that came to my mind, once again, was, “Thank god my lifetime of sexual harassment was nothing compared to what these women have gone through.” Then, I caught myself. That I am now feeling fucking GRATEFUL only to have been harassed (touched a couple of times), is horrible. I feel lucky. And that’s disturbing me. That even *I* would unconsciously dismiss decades of harassment because I wasn’t raped suddenly had me reeling in disbelief. I am NOT lucky! I’m just not as unlucky as many others, including so many of you wonderful women here on CB. But how insidious is our culture that someone could dismiss their own bad treatment because it wasn’t “that bad.” Don’t worry, I have self-corrected my thinking, but that those thoughts entered my being at all informs me why so many of us keep quiet. It was “just” a comment; or he just touched the small of my back, etc. Now that I am even keeled again, I’m almost hoping some asshole tries harass me. I’m more than ready, with pepper spray locked and loaded.
This is SUCH a great insight.
Thank you, Anastasia. I’m fairly certain I’m not alone in this line of thinking, and want to encourage all of us to reject any and all unfair treatment, regardless of defcon level.
If you read the comments to her Facebook posts, it’s disgusting. I left a comment about it and how I believe her and I literally got attacked by WOMEN within 30 seconds. I’m so disappointed.
He’s a heartthrob, they always have armies of female fans swearing he’s not like that even though they’ve never met him.
He has just flatly denied this on instagram: “I do not know this woman.” It seems a strong denial (not an “I’m sorry if she was offended” sort of denial).
I suspect this is not going to stop (nor should it) on Facebook.
I just saw that, too. I feel like we are entering dangerous territory. I don’t not believe her, and I know this is probably going to come off worse than I intend it to, but it is worrisome that you could publicly make statements that greatly impact another person and everyone will pass judgement before anything has been proven. I don’t not trust her story and it is horrific and if it happened then I hope he gets nailed by the full arm of the law. But I have lived through scenarios (not me personally, but big time scandals at my University) that turned out to be false and they destroyed the accused. Again, I don’t not believe her and I want every woman to come forward, but this can become very tricky, very fast.
I have to agree. We are entering dangerous territory with accusing someone on social media of something like this without actual proof. If he did indeed rape her she should go to the authorities to see if anything can be done. His Wikipedia profile was change and someone added rapist. If it turned out that he is telling the truth and he doesn’t know her, then he would have gone through all of this for no reason and real victims will have an even harder time proving their case.
Dangerous territory in what sense? I’ve been thinking about this a lot, I’ve read the comments by the ‘opposition’ to this recent outpouring and I can’t imagine what the alternative is. He’s innocent in the eyes of the law. The woman’s being dragged on her own page. She risked her own reputation and career by doing this too. When accusers go to the police, people complain about their identities remaining hidden; when they make direct claims, people complain about them not going to the police.
Making such allegations is not as easy as people seem to think and the repercussions remain the same despite this climate. She could get sued and forever blackballed. I get that people want to stand by innocent until proven guilty, but that has led to people remaining silent, disbelieved and ruined.
I know these allegations are not as easy as some people think. She absolutely took a huge risk revealing this and I am not doubting that she is lying.
I guess maybe my thought is that social media is dangerous territory? Social media stretches so far and so fast-you can really destroy someone with an accusation. Again, not saying she is lying. Speaking more broadly, you can say anything about someone on social media and can change the public’s view of someone else very quickly. Yes, legally this actor is innocent until proven guilty but in the court of public opinion, he’s done.
@ D
Will you are saying she lying. You said you don’t believe her, so that would mean you think she is lying. He can say anything on social media making it seems like she is crazy.
@Jamie42
Do you expect him to say he did rape her of course he going to deny it.
@samantha Regardless of his career, to be accused of rape will tarnish his reputation. It absolutely has tarnished Nelly, and when you hear this accusation about anyone, in my eyes, it’s hard to forget it-even when they are proven innocent (see Derrick Rose). You still think about it.
I am not reading articles about this case all over the internet so I can’t comment on the disbelief. And it’s not that I don’t support her and I definitely recognize how difficult it must be to bring forth.
@Rose Fat finger, small keyboard! I meant to say I have no doubt that she’s NOT lying. I totally support her-I said that throughout mynposts.
I totally agree. I think the response should be changed to “I *SUPPORT* you”, not “I believe you”. It is still innocent until proven guilty in our justice system and we have nothing save her story. It’s not that they shouldn’t be believed or are thought to be lying, so much as the other person does have the right to defend themselves. Sometimes, it’s totally obvious, like when 30 different women all say the exact same thing, I believe number 31 without qualm. But I still feel very uncomfortable with believing each and every person all the time with no requirement to backup their accusations at all.
Well I guess I disagree that he’s done in the court of public opinion. I think she’s more ‘done’ as far as her career and reputation goes if no one backs her up. Nelly was accused of rape a few weeks ago through a police report, I don’t believe he’s done either. I totally get why people want to stand by innocent until proven guilty; I do too, but with the stats in mind. Of the 2-8% false rape reports; nearly half don’t name a particular person, many are brought up by teenagers or someone who needs an ‘alibi’ for whatever reason and many others involve similar specific circumstances. I stand by innocent until proven guilty too; but with the mindset that in a case like this one, the odds of fabrication are VERY low, and it’s heartbreaking to see the amount of outright disbelief from the public.
Jayem, I totally agree. I support her as well, but blindly believing every accusation and vilifying every accused is dangerous. Someone could level a false accusation against any one of us, and we would want it to be investigated, and not be crucified by the masses.
I have no idea who Ed Westwick is, so this is not based on fangirling.
@Rose, my point was simply that it was a strong denial–and maybe putting it that strongly puts him at a disadvantage. If she is able to show that they met even once, he’s sunk.
I also agree with “I support you.”
On the other hand, if they only met at his home that one time, there’s no way for her to prove they know each other.
If she’s accusing someone’s she’s never met of rape, she must have some serious mental health issue going on, which will come out. So, actually, the fact that he’s denying ever meeting her makes him more suspect IMHO.
I agree Jamie42. That was a surprising denial. His claim that he “does not know this woman” really puts him on shaky ground. All she has to prove is that he did know her, or she was there and he’s neatly, easily trapped himself in a lie. Not good. Certainly a heck of a lot easier to prove than rape.
No, it doesn’t sound like she knew him prior to that night, but I am not sure. But assuming she didn’t know him and only met him that one night, who is going to contradict him and say, yes you did know her? The “boyfriend” who would likely if not definitely be looked at as an accessory? Nah, that doesn’t hold water. I don’t think that response adds credibility to his denial at all.
never understood how people found him hot… he just makes “sexay” faces.
She pressed charges. Two people are backing her up that she told them back in 2014 about this incident. I really really hope she can prove this, women need this. I was reduced to tears after reading the comments on her facebook page.
There’s another actor from the CW & been on NBC also a Voice Actor for a video game who uses Instagram and Twitter to go after girls under age 25 that does the threaten routine with he’s a somebody they’re a nobody abusing his power as actor and is a glorified guest role on shows. He has even used actors and actresses to abuse these girls online and himself has made numerous fake profiles even using their screen name but add a dot wrote obscene things across pics and lied on these girls stalks them as girls and Twitter and Instagram do NOTHING but if you stand up to him because he has a blue verified check mark they delete immediately they don’t just target other actresses they are targeting their followers their fan base and any girl they find hot and feel entitled to!
Another actor? Name him.
Her phone’s location data could put her at his place – his denial is so easy to unravel, I hope he continues to be discredited and shunned.
I believe you, K.
Also, I somehow follow someone on Instagram who was/is friends with him. This entire group of guys all seem like a trash heap who use women as props for some homoerotic rapey dudebro nonsense.
I’m interested to see what happens with this one. The accused has vehemently denied it, no wishy washy “I’m sorry if you thought I was harassing you” type of statements. It’s a stupid play to make if he knows that he’s guilty, as he’ll be rightly vilified, so I’m watching to see what happens.