In an interview on Sunday, actor Elijah Wood claimed that Hollywood has a pedophilia crisis. He said that the business has a history of scandals and abuse, and that such abuse is probably still happening among Hollywood’s elite. However, he later pointed out that he does not have any firsthand experience with it.

Fortunately for Wood, he was protected by his parents when he broke onto the scene as a child, but not everyone is as lucky. Wood stated:

If you’re innocent, you have very little knowledge of the world and you want to succeed. People with parasitic interests will see you as their prey. What upsets me about these situations is that the victims can’t speak as loudly as the people in power.

Elijah Wood: 'Hollywood in the grip of child abuse scandal similar to Jimmy Savile' https://t.co/sQD7SaIuVn pic.twitter.com/QZA4gNVeR2

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 23, 2016

In 2013, actor Corey Feldman released a book detailing how he and Corey Haim were repeatedly sexually abused during their careers as child actors in the 80s, and made to believe it was normal. He said that the number one problem in Hollywood is, and always will be, pedophilia.

Elijah Wood’s comments come only a few weeks after Woody Allen’s son Ronan Farrow wrote a piece published in the Hollywood Reporter about his father and the danger of not asking uncomfortable questions. His sister Dylan Farrow has accused their father of sexual abuse and has not received much public support. But big-time screen actors and media personalities keep working with Allen, seemingly looking the other way.

Sexual assault allegations against Woody Allen were not completely swept under the red carpet in Cannes this time. https://t.co/6bgsCtydQA

— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 18, 2016

Allen married his  former partner Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter in 1997; she is 35 years younger than him. Allen’s marriage to Soon-Yi Previn was quite the scandal and has led many to believe that the theme of a young woman being courted by a much older man, which frequently has recurred in many of his movies, could be an autobiographical one.

In the reviews of his latest film during the Cannes Film Festival, the storyline was actually criticized and accused of lacking in innovation because it, once again, featured a young woman seduced by an older man. Journalists did finally ask some difficult questions about Allen’s romantic history, and the French comedian who led the opening ceremony of the gala made a very uncomfortable joke when talking about Allen, saying it was “very nice” that he had shot “so many movies in Europe, even if you are not being convicted for rape in the US.” This was reportedly meant to be a reference to Roman Polanski who was accused of rape in California back in 1978, but was still viewed as a hit against Allen.

In recent years more people have spoken up about sexual abuse cases propagated by Hollywood elite. On Tuesday morning, Bill Cosby went to court for an indecent assault case filed against him in December last year, one of a number of accusations against him. But Ronan Farrow’s statement as well as Elijah Wood’s comments about the topic are further reminders that Hollywood should wake up and do more about a traumatizing problem that is rarely spoken about in the open.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Does Hollywood Have a Pedophilia and Sexual Abuse Problem? appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to the RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through the top five controversial and crazy stories in the world of law and policy each day. So who is ranting and who is raving today? Check it out below:

George Zimmerman Auctioning off Gun Used to Kill Trayvon Martin

Yes, you read that right. The listing for the 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol used to kill Martin went live today on gunbroker.com. The starting bid? $5,000. The news has inspired many passionate people. Some are outraged by the fact that the DOJ returned the gun to Zimmerman, others are anxious to get their hands on it. All proceeds, however, will not be going to Zimmerman’s own fortune but to “fight BLM (Black Lives Matter) violence against Law Enforcement officers” as well as “ensure the demise of … Hillary Clinton’s anti-firearm rhetoric.” Yep. 

National Parks open to proposal of corporate sponsorships

National Parks may soon have corporate sponsors: https://t.co/FoAwfmiRFX pic.twitter.com/pWud0nIQYk

— The Daily Dot (@dailydot) May 12, 2016

America’s national parks are insanely broke. It’s sad because a lot of that land is used to preserve natural monuments and precious wildlife. But there is a solution: to allow for limited corporate sponsorship, meaning corporations could fund national parks in exchange for marketing plugs. The proposal is still up for heated debate but you can see some national treasures reimagined with popular brands here.

Europe’s leaders diss Trump and it’s kind of beautiful

If the leaders of the world made a “Mean Girls” movie, it would look something like this. Sadiq Khan, newly elected mayor of London and Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, have teamed up against Trump and it is literally squad goals.

Bye, bye Regina George, I mean, Trump.

Hillary Clinton’s Awkward Email Scandal Continues

Listen, we’ve all been there. We’ve lost emails, accidentally deleted them, sent them to the wrong person, wiped servers, and burned them in gallons of kerosene. But when you’re Secretary of State, the whole correspondence thing is taken way more seriously. This time it isn’t Clinton but Clinton’s IT staffer who has come under scrutiny for a year’s worth of email files gone missing. The State Department says it can’t find the file. So, either they’re incompetent or someone’s trying to keep something under wraps. The scandal continues to be a huge vulnerability for the Clinton campaign, and one which it refuses to truly respond to the press about.

Four years’ worth of State Department emails from Clinton’s top IT staffer, Bryan Pagliano, can’t be found#Hillary pic.twitter.com/8sK0ym6YLi

— ginny j. (@ncginny) May 10, 2016

Woody Allen’s son not buying into Woody Allen’s innocence amidst abuse allegations

Anyone who’s seen a Woody Allen film would find it hard to believe that the famous director is facing allegations of sexual abuse. How could you, given that no one really talks about it?

But this week, Rowan Farrow, Woody Allen’s estranged son, blasted the film community in a Hollywood Reporter piece for remaining silent and continue to praise Allen, despite the abuse he allgedly inflicted on his daughter. The Hollywood Reporter has since been banned from the Cannes’ Luncheon. What do you think?

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: May 12, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

On Monday, Parisian fashion house Maison Martin Margiela announced that industry pariah John Galliano would take over as its new creative director. The former creative director of Dior has been attempting to make a comeback since he was caught on film going on an anti-Semitic rant back in 2011. Subsequently, Galliano was dismissed from his positions at both Dior and his own namesake line. But now that he’s back in the couture game, everyone can’t help but ask the age-old question: is it possible to separate art from the artist?

One of the most ubiquitous examples of a controversial man behind beautiful works is Woody Allen. There’s no arguing the classic status of Allen’s films but — especially recently when Dylan Farrow finally spoke out about her estranged father molesting her — people sometimes have trouble appreciating them knowing that a man with a weird fetish for underaged girls is the brain behind the masterpiece. That said, will the industry be able to forget, but maybe not necessarily forgive, Galliano’s transgressions come next couture season?

Galliano is hardly the only controversial figure in the industry. Fellow couturier Karl Lagerfeld is notorious for his sexist actions from his recent faux-feminist show to comments he’s made about women’s bodies like the singer Adele. But not everyone can get away with such aloof behavior. Activewear brand Lululemon’s CEO Chip Wilson resigned shortly after coming under fire for a comment he made about some women being too fat to properly fit into his leggings, and let’s not forget about American Apparel founder Dov Charney finally getting his just deserts for sexually harassing employees.

However, in the case of Galliano and Lagerfeld, as unacceptable as their behavior is they never physically hurt anyone like alleged sexual offenders Dov Charney and Woody Allen. So there aren’t necessarily any laws against such bigoted actions.

Ultimately, artistic minds like Galliano’s and Lagerfeld’s are very different from the average person’s in that they may not always be aware of the social ramifications of their actions. I’m not trying to excuse their behavior by any means. But whenever I hear Lagerfeld say ridiculous things about women I can’t help but roll my eyes and chuckle a little, because I know he has absolutely no perception of the real world. Galliano also allegedly blamed his abuse of alcoholism and drug abuse (which definitely fueled his inappropriate rants) on the pressures of running two couture houses. These artists tend to live in their own bubbles, only interacting with a select few people who let them get away with their odd behavior, because they are the genius masterminds who pay their paychecks. Quirky artists have the potential to offer so much joy in our lives, but sometimes you may have to look past their odd behavior and just appreciate their work for what it is.

Since getting the boot from the industry, Galliano has attempted to make his way back in. He tried a residency at Oscar de la Renta and a guest professorship at Parsons the New School for Design, but all have fallen through because the public was still not ready to forgive him. So is the industry ready for Galliano to return to the couture scene? Only time will tell.

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Is the Fashion Industry Ready to Forgive Anti-Semite John Galliano? appeared first on Law Street.

Folks, what is going on with Woody Allen these days?

In case you’ve missed all the drama amid the #SochiFailympics, here’s a quick recap of what’s been happening. Woody Allen was given a lifetime achievement award at The Golden Globes last month, to which his ex, Mia Farrow, and her son, Ronan, responded with this:

Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS

— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) January 13, 2014

Missed the Woody Allen tribute – did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?

— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 13, 2014

Some passive aggressive Twitter rage, I see! Understandable, considering Woody Allen allegedly molested Dylan Farrow, daughter and sister of the two subtweeting Farrows. Of course, the world exploded. Along with the responses of a handful of celebrities and everyone on Twitter, Dylan spoke out for herself.

Detailing the trauma of childhood sexual assault at the hands of a celebrity in an open letter published in the New York Times, Dylan wrote, “[I] imagine your seven-year-old daughter being led into an attic by Woody Allen. Imagine she spends a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name. Imagine a world that celebrates her tormenter…Woody Allen is a living testament to the way our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and abuse.”

That’s some powerful, powerful shit. Not that it shut down any of the men’s rights, Woody Allen apologists for half a second.

First there was this op-ed, by Woody Allen’s BFF. Its nauseating smugness actually makes me want to barf. Then, there was Woody Allen’s own response, in which he minimizes and distorts his own douchebaggery to smear his ex Mia as a loony-tune woman scorned. On the same day, Vanity Fair published a list of fully fact-checked, indisputable truths about the highly contested case, and then, one day later, Dylan issued her own re-response.

Phew. It’s been a rough few weeks for the Farrows and the Allens and all of us in between. You think your own family feuds are intense? At least they don’t play out in the news, am I right?

THANK GOODNESS.

But despite the fact that I’m trying to keep this light, this Woody Allen/Dylan Farrow fiasco is no joke. This is some serious, serious shit. Especially because what really happened in that attic is so hotly contested.

Folks, a lot has been written about this case, and here’s what most of it comes down to — none of us were there. As third-party bystanders, all of our information is secondhand. So, we each have to choose what to believe, for ourselves.

You can choose to believe Woody and his story about a vengeful, manipulative ex-girlfriend who’s willing to psychologically abuse her children in order to get back at him.

Or, you can believe Dylan and her story about a creepy father who assaulted her and then proceeded to launch a smear campaign against his victim and her family.

I know which story I find more plausible.

But, these conflicting stories aside, we’re still left with some simple, disturbing facts. Even if nothing at all had happened between Dylan and Woody — even if there were no allegations — he still wound up in a romantic relationship with his girlfriend’s daughter. Woody was 56 and dating Mia Farrow when he got involved with Soon-Yi, the 19-year-old adopted sister of his children Ronan and Dylan.

That’s fucking creeptastic.

Despite the widespread reports that Woody and Soon-Yi enjoy a healthy, egalitarian marriage, Allen’s willingness to get involved with his girlfriend’s teenaged, adopted daughter speaks volumes about his character.

He’s a man who either has no sense of boundaries within a relationship, or doesn’t seriously concern himself with them. He’s a man with poor judgment and little impulse control. He’s a man who cares little for anything but his own selfish pursuit of happiness. He isn’t bothered by the disturbing, unequal power dynamic that’s present in a relationship between a 56-year-old cultural kingpin and a 19-year-old adoptee. And he doesn’t feel a mental and emotional gulf between himself and someone more than 30 years his junior — a gulf that should absolutely be present.

And he’s celebrated. Woody Allen is one of the most beloved culture creators of our generation — this man, who’s undeniably fucked up in ways that seriously harmed those closest to him. Meanwhile, Dylan — the victim here — has to live in the shadows, emotionally scarred, or risk being attacked, shamed, and smeared.

So, what does our cultural obsession with Woody Allen say about us? I’ll tell you.

It says that we don’t mind a creepy, emotionally stunted, hurtful, abusive man, so long as he’s rich and white and amusing. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and immortalize him with laughs and admiration.

But the people he destroys along the way? They can pretty much go fuck themselves.

I’m not a fan of that. Are you?

—

Hannah R. Winsten (@HannahRWinsten) is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York’s sixth borough. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow.

Featured image courtesy of [ABC Films (eBay, Lester Glassner Collection) via Wikipedia]

Hannah R. Winsten

Hannah R. Winsten is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York’s sixth borough. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow. Contact Hannah at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Woody Allen: Dating Your Girlfriend’s Daughter is Kind of a Big Deal appeared first on Law Street.