My Top Five Favorite Male Movie Actors list just took a hit. One of them is the latest suspect to be swept up in the #MeToo movement.
In the interest of full disclosure, I do not have a Top Five Favorite Female Movie Actors list, and it’s not because having one would make me nervous in the current anti-pig climate.
It’s because I can’t get the number down to five and because the list changes depending on my mood. But if I did have a female list, Helen Mirren would be No. 1, permanently.
Morgan Freeman (no. 2 on my male list) is the latest celebrity to be accused of sexually harassing women during his career of fame and power. Of all the people to be dragged into the fray, this one bothers me the most.
I’ve been a huge Freeman fan since the film “Glory.” He’s one of the few actors I’ll pay to watch a movie just because he’s in it.
Now I’m forced to see him in a different light. At least eight women have come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.
I don’t know if he’s guilty. It’s horrible for his accusers if he is, but it’s horrible for him if he isn’t. Either way, Freemen — who has apologized if anyone felt “uncomfortable or disrespected” by his behavior — is going down. Imagine having your life turned into hell just because someone says you did something that you didn’t.
BIG SPECIAL NOTE: Before you start, I am most definitely not saying that Freeman’s accusers are lying, or that the #MeToo movement isn’t warranted. OK? Pull your nails and teeth back in, because I honestly think I get it.
What I am saying is that, given how many inmates have been released from prison (including some who spent years waiting to be executed) when science proved their innocence, shouldn’t there be at least a little sign of caution in the rush to root out the guilty?
This isn’t about the validity or the necessity of #MeToo. It’s about people being driven by a burning passion to get justice regardless of the damage that may be caused to any innocents in the process.
If Freeman is later found blameless, is an apology going to be enough to undo the damage done to him? And what judgment should be levied against his accusers?
If you’re one of those who believe that collateral damage to innocent people is justified to get at the real perpetrators, then your talent is wasted. You need to be flying bombing missions over urban centers instead of posting rants on the internet.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I think this way because Freeman is the first person I respect to be accused of this kind of behavior. Hey, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t possibly care less if Harvey Weinstein was found at the bottom of a cliff tomorrow.
Then again, maybe you assume my call for caution is simply because I’m a man.
How could I possibly know what it’s like to be powerless before a monster and ashamed after being sexually harassed and/or violated?
And there it is — your own idiot assumption. How do you know I haven’t been?
