The Casting Couch statue on Hollywood Boulevard (Plastic Jesus/Twitter)Talking to a British newspaper on the eve of the Academy Awards or the Oscars, Ben Brafman, one of the top criminal defence attorney’s in the United States has said that women having sex with producers to advance their careers cannot be termed as ‘rape’, reports The Straits Times. Brafman represents disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein who is currently facing allegations of sexual misconduct and improper behaviour from over a 100 women.
If a woman decides that she needs to have sex with a Hollywood producer to advance her career and actually does it and finds the whole thing offensive, that’s not rape.Bret Brafman
Rubbishing the claims of sexual harassment, Brafman said that women who sleep with men in order to further their careers made a ‘conscious choice’ to do something ‘personally offensive’.
Weintstein is currently under investigation by authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom, although no charges have been filed against him yet.
While Weinstein was not welcomed at the Oscars, a statue of his – seeking to discredit him – titled ‘The Casting Counch’ by a group called Plastic Jesus was unveiled at the Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.