The past year has been a harrowing and eye opening time for the entertainment world. A variety of powerful Hollywood men have been accused of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to assault. And while this wave has ruined the careers of many and started an important dialogue, it started with the Harvey Weinstein scandal. The formerly acclaimed producer has been accused of sexual misconduct by a variety of women, one of the most vocal being Oscar winning actress Mira Sorvino. Sorvino's reports about Weinstein's harassment were in the breaking story, but it appears she's been suffering from incidents like this at an even earlier age in the business. The Romy and Michelle icon recently revealed a time she was reportedly mistreated in an audition as a teenage actress, saying:
In order to scare me for this horror movie scene, he tied me to a chair, he bruised my arm, and I was 16 years old, and then he gagged me, and I was all game because I'm trying to be scared for the scene. And at the end he takes the gag out of my mouth and he said, 'Sorry for the prophylactic,' so he had gagged me with a condom. It was so inappropriate, and what the heck was a casting director doing with a condom in his pocket in an audition?
Well, this is disturbing. Coaching child actors is no doubt a challenge, but a casting director going so far and being physical with a 16 year old actress is certainly on another level. While Mira Sorvino didn't name any names in regards to the individual or movie, this harrowing story illustrates the systematic problem that seems to exist within the entertainment world.
Mira Sorvino's comments come from her recent appearance on the The HFPA in Conversation podcast. When talking about her career, Sorvino opened up about the types of sexual harassment she'd been subjected to from her decades in the business. And while her accusations against Harvey Weinstein are perhaps more high profile, this recent story shows that Sorvino has been dealing with inappropriate treatment for a long time.
Following the myriad accusations made against Harvey Weinstein, he was eventually arrested in May on rape charges, and posted a $1 million bail. Aside from the criminal proceedings currently happening against Weinstein, his downfall also proved as a catalyst for a ton of other similar accusations. Actor Kevin Spacey was notably fired from House of Cards after actor Anthony Rapp alleged he was sexually harassed by the actor as a teenager. And when crew members also came out with stories about Spacey, Frank Underwood was written out of the show for its final season. Other figures who have been accused of sexual misconduct include Louis C.K., Brett Ratner, and Danny Masterson.
While Harvey Weinstein allegedly tried to blacklist Mira Sorvino, she's got a few projects coming up, with eight projects currently filming, in the can, or in pre-production on her IMDB page. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
