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Nothing lights up the Twitterverse like the meteoric rise and/or fall of a celebrity or celebrity-wannabe. And that’s just what happened when Jonathan Majors, an up-and-coming Hollywood star, was arrested on charges of assaulting a woman said to be his girlfriend. Some feared he was being punished even before he has the chance to prove his innocence. Others complained that the charges weren’t being taken seriously enough because domestic violence victims are often dismissed. Meanwhile, his lawyers have said he’s innocent and claim there’s video to prove it.
Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence takes a look at all sides while wondering what we’ve learned in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Over the weekend, actor Jonathan Majors’ banner year in Hollywood was interrupted by an arrest for domestic violence. The NYPD booked the 33-year-old star of the most recent Creed and Ant-Man sequels on charges of strangulation, assault, and harassment of a 30-year-old woman believed to be Majors’ girlfriend. Now, although she reportedly was treated in a hospital with injuries to her head and neck, the very next day Majors’ attorney said the woman recanted her police statement twice and that video of the incident shows that Majors did nothing wrong.
Now while I’m not here to convict Majors, as the criminal justice system must still play out, I am concluding that our society still has so much work to do as it concerns understanding how abuse works. The online conversations surrounding the allegations against Majors were abhorrent. It’s like folks slept through #MeToo. For example, two filmmakers came forward on Twitter indicating that Majors has a history of toxic behavior that was known in his circles at Yale and in his theater groups. Now, these men were unwilling to share names of individuals that Majors had allegedly harmed and they were condemned for it.
Some people demanded to know why they didn’t come forward sooner; others spewed hate. One of the filmmakers reported experiencing threats and “queer-phobic” comments. The other filmmaker shut down his Twitter account shortly after, that is, Disney’s Marvel (which made the Ant-Man sequel) started following him.
Regardless of the veracity of those filmmakers’ remarks about Majors, how they were treated is exactly why people do not come forward about abusers. Our society punishes individuals who speak out more than we punish the alleged abuser, particularly when they’re celebrities.
