I love a good bar. I especially love a good open bar. You know who else loves an open bar? This alliterate B+ list mostly television actress. I usually bump her up to A- when we drink because she lets me ask her about things. If I ever see her away from a bar, she is pretty aloof and shy and runs away as fast as she can from anything to do with any kind of talking other than what she is working on.
She said during our most recent bar conversation that she was upset. Not so much for herself because she had made her peace with it, but that one of the people she knows had spoken out and made a complaint about an A list show runner from a very hit now defunct cable show. That person had gone on the record and the trades ran the story. The thing is though, they never followed through. Her friend stuck her neck out and nothing happened. There were no consequences for the show runner other than a bit of bad press. As for the whistleblower? She is like a pariah in town now.
Now, I knew there was more to this and she knew I knew, but I went and asked it in an innocuous way, but not where we would have to tap dance around it for an hour before we got to the interesting stuff. Yes, our actress was harassed by him. Yes, he tried to make her look horrible on the show when she wouldn't sleep with him. Yes, he cut her part. Yes, he wrote her out of episodes when he felt like being vindictive or someone else would sleep with him. Yes, she hates him. Yes, she tries to tell as many people as possible. She just won't go on the record yet because she is scared what happened to the other woman will happen to her.
So, he has slipped through the cracks.
She said during our most recent bar conversation that she was upset. Not so much for herself because she had made her peace with it, but that one of the people she knows had spoken out and made a complaint about an A list show runner from a very hit now defunct cable show. That person had gone on the record and the trades ran the story. The thing is though, they never followed through. Her friend stuck her neck out and nothing happened. There were no consequences for the show runner other than a bit of bad press. As for the whistleblower? She is like a pariah in town now.
Now, I knew there was more to this and she knew I knew, but I went and asked it in an innocuous way, but not where we would have to tap dance around it for an hour before we got to the interesting stuff. Yes, our actress was harassed by him. Yes, he tried to make her look horrible on the show when she wouldn't sleep with him. Yes, he cut her part. Yes, he wrote her out of episodes when he felt like being vindictive or someone else would sleep with him. Yes, she hates him. Yes, she tries to tell as many people as possible. She just won't go on the record yet because she is scared what happened to the other woman will happen to her.
So, he has slipped through the cracks.
January Jones again?
ReplyDeleteJanuary Jones
ReplyDeleteMatthew Weiner
And it pissed me off because GODDAMMIT.
ReplyDelete#teambetty
Yep, Weiner and January Jones
ReplyDelete"She is scared what happened to the other woman, will happen to her."
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why the cycle continues
+1 Montana and Sarah
ReplyDeletehttp://variety.com/2017/tv/news/matthew-weiner-sexual-harassment-marti-noxon-kater-gordon-1202617591/
This blind screamed January Jones and Mad Men.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused, simply because Weiner's accuser's public statement seems to have occurred this past November, but she doesn't appear to have worked since 2009.
ReplyDeleteDid she also accuse him back in 2009 and has since been blackballed (by everyone?!)? Does (did?) Weiner really have that much power?
I always listened to Weiner's commentary on Mad Men and my gaydar always went off about him, not that there is anything wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteThat would be Kater Gordon, A writer who worked on Mad Men with Weiner.
ReplyDeleteShe ....." alleges while working together late one night in 2008, Weiner said she owed it to him to let him see her naked. A PR rep for Weiner reiterated the statement he gave to the Information: “He does not remember saying this comment nor does it reflect a comment he would say to any colleague.” (Source:Variety)
I don't normally have much sympathy for the media, but if the trades ran the story, what more are they supposed to do? Run it again? Keep running it until....what? It seems like they did their job for once. Maybe they'd run the stories again, with more gusto, if a bigger-name actress went on the record to back up the first one. I understand why she doesn't want to do that, but that's what it's going to take to turn stories like this into more than a little bad press.
ReplyDeleteStrange, her departure coincided with when I stopped watching.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Kater, she never filed a complaint (at least not at that time). It is possible she was quietly blacklisted for not doing what Wiener wanted, but it seems she just left the industry after that experience. I do believe her and January.
ReplyDeleteJust in case, is there anyone else this fits besides January Jones and Mad Men? People are right, it's not a perfect fit.
ReplyDeleteIt is a perfect fit. JJ's description sounds exactly like what happened with her character. And fans noticed when Betty would be gone for several episodes in a row, even when it would make sense for her to be there.
DeleteAnd the way Betty suddenly got fat one year? It was not just because of her pregnancy, the fatsuit was ridiculous and went on for too long. That's Weiner being vindictive.
One of my all time fav shows. I had read that Jessica pares original role turned into a major role after sleeping w him. Never understood her huge part, she can’t act and I never cared for her or the storyline.
ReplyDeleteZou Bisou Bisou
DeleteUgh, god I hated her, that damned song, and her entire storyline.
DeleteMeant to say original minor role
ReplyDeleteSo, it sounds like Gordon is essentially 'unhireable' now.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why the cycle continues.
People often ask, "Why didn't she say something?"
Here is your answer. smdh GRRRR
Her work suffered after the incident, she lost confidence or drive or whatever. People noticed but didn't know why and her declining performance was seen at the time as the reason she faded from the industry.
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly did this guy do to JJ that is a crime?
ReplyDeleteThe problem with all this #me too is most of this is impossible to prove and then what do you do? Did he limit her opportunities? Maybe. So what? Isn't that the risk of life? Life isn't fair missy. Move on and make something of yourself or get out of an industry that is basically rewarding you only for your sexual attractiveness. It's a sad state of Holllywood but I'm fairly certain it has always been this way and isn't changing anytime soon, just going deeper underground.
Speaks the patriarchy.
Delete#metoo
+1
DeleteSexual harassment is ok if it's not a crime? Continuing with the status quo, despite discrimination against a minority group, is ok because "that's what you can expect"?
Delete"Patriarchy" is right.
100% about Mad Men and Matthew Weiner. It's an open secret that he's a horrible, vindictive boss. Marti Noxon even (Sort of) corroborated Gordon's claims.
ReplyDeleteI do think the claims slipped through because I believe it may have even leaked the same day as Louis CK's thing, so everyone was focused on that. My guess is that it will re-surface when his new show for Amazon airs (which I think is this year?)
I've been wanting to watch Mad Men again- it's one of the best shows ever, but it'll be hard to not see Don and all his flaws as an avatar for Weiner, who basically wrote the whole show himself.
Also, kinda off topic, but regarding Gordon's work declining- I've been rewatching Boardwalk Empire lately and remembering how Paz got fired for acting erratic constantly on set. She was probably acting that way because she had just been raped by Weinstein (as in, the dates match up). So sad.
Chase - that is called workplace sexual harassment. And, it's not just in entertainment.
ReplyDeleteThere's a real easy method to examine it, imagine someone doing the same thing to your daughter. Would you punch them in the face or not care?
ReplyDeleteseriously folks, if your name was 'Weiner'...wouldn't you change it...i mean really.
ReplyDeleteHm, i wonder who slept with him....
ReplyDelete"or someone else would sleep with him"
Penelope, I was thinking of Jessica Pare as well..i wonder if Christina and Elizabeth also slept with him? they both remained on the show until the end with big parts.
ReplyDeletei didn't know anything about this, but i certainly did think someone hated her on 'mad men.' they made her be obese on one season, which i know she must have hated. it didn't even seem plausible that this would happen, if you knew betty at all.
ReplyDeletethis is just sad.
Whoever “hated” her on “Mad Men”, I wonder if they only tried to hurt her character or if they tried to physically harm the actress IRL too.
DeleteI’ve seen a theatre director who once made an actress (who wouldn’t reciprocate to his sexual advances) dance on a piece of slippery cloth over a wooden floor (she could’ve fell).
All true but January Jones killed it. She was great in that role every year, even in the fatsuit. On the other hand, every scene w Jessica pare reminded me of the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. So in the end, JJ won.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Mad Men was running, I heard his writing staff were predominantly female and in their 30s. I thought it was odd.
ReplyDeletePeople who'd lived through those years were still alive although they'd be in their 60s or 70s. Surely writers who'd lived through the 1960s would have jumped at the chance to work on Mad Men.
If it's true that Matt Weiner was hitting on his female staff, would explain the gender and ages of his writing team.
This has to be JJ and MW. He wrote Betty as this gorgeous angel in the first couple of seasons and then put her in a fat suit and threw her character to the wolves. Only thing that ever made up for it is the episode where Don and Betty go to camp and end up sleeping together. I could not stand Megan. Jessica Pare was no star. Alluring at times but that's about it. Christina Hendricks has more sex appeal in her pinky than Jessica Pare during that ridiculous french dance.
ReplyDeleteI remember those days! But I wasn’t on CDAN back then so I had no idea/never suspected it was a symptom of abuse of power on set (yes, they do mess with your roles—it happens).
DeleteGlad some of her fans noticed, though. 💛
@Silly, probably all the women on the show whom he found attractive, and the men too if he swung that way.
ReplyDeleteThat's the bottom line of all this: if you want success in Hollywood, you have sex with the people in charge. Maybe not at every company, but at many of them, including some of the most powerful ones, whose disapproval passed through the grapevine can kill a career. There was a blind here just a day or two ago about an Oscar-winning actress who used sex to win her last two roles over younger actresses.
Sex is the currency. I don't mean by that that everyone trades in it willingly, but it's hard to sort that out. That's why other industries have ruled out boss-employee fraternization entirely, but Hollywood wrote itself an exemption from that particular aspect of modern culture.
I don't have much of a gaydar, but I have a crazydar and January Jones is in the red. She is gorgeous - even more today than in years past, but wow, she sounds nuts.
ReplyDeleteSays the patriarchy 🙄
DeleteWell, that sucks. He is incredibly talented. Too bad he's an asshole.
ReplyDelete@Nature Girl -- YES! I would totally change my last name if it were Weiner!! The company I used to work for had an employees with the last name "Rape." I mean, come on!!!!!
ReplyDelete"If it's true that Matt Weiner was hitting on his female staff, would explain the gender and ages of his writing team."
ReplyDeleteOr just the fact that they don't like to hire old people.
Just a wild guess, but how about Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, Castle?
ReplyDelete"Slipped through the cracks".... a very unfortunate title for a Blind about sexual assault...
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely Mad Men. I couldn't believe what happened to JJ's character on that show (one of the best characters IMO) but now it makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteI always thought Christina Hendricks career would take off after MM
ReplyDeleteBut no
@ B626.... but if you think about it aside from the actress that played Peggy and the odd role Jon Hamm gets who else has done anything outside of that series? I know Christina Hendricks has been in quite a few Nicholas Windin Refn films and just seen her in a horror movie and she was great.
ReplyDelete@anonanon Alison Brie who played Trudy Campbell stars in GLOW and she’s had several other roles since MM. I loved her as Trudy, she was fantastic.
DeleteChristina was in hap and Leonard, she is in good girls now, which is great, and I saw her in a British whodunit recently. I remember when I saw January in a fat suit, thinking she must have made the writers and about something.
ReplyDeleteI read Weiner used the book "The Girls in the Office" by Jack Olsen which was published in 1972. If you are a Mad Men fan this is a fascinating read about women working in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteExplains the fat suit and that he made the most beautiful woman on the show hideous for one (2?) seasons? Then he killed her off.
ReplyDeleteHe failed though. Everyone still loves Betty.