01 November, 2017

Feeling gross about Bryan Singer

When Bryan Singer was first announced as the director of the upcoming biopic, my first thought was, "Maybe now this fucking thing will get made!" My second thought was, "Why do I feel really weird about Bryan Singer?"

Why I didn't look it up at the time, I don't know. I mean, I'm online like, ALL THE TIME, so you'd think I'd find the time to do a fucking Google search! Anyway, I follow him on Instagram because I want to be kept in the loop about the biopic. A week or so ago, I clicked on one of the pictures he posted (can't remember which one. Doesn't matter), and I was drawn to a comment calling him a pervert. I read a couple more comments saying pretty much the same thing, and that's when it felt like the wind got knocked out of me.

Bryan Singer was accused of sexually abusing a minor in 2014. His accuser had since dropped the lawsuit - which might help explain why it was lodged in the back of my mind, but this kind of thing should never be made to disappear. Sexual assault is one of the absolute worst things a person can do, and one of my rules in life is to always believe someone when they come forward.

Sexual assault is a pretty hot topic right now in the US. 64 people so far have come forward to say that film producer Harvey Weinstein has sexually assaulted them, and actor Kevin Spacey tried to deflect sexual abuse allegations recently by coming out as gay (as a queer man and assault survivor, I'd like to take this opportunity to say that Kevin Spacey is a fucking trash fire, and I have it on good authority that Spacey has harmed MANY boys and Anthony Rapp's situation was not a one-time accidental drunken slip-up. And I am not only livid about how all of those people have to live with that for the rest of their lives, I'm also livid that Spacey has tried to conflate homosexuality with pedophilia, and I'm furious at the entertainment industry as a whole for protecting people like Spacey (and Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Sean Penn, James Franco, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, music producer Dr. Luke - just to name a few). I'm furious that our society demands assault survivors provide every bit of proof even though it will never be enough, when the accused celebrity just simply needs to say, "I didn't do it,", and that's somehow fucking sufficient.

Anyway.

I've been wrestling with myself for days. Is it okay that I'm still excited about the biopic? Would I be indirectly enabling a child abuser if/when I go see and/or eventually buy the movie upon release? Would anyone involved with the film in any capacity continue working on it or allow Bryan Singer to work on it if his behavior wasn't swept under the rug by the most morally bankrupt legal teams and publicists money can buy?

I don't want to contribute to the idea that someone who creates content that brings me joy must be an infallible saint. I don't want to contribute to the silence and weight far too many of us carry because our society treats assault survivors of all genders like garbage.

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