WhatsOnStage.com: The Old Vic Theatre's executive director has spoken about the theatre's investigation into allegations made about Kevin Spacey's behaviour while he was artistic director at the theatre, and the problems with the theatre's reporting processes.
3 comments:
I'm not sure how I feel about this statement. "We are going to sit down with staff in a very consultative, measured and long reaching way to talk to them about what is OK and what isn't OK. A lot of the coverage over the last two weeks has been about whether there are grey areas. It seems to us, as a result of this investigation, that there are a lot of grey areas. And we need to figure out what they are." While I appreciate the effort-clarifying what is right and what is wrong, I think the comment that there are a lot of grey areas seems a bit like defense here. Of course things do fall into a grey area, but if someone is sexually harassing someone or even making them uncomfortable you can't call that grey and walk away. If you tell me that my discomfort is in a grey area and you can't do anything to help me, that feels like a gloss over. I certainly hope that this isn't the case here, and that they will really take a long honest look at their policies and how they failed their staff. Statements like this just boil my blood" "My experience of working here was that this was in no way a toxic environment, it was identical to working with any other theatre I've ever worked in. So you can understand how surprising, confusing and shocking this turn of events is and my big hope is that it doesn't reflect on The Old Vic as a name, or brand." Of course you want to deny any association of wrong doing, but this wrong doing should absolutely reflect on the brand. This situation at the Old Vic allowed a predator to act upon others. If that should reflect the situation that enabled him, what else should?
Sexual assault and harassment is actually one of the few areas in life that has absolutely no grey areas. If one person in the party is uncomfortable, or coerced in any way into preforming an act that don’t enthusiastically want to do it is pretty black and white. If that scenario happens to involve anyone who is a child, it is absolutely not okay under any circumstances. There is no world in which it is okay for a grown man to feel any sort of attraction towards a teenager (regardless of gender). Acting upon any attraction to a minor is one of the worst things you can do as a human being. It is an unforgivable and monstrous offense. There is no “grey areas” surrounding the actions of Kevin Spacey. No matter how good of a performer he is, he cannot be forgiven or excused by society for his actions. This is a black-and-white issue. Stop hiding behind your excuses of “grey areas” and mixed messages.
I don’t really see there being any grey areas when talking about sexual harassment and sexual assault, in fact, similar to what Lauren said, it is just black and white. There is no grey area when someone is uncomfortable by an action or statement made to them. There is no grey area when someone does not want to engage in a sexual activity, or initially does and then decides they no longer want to, or feels they have no other choice because their superior is the perpetrator. There is no grey area when grown adults prey on children and teenagers who cannot say anything against what is happening because of their age and lack of power. There is no grey area when the same adult predators engage in activities with children and teens that are not able to legally consent. Grey areas regarding this subject are fairly non-existent and we cannot go on and excuse the actions of Kevin Spacey or Harvey Weinstein or Louis C.K. by claiming grey areas were prevalent. Sexual assault and sexual harassment is black and white; there are no excuses.
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