With all of the sexual harassment/rape cases that have been exposed about some of our favorite entertainers, it is easy to focus on the assaulter instead of the assaulted. However, we need to remember the victims of these alleged crimes and not ignore them or assume they are lying.
I read an article yesterday catching up on the latest allegations against actors Kevin Spacey and Ed Westwick. The article was good and informative up until the bottom where the writer said: "the victims need to understand they aren't gonna get fame from this so they can just stop".
This is an error in society's thinking. We can't assume the victims of these alleged crimes are sharing one of their most traumatic experiences just to be famous.
So most people say, "well why did they wait so long to tell if it was so bad?" A lot of these victims said that they felt threatened to come forward or they feared they would be blackballed in the industry if they said anything. Also, they fear being attacked by devoted fans, which does happen.
Regardless, we need to allow these women and men to have a voice to tell their story. Just because you like the actor doesn't mean you can just ignore the allegations. I will admit that I was a victim of this when I heard about the Ed Westwick rape accusations. I love him as Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl and didn't want him to be portrayed as an evil person. But then I remembered that I like the character that he portrays, not him.
I hope that by reading this you can begin to respect and listen to the victims of these alleged crimes and not write them off because you think they are doing this for fame or attention.
