Another abuse scandal rocks US cinema industry

Amid a new sexual abuse scandal, one of the Walt Disney Company’s top executives, the Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, says he will be out of office for six months, following misconduct allegations.

In a new sexual harassment scandal, which will most probably affect Hollywood revenues negatively in extraordinary ways, Disney announced that animation chief John Lasseter would be on an immediately-effective six-months leave.

In a lengthy email sent to employees at Disney’s animation division, Lasseter apologized to all female workers who felt they had been abused.

This comes after last month’s uncovering of widespread scandals that had been ongoing across the US film industry for years.

Over decades of filmmaking, Hollywood cinema industry has been trying to promote itself as an unrivalled American utopia.

But, with the exposure of its dark side through a multitude of sexual harassment and assault scandals, it’s not just the Hollywood or the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards that have lost face vis-à-vis the world’s ethically-principled people; rather, it’s a global hegemonic power and its most efficient tool used over decades to build up soft power, that is now being consistently defamed.

Last year, the public disclosure of the chilling sexual harassment and assault cases exposed the Hollywood’s B-side, as a symbol of virtually everything in the US related to material life.

The revolt by a group of the harassed women culminated on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, when they showed up totally clad in black, in protest not only to the years of tyranny and repression by the rich and famous, but also to the system that supports such evil deeds, i.e. the governing system of the US.

It was aimed at ending the decades-long sinful practices and at bringing down the perpetrators and their supporters.

Hollywoodgate is just the tip of the iceberg; USgate might be up next.

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MF/MG