Hollywood actresses encourage sexual predators by keeping mum

Washington: Many leading actresses, who have been asked for sexual favours in order to get coveted jobs in Hollywood, do not prefer naming the alleged sexual perpetrators, which is turn contributes to the problem, psychologists have claimed.

According to psychologists, some feel they do it because they want to “move on from that unpleasant experience”, while others do it not to defame the perpetrator. “Actors don’t name names for several reasons. Many times it is because they want to move on from that unpleasant experience, or perhaps they succumbed to it, or the ‘perpetrator’ was so huge that they do not want to defame that person because they think highly of their work,” Fox News quoted Nancy Irwin, a Los Angeles-based celebrity psychologist as saying. “Others don’t want to be labeled a ‘snitch’ or feel nobody will believe them because it is such a cliché. Sadly, the cliché does perpetuate, probably because the creative process in and of itself can be a seductive process, and the temptation is non-stop in Hollywood,” she said. Hollywood-based career strategist Suzannah Galland said that she hears many horror stories from friends who are top actresses. These victims don’t name names “out of fear,” but she says code of silence can turn tragic. “Two (friends) have told me of date rapes perpetrated by major male stars. In both cases, these women agreed to a friendly dinner,” Galland said. “One of these friends had no interest in a romantic relationship at all with the star that was pursuing her, and she made that clear to him. All the same she was in awe of the man’s talent, and happy to discuss possible roles with him. “An alliance would have been hugely helpful to her career. So she was trusting when he invited her after dinner to stop by his hotel, where he had a stack of scripts to show her. Once the door was shut, he raped her. ’I never told anybody,’ she explained to me, ‘because he is who he is and I was ashamed’,” she said. According to Irwin, by not revealing the predators, celebrities are contributing to the problem and putting others at risk of becoming the next victim. “I always encourage actors to file a complaint anonymously through the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) because they care about this issue deeply,” Irwin said. “It is up to talent to set the boundary and disallow abuse. If this happens enough, and SAG disciplines the abuser, hopefully they will seek the professional help they need to halt this inappropriate and damaging behaviour,” she added. ANI