Women Celebrities Who Victim-Blame Women Sexual Assault Survivors

Women Celebrities Who Victim-Blame Women Sexual Assault Survivors

(this post has been edited since it was originally published to add new names or links)

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I so far have not seen any male celebrities engage in victim-blaming, but I’ve seen about 3 or 4 women celebrities do so.

It’s beyond me how a woman (famous or not) can fault a woman for having been raped or sexually harassed.

But they’ve done so. A few have later apologized.

So far, actress Pamela Anderson has not only not apologized for her victim blaming comments (comments which she insists are not victim blaming – but they ultimately are), but she refuses to apologize, and I disagree with her views on this.

Some women may be too young, naive, or trusting, and that is no excuse for a pervert such as a Harvey Weinstein to exploit that and sexually abuse them, but Anderson is basically saying they are to blame for being naive or too trusting or for lacking life experience.

A note to actress Kirstie Alley (link to her victim blaming comments farther below):

If Alley is wanting to know why women do not accuse their rapists or harassers immediately, right on the spot after being propositioned or groped, and so on:

Some women do not confront their workplace abusers at all, or not for until many years later, because many women are too afraid to do so immediately.  They are often in shock or experiencing emotional trauma.

They may be afraid their abuser may rape them again right then and there, kill them, cause other physical injury, or get them fired from their job.

Furthermore, a lot of women, especially younger ones, do not have the necessary self confidence and level of assertiveness to confront an abuser – many girls and women are brought up by their parents, any religion they are raised in, and the culture, to be docile, non-confrontational, and passive (this is how I was raised).

Boys and men in our culture are often encouraged to be out-spoken, confrontational, and bold, while girls and women are often punished, ostracized, or discouraged from having those qualities – qualities which are necessary ones to confront abusers face- to- face.

From Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: The Silence Breakers

Nearly all of the people TIME interviewed about their [sexual harassment] experiences expressed a crushing fear of what would happen to them personally, to their families or to their jobs if they spoke up.

For some, the fear was borne of a threat of physical violence. Pascual felt trapped and terrified when her harasser began to stalk her at home, but felt she was powerless to stop him. If she told anyone, the abuser warned her, he would come after her or her children.

Those who are often most vulnerable in society—immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, low-income workers and LGBTQ people—described many types of dread. If they raised their voices, would they be fired? Would their communities turn against them? Would they be killed?

Juana Melara, who has worked as a hotel housekeeper for decades, says she and her fellow housekeepers didn’t complain about guests who exposed themselves or masturbated in front of them for fear of losing the paycheck they needed to support their families.

…Many of the people who have come forward also mentioned a different fear, one less visceral but no less real, as a reason for not speaking out: if you do, your complaint becomes your identity.

(end quotes)

Here are some of the women celebrities who have engaged in victim-blaming ever since the Harvey Weinstein story broke:

Lindsay Lohan (August 2018)

Lindsay Lohan Criticizes #MeToo Accusers: ‘It Makes Them Look Weak’

Lindsay Lohan says that #MeToo accusers are doing it “for the attention” and look “weak” – by Karen Han

In a new interview, Lohan contributes to harmful rhetoric about sexual assault.

…Lohan is far from alone in this kind of thinking. In a nationwide survey conducted by Vox and Morning Consult in March, 27 percent of women said that they were “very” worried about men being falsely accused, with another 36 percent saying they were “somewhat” worried. In truth, only 2-6 percent of cases of sexual violence in Europe and in the US are found or suspected to be false.

In other words, concerns of making accusations “for the attention” aren’t supported by fact — but they are supported and perpetuated by statements like Lohan’s.

Lindsay Lohan thinks women who share their Me Too stories ‘look weak’

Lindsay Lohan’s rise and fall: From Disney darling to tabloid sensation

Lindsay Lohan faces backlash after saying Me Too movement makes women ‘look weak’– by Chris Riotta

The actress previously defended Harvey Weinstein while attacking his estranged wife for not ‘being there for him’

Lindsay Lohan is facing a backlash for criticising the Me Too movement, saying it makes women “look weak”.

…. Her comments were met with disdain on social media and media companies like Vox, which noted “Concerns of reporting sexual abuse ‘for the attention’ aren’t supported by fact — but they are supported and perpetuated by statements like Lindsay Lohan’s.”

Others decided it was the final straw for Ms Lohan, who has seen her fair share of backlash over controversial statements she made supporting producer and alleged rapist Harvey Weinstein.

“I held out ’til now because of The Parent Trap, but: Lindsay Lohan, you are cancelled,” Jenny Hollander, deputy editor ofMarie Claire, wrote on Twitter.

Lindsay Lohan slammed for saying #MeToo makes women ‘look weak’  

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN)Lindsay Lohan has come under fire for comments she made about the #MeToo movement.

In a recent interview with The Times, talk turned to Lohan’s “old-school attitude to on-set politics” and a story about the actress stripping down for a sex scene in the Paul Schrader-directed film, “The Canyons.”

The writer noted that Schrader also stripped when Lohan demured at doing so. Despite the experience, “Lohan claims to have had no negative, MeToo-worthy experiences working in the movies.”

“I don’t really have anything to say,” Lohan told the publication. “I can’t speak on something I didn’t live, right?”

Lohan added she is “very supportive of women” but “can’t go along with the ‘attention-seekers’ or trial by social media,” according to The Times.

“If it happens at that moment, you discuss it at that moment,” Lohan said. “You make it a real thing by making it a police report. I’m going to really hate myself for saying this, but I think by women speaking against all these things, it makes them look weak when they are very strong women. You have these girls who come out, who don’t even know who they are, who do it for the attention. That is taking away from the fact that it happened.”
The remarks were met with backlash.

[Page has embedded by various people criticizing Lohan’s remarks]

Lindsay Lohan slams #MeToo accusers as ‘weak’

By Jessica Sager

Lindsay Lohan has little sympathy for the victims of alleged sexual misconduct who’ve come forward in the #MeToo movement without filing police reports.

“Everyone goes through their own experiences in their own ways. If it happens at that moment, you discuss it at that moment,” Lohan, 32, told The Times. “You make it a real thing by making it a police report.”

She added, “I’m going to really hate myself for saying this, but I think by women speaking against all these things, it makes them look weak when they are very strong women. You have these girls who come out, who don’t even know who they are, who do it for the attention. That is taking away from the fact that it happened.”

She did note, however, “I can’t speak on something I don’t live, right? Look, I am very supportive of women.”

Lohan, who accused ex Egor Tarabasov of domestic violence during their relationship, added, “I had a fight with my ex on this very beach. What did I do? Nothing. I just took over the beach. The best revenge is success, right?”

It’s not the first time Lohan has shamed survivors and accusers of sexual harassment and assault.

In October 2017, the “I Know Who Killed Me” star released a video defending Harvey Weinstein and urging his then-wife Georgina Chapman to stand up for him in light of alaundry list of sexual assault and harassment allegations against him.

Lindsay Lohan Apologizes for Criticizing #MeToo

But after days of sustained backlash, Lindsay Lohan is now apologizing for her comments.

“I would like to unreservedly apologize for any hurt and distress caused by a quote in a recent interview with The Times,” Lohan told People in a statement, according to PageSix.

“The quote solely related to my hope that a handful of false testimonies out of a tsunami of heroic voices do not serve to dilute the importance of the #MeToo movement, and all of us who champion it. However, I have since learned how statements like mine are seen as hurtful, which was never my intent. I’m sorry for any pain I may have caused,” Lohan added.

The 32-year-old actress also said that she feels “very strongly” about the #MeToo movement and admires the women who have come forward about their experiences.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik Apologizes (for Real This Time) for Her Victim-Blaming Op-Ed

Mayim Bialik Apologizes After Being Accused of Victim-Blaming Sexual Adult Survivors

Mayim Bialik Apologizes for Her Controversial Harvey Weinstein Op-Ed by Tolly Wright, October 18, 2017

Mayim Bialik has issued an apology on social media for the New York Times op-ed she wrote last week about being a “nontraditional looking” actress in Hollywood.

The Big Bang Theory star landed in hot water among some readers who were upset about the connections Bialik seemed to draw between her choice to dress modestly and how she has managed to escape three decades in the industry without an encounter like those detailed by Harvey Weinstein’s accusers.