Where is Justice when you need her...

[rogueslayer452]

++ As a follow-up from the previous post, Eliza Dushku writes up her own statement telling her side of the story, detailing the events that occurred and the experience she had while on the set. It's long and eloquently written, but it's also painful to read because of what she endured, which despite doing everything right and had actual evidence of her harassment, she was still fired from the show and was horrifically mistreated. My heart aches for Eliza, and I'm sad for what she went through and angry how it was handled by others, but she's incredibly brave for speaking out about it even if it wasn't how she wanted it to happen. She just needed to clear the air and refusing to be silenced by those wanting to knock her down. Needless to say though, I'm just happy that she's moved on with her life and is in a better place now, and I wish nothing but the best for her future. She deserves it after the bullshit she's suffered from this industry.

In the same vein, Amber Heard recently wrote her own article telling her story and how we, as a society, need to change, especially in support of women who are faced with sexual harassment and abuse but are never believed or taken seriously. Amber herself was a victim of domestic abuse but, much like with Eliza, despite providing proof of the violence against her the public spewed hateful vile things towards her, even going so far as to make death threats and making her feel even more unsafe, while her abuser goes on unscathed. Here she also writes about how the industry responded by basically threatening to blacklist her. Even now, people still react negatively towards her despite her not having done anything wrong. Sadly, this happens all the time when victims come forward, that no matter how much evidence they provide they'll never catch a break. It's heartbreaking and devastating, but also enraging, and it's something that needs to stop.

++ Elementary will be ending after its upcoming seventh season. I know that some are confused since the sixth season seemed like it was a finalized way of ending the show, since I think there was a huge question on whether that was the last season or not hence why the season ended the way it did. Either way though, Elementary has had a good run and I think ending it after seven seasons is better than it going on longer, which is where most shows end up devolving.

++ The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is going to be a prequel series to The Dark Crystal coming to Netflix in 2019. I know they announced it, I believe, sometime last year with a teaser trailer and now we're finally getting casting information along with the first images from it. As this is one of my favorite childhood movies, I am absolutely excited. The Jim Henson Company is returning to work on this new series, which makes sense because only they can recreate the breathtaking visuals and puppetry that made the film absolutely extraordinarily gorgeous.

++ I recently ended up watching Eli Roth's History of Horror documentary series, and as someone who loves the horror genre it was incredibly fascinating. I love seeing different people, from actors to writers and directors, talk about why they adore horror, the history of what made certain horror so memorable, and just taking a look at how influential horror has become in pop culture throughout the years. The documentary has episodes focusing on specific topics, such as talking about slashers, monster horror, ghost stories, etc, and kind of discussing the cultural importance of these particular subgenres within horror itself and how horror has grown and evolved over time. Part of me wishes they had taken some time dedicating an episode to foreign horror, because I feel like foreign horror is often quite neglected during these discussions, but perhaps that'll be for another time. With that being said, I hope that there will possibly be a second season of this.

Comments

[violateraindrop]

Eliza's statement makes me feel nauseous. I'm not sure if it was her intention, but I feel as if it implies that she is not his only victim and that he probably makes many crew members uncomfortable with his behavior.

When Amber came out with her story, so many of Depp's associates tried to discredit her. Even pretty much all women in his life. Of course, I believe Amber, but at the same time, I can believe that Vanessa had a different experience with him. I also believe Cote de Pablo when she says that Michael never acted that way with her. I'm not sure where it comes from that you can only believe one story at a time.

I absolutely agree about Elementary! Seven seasons is a great run and still not too much to get tired of it (she says while still watching Supernatural^^). I do hope that Lucy and Jonny do more TV once the show is over.

[honeymink]

I'm not sure if Eliza implied she wasn't the only victim. The way I read it was more that other people on set felt comfortable with harrassing/bullying her because Weatherly did it first. It sounds like there's an unhealthly dynamic on this set where everyone is catering to Weatherly. Be that as it may, the whole thing was terrible to read and I feel so disgusted and furious on her behalf, to the extent that I think this show ought to be cancelled... or well, Weatherly replaced and blacklisted.

I also believe Cote de Pablo when she says that Michael never acted that way with her.

Well, one can only speculate but – perhaps that had to do with factors like NCIS having an ensemble cast where everyone was just doing a job and with seasoned actors like Mike Harmon and David McCallum who initially got top billing. So again speculation perhaps it's fair to say that de Pablo and Weatherly rose in popularity together during the course of NCIS and he did not feel threatened by her. The way Eliza describes the situation CBS was looking to remodel "Bull" into it having two leads, her and Weatherly, whereas formerly Weatherly was the star – again, speculation but perhaps that bothered him.

I read Amber's piece in the 'Washington Post' and I must say it was rough. Something I can identify very much with. She was very tactful in the way she argued against Betsy DeVos's proposed changes to the rules on governing the treatment of sexual harrassment and assault. That could have been a bit stronger, especially in light of her first few paragraphs, which I empathise with completely... because I lived it too. But overall very well written.

When Amber came out with her story, so many of Depp's associates tried to discredit her. Even pretty much all women in his life.

This and her description of it in last part of her piece, how she was hunted down and judged basically, is what make speechless and depressed.

I can believe that Vanessa had a different experience with him.

I can too. But it looked to me that after their split he snapped or something. So there was never any doubt that Amber told the truth.

[violateraindrop]

It's more like he doesn't even need to focus on one person. The whole work environment on that show seems toxic. I couldn't imagine just working on the show for a week or a couple of days and being confronted with such behavior.

I absolutely agree that the show should be canceled. Yes, he gets harassment training (which he should totally pay for himself), but overall there are barely any consequences.

I mentioned that somewhere else, but it's like Weatherly accepted Mark Harmon as the "alpha" on NCIS. You heard stuff about him from Dark Angel, nothing during his NCIS years, and then he gets his own show and this happens.

As far as I know, Depp was sober when he was with Vanessa which is already a big factor. Of course, it doesn't excuse what he did.

I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through something like this.

[honeymink]

I apologize for all my Sp&G mistakes – I type too fast, should read things through again.

I've never watched "Bull" or "NCIS" and funnily I also never watched his season of "Dark Angel". Not because I knew anything about him, just because "NCIS" is not my type of show, I did watch season 2 of "Dark Angel" and when I tried to go back I found it was too episode driven without much emphasis on an overarching storyline so I didn't watch it. I don't think "Bull" registered with me until I heard about what they did to Eliza.


I absolutely agree that the show should be canceled.

That's the thing, I wrote this and thought... can I really say that. There are so many people involved making this show who need their jobs, have families etc. – it made me uncomfortable in a way. But then again, shows get cancelled all the time and it does seem like this set is not a good working environment overall and I was particularly unhappy with the showrunner catering to Weatherly's behaviour in such an enabling manner.

Like I said, I cannot judge the situation, I don't know Mark Harmon but if it's the way you suggest, perhaps he (and/or other people on set) was (were) a stabilising influence, therefore these sort of transgressions did not occur and de Pablo consequently had a better work experience. Who knows?

I feel like I constantly say, "I don't know" – again never loved or hated Johnny Depp before all this, can't recall watching a movie with him apart from the "Fantastic Beasts" ones – but since the "Bliss" album I have loved Vanessa Paradis for her music, so I would sometimes look at pictures of them in magazines and I guess my impression was that after the split he looked... wrong. You saying that he is probably not sober makes sense – and yes, that is no excuse, it just explains things. For instance also why he cannot take responsibilty for his actions. What drove me nuts in an interview I saw some time ago was this whole whinging about how people are still bothering him about this whole episode and how he is being reviled and how it impacts his family. Maybe I missed it, but has he publicly apologized? Maybe if he did that sincerely, admitting his wrongdoing, and got sober... I don't know... it wouldn't erase anything but maybe it would help. Idk.

[violateraindrop]

I never watched Dark Angel and dropped Bull after a handful of episodes since I did enjoy his performance on NCIS, but Weatherly himself was definitely not enough incentive to make through the show.

That is something I have thought about but, as you said, TV shows get canceled all the time or not picked up at all and I assume people work for the production companies or networks. Jobs on set seem rather stressful in any case, so adding a 'star' like that can't be good for anyone involved. People like that should really be blacklisted or at least get specific terms in their contracts for future jobs.

Mark Harmon pretty much got Pauley Perrette fired from NCIS though :/
His (rescue) dog attacked a crew member which made her feel unsafe on set, but he insisted on bringing the dog without any additional training. The network claimed that it was some roughhousing gone wrong. I feel like it has to be more since Pauley did some animal charity work and has dogs herself I think. Again, CBS sided with their male star...

During the last POTC movie, he was apparently drunk all the time. Now Disney wants to reboot the franchise without Depp.
As far as I know, he still insists that he is innocent and has never acknowledged that he fell off the wagon.

[honeymink]

As I said I was merely speculating, I didn't know anything about the BtS stuff on NCIS. So I'm really sorry to hear this about Pauley. :( I think it was in the article that preceded Eliza's statement, it's very apparent that there is a problem at CBS – otherwise their lawyers would have never handed over the BtS footage to her lawyer but obviously they did not see anything wrong with Weatherly's behaviour but rather thought that her swearing once in a while would paint her as unprofessional. There is a disconnect there somewhere.

has never acknowledged that he fell off the wagon.

I think his appearance speaks for itself.

[violateraindrop]

I mean, we are all speculating here, but a lot of the things speak for themselves.

it's very apparent that there is a problem at CBS
That's one thing we can be sure about.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

but I feel as if it implies that she is not his only victim and that he probably makes many crew members uncomfortable with his behavior.

From her words it seemed like his behavior was mostly accepted on set to the point that other crew members started harassing her as well, almost like a mob mentality kind of way. She felt unsafe to even go to work because of this, which is absolutely horrendous. Which, judging from how they couldn't even recognize what he did was harassment to begin with even when the network tried to discredit and blacklist her with that footage, makes it even worse. It does make me wonder about the other women who have worked on the show, though.

When Amber came out with her story, so many of Depp's associates tried to discredit her. Even pretty much all women in his life

It is still happening even now, which breaks my heart. The fact that she is suffering despite the person who abused her isn't, and both he and his team are trying anything and everything to discredit her and silence her is just disgusting. But it really makes me sad that she went through this and had almost no support, not even from other women.

And that's the thing that gets me: sure, you can know someone and been with someone who didn't harm you and was actually the sweetest person ever, and they probably were to you, but that doesn't and shouldn't mean that the person couldn't harm someone else. Just because they were nice to you doesn't mean you can dismiss or discredit someone else's experiences. You should feel disgusted and horrified that someone you knew that was nice to you did something horrific to someone else, instead of automatically defending them (which I understand is a gut reaction for most people, we're human after all and if there is an accusation about someone you know it's emotional instinct to want to defend them, but take the time to think and listen before speaking especially when it comes to victims who risk everything to come forward).

[violateraindrop]

To be honest, crew members probably prefer just going with it to getting bullied themselves :/
The whole environment seems bad. One of the regulars from S1 left, didn't she? There might have been more to that, too, which is really sad.

Exactly!
Amber risked a lot to come out against someone so powerful (for Hollywood I'd imagine), it should make you listen.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she did. It was said she left to pursue other projects, but the way they handled her departure (killing off her character) was not only lazy writing, but it kind of makes me wonder if she, too, had enough of the toxic environment and getting another project was a great opportunity for an out. Though I found it weird since her father is the creator of the show, so, idk. This is all speculation, at the moment. But with Eliza's claims, and other issues with CBS, it does make you wonder.

[violateraindrop]

Obviously, it's all speculation, but if stories like this come out, there has to be going on even more behind closed doors.

her father is the creator of the show
That is indeed weird! IMDB doesn't list projects for her after Bull though.