Morgan Freeman is a creep and it's no surprise
Last week has been tumultuous in the context of the #MeToo movement in the world entertainment industry.
On May 23, during a New York Times roundtable with the cast of the critically acclaimed comedy show Arrested Development, a tearful Jessica Walter, while addressing how she was verbally abused by her co-star Jeffrey Tambor (he was fired from the comedy-drama series Transparent following a sexual harassment probe against him), revealed she was gaslighted by her other co-actors.
On May 24, a lengthy investigation by Observer found that a decades-old allegation of sexual assault against Star Trek actor and long-time LGBTQIA rights activist George Takei may have gone very differently from how it was presented — the victim has recanted several bits of his account.
On May 25, almost seven months after he was accused of sexual assault by more than 80 women, Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein surrendered to the New York City police.
But, perhaps, the news that has managed to grab the most attention came on May 24, when Morgan Freeman, a thespian par excellence, was accused of sexual misconduct, inappropriate behaviour and harassment by at least 16 women, a CNN investigation found.
For many, the revelation was a shocker.
Usually, when Morgan Freeman trends on social media, it is mostly hoaxes about the octogenarian’s death. Thursday's news left most people wishing for the former to have been true for a change.
Freeman’s fame as a masterful actor transcends borders. Across the globe, people continue to revel in the magnificence of the man’s voice (his deep baritone and his role in Bruce Almighty have earned him the moniker of God) and his art — for example, his power-packed performance as Red in Shawshank Redemption.
It is, perhaps, such attachments and memories that make it difficult for people to accept that the actor is now buried in ignominy, among the ranks of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, Louis CK and scores of other powerful men in the entertainment world who have misused their positions to sexually harass and get away with it.
As per the CNN report, of the 16 people who spoke to the news outfit, eight said they were victims of what some called Freeman’s harassment. Eight said they witnessed Freeman's alleged conduct. A pattern of inappropriate behaviour and misconduct — unwanted touching, making women uncomfortable with his gaze, unwarranted comments on clothes etc — leave no doubt that this is not simply a mole hill of an isolated incident that is being spun into a mountain.
A pattern, and a clear one at that, describes a man who was too confident of his power and believed he could get away with serial harassment.
In fact, at this point, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that powerful men continue to display this dominance in the form of sexual exploitation, trusting their influence and fame to act as a cover for them. A look at the list of men whose careers have managed to survive allegations of sexual harassment, molestation and even rape — TV scientist Neil DeGrasse Tyson being one of them — should suffice to explain why.
What it should also help us understand is, no name on any list should shock us.
Think of how the supposedly feminist actor, and an author of a book about modern relationships, Aziz Ansari failed to acknowledge the lack of consent and even the denial of consent of his partner; or how, recently, New York attorney Eric Schneiderman, a liberal champion of women’s rights, an outspoken figure in the #MeToo movement and a man who used his authority to take legal action against Harvey Weinstein, was accused by not one but four women of physical abuse.
Why is Morgan Freeman any better than any of them?
At the same time, our lack of surprise, if any, should be accompanied by our total lack of sadness.
Every time an artist is accused of problematic behaviour, the question of art versus artist manages to sneak in, often overshadowing the more important aspects of the conversation.
Should we watch Woody Allen films anymore? Are we supposed to laugh at Louis CK’s masturbation jokes now? We shouldn’t watch House of Cards (Kevin Spacey) or Arrested Development (Jeffrey Tambor) or Master of None (Aziz Ansari) or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Johnny Depp).
And it’s a legitimate feeling. In his Vulture essay, Matt Zoller Seitz calls this "cultural vandalism". "It’s not incumbent upon the audience to pretend not to know unpleasant facts about the performer so that they can enjoy fiction. It’s incumbent upon the artist never to put the audience in that position in the first place," he writes.
Morgan Freeman deserves neither our pity nor our sadness.