Words by Qadriyyah Brown
On Tuesday afternoon, actor Terry Crews felt galvanized to come out publicly about his own recent sexual assault from a powerful Hollywood executive, after story after story of sexual abuse from multiple women came out in relation to Harvey Weinstein.
After a series of tweets on Tuesday, Crews revealed that he was groped in his private parts by a male industry executive while attending an industry party last year. Crews’ wife was there as well and he tweeted that “jumping back I said what are you doing?! My wife saw everything n we looked at him like he was crazy. He just grinned like a jerk” he described. Terry was actually ready to physically jump the man but stopped himself because he knew the headline the next day would say “240 lbs. Black Man stomps out Hollywood Honcho”. The next day Crews went and talked to people who worked with the man (whom he still has not named), and he received an apology but not an explanation as to why. Terry said he “let it go” knowing if he didn’t he could be banished from the industry because this is an influential executive. Crews also tweeted that “I understand and empathize with those who have remained silent.”
On late Wednesday, “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek tweeted about Weinstein and being groped himself by a male executive. He also tweeted, “I understand the unwanted shame, powerlessness & inability to blow the whistle. There’s a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome.” Both men allegations bring up ostracizing, not just in Hollywood, but in the workplace. And it happens to both men and women. Victims of assault keep quiet out of fear of being black balled out of their respective industry and it is sometimes crucial for there to be a group of victims accusing a predator before a person may feel strong enough to even share what happened to them. People in power know that they can have an advantage over their victims because of their power and high level position.
Crews’ hope is that by sharing his story it “will deter a predator and encourage someone who feels hopeless.”
