Time's Up ain't Remembering the Times
Time’s Up ain’t Remembering the Times
When Kobe Bryant won Best Animated Short Film for his short Dear Basketball, the crowd at the 90th Academy Awards rose to give him a standing ovation.
This was the same crowd that supported the Time’s Up movement, as well as shunned the various men accused of sexaul assault, such as Harvey Weinstein and James Franco.
The Time’s Up movement was founded on 1 January 2018 by celebrities in Hollywood, notably Reese Witherspoon, Ashley Judd, and Jennifer Aniston [1]. It serves to shed light on the film industry’s abundant history of sexual assault, as well as to collect funds to support victims in legal proceedings. An outstanding show of support towards the movement was seen at the Golden Globes, where the vast majority of actresses wore black in solidarity with victims of sexual assault.
Yet this crowd, in applauding Bryant, disregarded the fact that he was once accused of rape by a nineteen year-old girl.
In 2003, Bryant stayed at The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Colorado, where he asked the nineteen year-old desk clerk to give him a private tour. Eventually, he invited her into his room where he allegedly raped her, despite her saying “no” twice. The victim’s blood was found on Kobe’s shirt, as well as her underwear. A nurse also found tears on the victim’s vaginal wall. She reported the incident to the police, leading to a lawsuit against Bryant.
Initially, the married basketball player denied ever having sex with the accuser. However, after police told him they had retrieved bodily fluids on the girl, he told them it was “totally consensual” [1]. In another court statement, he said, “Although I truly believe this encounter was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did” [2].
The case itself was handled unprofessionally, with both sides violating the gag order. The Eagle County court made private court documents public, leaking extremely personal information. The desk clerk’s name and image were slandered by the media, where she was painted as a fame-hungry, unstable woman who would do anything for attention. Her friends, acquaintances, and even strangers accepted money from media outlets to tell “stories”; some outright lied. Eventually, the accuser said she was unwilling to testify in court and the case was dropped. Bryant settled a civil lawsuit out of court in 2005 for an undisclosed amount, reportedly five million, but he denies paying her a cent.
There are many factors underlying the relative obscurity of Bryant’s sex scandal. The lack of fame of his accuser, the court leaks, and media involvement all played a huge part. But most importantly, Bryant is a mega-star~~—~~a 5-time NBA Champion, 2008 MVP, and holder of a multitude of NBA records. This case happened fourteen years ago—fourteen years to forget. With a generous endorsement from Nike, and his phenomenally successful career, it should come as no surprise most people haven’t even heard of this incident.
The reaction of celebrities to those accused of sexual assault poses important questions: how should one respond to sexual accusations? Are they automatically deemed the truth? Is it right to believe everything the alleged victim says? Sexual assault allegations are notoriously difficult to prove because tangible evidence is often unavailable, reducing trials to a “he said, she said” standard. Additionally, many assaults are reported long after they occur, making convictions that much tougher. That being said, it depends on the case itself when we decide whether to believe the injured party or not. Generally~~–,~~ –and especially in the case of celebrities~~–,~~ –the default response is to believe the accuser and immediately shun the accused. But is this really the best reaction?
The answers to all these questions are not ours to address. Each person has their own response to them. They lie in the vast grey area between black and white, especially when you never know if the truth will come out. In Hollywood, where fabrication is the way of life, distinguishing the truths from lies becomes near impossible. To say that the decisions are difficult is an understatement.
Time’s Up is a movement that prides itself on uncovering the dastardly deeds of powerful men in entertainment~~-~~ and shaming them for it. Though the cause is important, it is stuck in the present, focusing on the accusations that are only coming out now. What does it say about the people supporting the movement when they shun Ryan Seacrest, who had an informal assault accusation, but welcome Kobe Bryant, the focus of a full-blown court trial? Perhaps Bryant’s case was just old news; perhaps he already paid his public dues in 2003. Arguably, if Kobe Bryant’s case occurred today, he would have never won the Oscar. But even with this explanation, it nevertheless diminishes their entire case as a whole. After all, the accusations arising currently are coming out after years of silence. The allegations against Seacrest were over an incident that happened nearly a decade ago.
The movement seems to be confused in its beliefs and what it stands for. It needs to set the record straight—to make decisions and stick to them. To the movement we say, step up and say Time’s Up to your own hypocrisy.
[2] http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/kobe-bryant-wins-oscar-rape-accusations-article-1.3855351
