The Oscars Haven’t Adapted To The ‘Me Too’ Era

It was the first Oscars since Harvey Weinstein had been exposed, since things had supposedly changed. The first since the Golden Globes, when Hollywood’s most famous and best-dressed wore pins, discussed legal funds and said that time was up, this time would be different, forget about all that other stuff ― so sorry about the past.

Host Jimmy Kimmel addressed the industry’s harassment problem head-on in his monologue. Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek, and Annabella Sciorra ― three Weinstein accusers ― were allowed to stand together on stage and speak briefly and compactly about the Me Too movement, a polite nod to the changing world.

Yet, there they were, the accused rapist and the alleged wife beater. First, former NBA star Kobe Bryant accepted the award for Best Animated Short to raucous applause, while Mark Hamill, presenting the award, screamed “KOBEEEEEE” as if he’d just hit a game-winner in his backyard. Then, Gary Oldman, whose now ex-wife once accused him of hitting her with a phone, stood before the Academy with the award for Best Actor in hand. Bryant and Oldman had won for two projects so typical of the industry, so consonant with the basic corporate desires of powerful producers that they’re not clichéd so much as intrinsic, like a strand of DNA.

Source: huffingtonpost