Accounts of sexual misconduct, assault, and
even rape have rocked the entertainment industry over the last few months. Movie stars, directors, and producers have
all fallen under the weight of charges against them. The likes of Kevin Spacey, Louis CK, Harvey
Weinstein, and Brett Ratner have all been made to reckon with their past actions, and
have seen swift repudiation from the film industry. Spacey and Louis CK have seen their films
shelved (or dramatically altered via an emergency Christopher Plummer, in Spacey’s case),
and Weinstein will likely never produce again. Many believe that this could be a watershed
moment for the film industry, with the growing awareness of sexual misconduct leading to
a change in behavior. Hollywood, however, has been plagued by powerful
people who have taken advantage of their position for some time, and it seems unlikely to fully
change anytime soon. Here are 10 respected people in Hollywood
who turned out to be creeps… 10. Roman Polanski The acclaimed director of classic films like
Chinatown, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Pianist, Roman Polanski had to flee the United States
after being arrested for rape by use of drugs, sodomy, and several other atrocious charges
against a 13-year-old girl. The young girl, Samantha Geimer, was introduced
to Polanski through her mother who was an actress and model. Polanski asked Geimer’s mother if she could
participate in a private photo shoot for the French edition of Vogue. Geimer participated, with the consent of her
mother, and later testified that she felt uncomfortable at the shoot, with Polanski
asking her to pose topless. Nonetheless, Geimer agreed to participate
in a second shoot, which took place at Jack Nicholson’s home. During the photography session, Geimer testified
that Polanski gave her champagne, and a quaalude. Soon after, he suggested she pose on a bed,
and despite her protests, Polanski continued his advances. According to Geimer, Polanski then performed
oral, vaginal, and later anal sex after learning she was not on birth control. Geimer repeatedly asked for him to stop, but
because of the alcohol and drugs, she felt unable to fully control her faculties. Polanski was arrested and, under a plea agreement,
ordered to report to a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. Fearing that instead of probation he’d receive
jail time, Polanski fled the country and has been living in countries that refuse to extradite
him to the United States. 9. Woody Allen Another famous director known for irreverent
romantic comedies like Annie Hall and Manhattan, Woody Allen has had a long and storied career
working with the best actors in the industry while managing to reinvent the way comedy
was captured on the big screen. Despite his successes as an artist, Allen
has had several questions posed about his character. Dylan Farrow, an adopted daughter of Woody
and Mia Farrow, claimed that when she was left alone with the film director, he touched
her inappropriately. She was seven at the time. According to the police report, Farrow stated
that Allen took her to the attic and touched her genitals. Soon after Allen heard of the accusations,
he filed charges for full custody of the children, snaring the family in an even more tumultuous
legal fight. The allegations levied by Dylan Farrow would
never go to court, as her mother feared what a trial would do to her young daughter. If that was all the baggage in Woody Allen’s
past, he may not have made this list. However, Allen infamously began dating and
then married Mia Farrow’s other adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Previn was adopted by Farrow and her former
husband Andre Previn, and Allen began seeing her while he was in a relationship with her
mother. Mia Farrow only became aware of their relationship
after visiting Allen’s home and finding nude photographs of her 21-year-old daughter. Not exactly the most ethical behavior. 8. James Toback James Toback has been in the film industry
for more than four decades, and during that time he’s allegedly used his small window
into Hollywood to sexually harass and assault women. The Los Angeles Times reported that Toback
was known to brag and promise auditions and roles for aspiring actresses, luring them
into meetings where he asked sexually suggestive questions before groping them or masturbating
in front of them or onto their bodies. Although Toback denies these allegations,
more than 200 women have come forward stating they received unwanted sexual advances. Although Toback was neither a well-known director
or screenwriter, he’d use his connections to Robert Downey Jr., who appeared in several
of his movies, to gain legitimacy in the eyes of his victims. Most women interviewed claimed he’d approach
them on the street, promising them a role while showing pictures of himself with RDJ. As his methods have come to light, Toback
has lost his representation, but his career had already pretty much come to an end. The revelations will then hopefully be a warning
sign to aspiring actresses of the predatory behavior of some men in the industry. 7. Kevin Spacey An Oscar winner and one the most esteemed
actors in Hollywood, Kevin Spacey’s fall from grace may be the most dramatic on our
list. The star of House of Cards was forced to release
a statement after the allegations by actor Anthony Rapp (who you probably know either
from Adventures in Babysitting or Rent). When he was only 14-years-old, Rapp contends
that Spacey forced himself onto him in a sexual way. In his statement, Spacey did not deny the
incident but claimed he did “not remember” it occurring and that he was now living as
a gay man. That didn’t stop the avalanche that would
soon crush one of Hollywood’s most respected stars. Several other young men, including Richard
Dreyfuss’s son Ben, alleged similar groping incidents revolving around Spacey. Without any denials from Spacey, Netflix fired
him from House of Cards, his Gore Vidal biopic was shelved, and all of his scenes in the
film All the Money in the World were re-shot with Christopher Plummer – who, in a bit
of a karmic twist, received an Oscar nomination for the role. At this point, it’s hard to imagine Spacey
ever working in Hollywood again. 6. Harvey Weinstein The story that started it all was the New
Yorker expose that revealed the sexual assault, harassment, and rape committed by the legendary
film producer Harvey Weinstein. Famous actresses like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Mira Sorvino, and Ashley Judd have all corroborated the tactics used by Weinstein
to sexually harass and assault his victims. He had a similar approach with all his victims. First, he summoned them to a private place
to discuss the film or role, then he asked for a massage or touched them inappropriately. Finally, in some cases, he’d offer a work-for-sex
arrangement. Some noteworthy cases included the harassment
of Katherine Kendall, who appeared in the film Swingers. Kendall has stated that Weinstein undressed
and chased her around the room naked. Tomi-Ann Roberts remembers being asked to
meet Weinstein to discuss a role, and finding him naked in a bathtub. Weinstein encouraged her to take her clothing
off, arguing that the role needed a woman who was comfortable being naked in front of
camera. The most egregious claims against Weinstein
were made by Annabella Sciorra, an Emmy nominee for her work on The Sopranos. In the late ’90s, Weinstein allegedly raped
Sciorra, forcing himself into her room after dropping her off following an industry event. Sciorra recounts not being able to fight off
his advances, and refusing to share her story from shame of not fighting hard enough to
stop him. The ramifications were swift, with Weinstein
being fired from the company he founded, and being permanently banned from the Producers
Guild of America. 5. Andy Dick Ok, so maybe not everyone on our list was
ever ‘respected’… but that certainly didn’t stop them from getting plenty of
work, as is the case here. Andy Dick, a “comedian” best known for
being remarkably obnoxious and getting beat up by Jon Lovitz, was also forced to lose
his job as a result of sexual misconduct. The appropriately named Dick was accused of,
among other things, groping people’s nether regions, kissing and licking people without
their permission, and sexual propositions of at least four members of the production
team while working on the independent feature film Raising Buchanan. Dick denied the groping allegations but did
admit to licking and propositioning people. It wasn’t Dick’s first dismissal for his
unwanted sexual advances. Filmmaker Frankie Ingrassia and producer Jed
Rhein confirmed to Vulture last October that Dick was fired from another film for sexual
misconduct. 4. Brett Ratner Actress Ellen Page recently chronicled the
horrible abuse that many women faced at the hands of Brett Ratner. In a Facebook post, Page described how, as
an 18-year-old, she was outed as gay by Ratner during a cast and crew meeting. Ratner also went on to crudely tell another
female employee to have sex with Page, in order for the actress to realize that she
was gay. That was the tamest of his transgressions. Actress Natasha Henstridge was only 19-years-old
when Ratner allegedly assaulted her. Henstridge recalls hanging out watching TV
with Ratner and some other friends, when she fell asleep. When she woke up, Ratner was the only one
in the apartment. Henstridge attempted to leave, but Ratner
put himself between her and the door and began to touch himself, and then forcing her to
perform oral sex on him. Ratner has denied all the allegations, but
that hasn’t stopped him from feeling the heat. Warner Brothers has cut ties with Ratner’s
production company RatPac and his remaining ties with the studio have already started
to raise problems. 3. Steven Seagal Once one of the biggest action stars in the
world, Steven Seagal has been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment. Actress Eva LaRue has claimed that while meeting
with Seagal about a role, he undid his kimono revealing his bare chest and underwear. LaRue fled the room, and later told her agent,
who seemed unsurprised by the behavior. Jenny Mccarthy has also revealed that she
was harassed by Seagal. Auditioning for Under Siege 2, Seagal told
her to take off her dress. She refused, and he proceeded to unzip his
pants. McCarthy ran out of the room to her car, where
Seagal followed her and told her not to tell anyone about the encounter. 2. George Takei Famous for playing Sulu on Star Trek, Takei
has also found himself embroiled in the growing sexual misconduct scandal. A male model has accused Takei of drugging
him and sexually assaulting him more than two decades ago. Takei’s accuser, Scott R. Brunton, claims
that after he broke up with his boyfriend, Takei offered to take him out to dinner. After returning to Takei’s home, Brunton
felt tired and disoriented. When he woke up, he saw Takei taking off his
pants. Takei has denied that the encounter took place
and has remained steadfast in his denial, even after a salacious interview with Howard
Stern surfaced, where Takei discussed fondling men without their consent. 1. Ed Westwick Like with Andy Dick, maybe “respected”
doesn’t quite fit the bill here. But it’s next to impossible to leave this
one off the list, because some of the most serious accusations we’re talking about
today have been levied against Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick. The 30-year-old actor has been accused of
rape and sexual assault by multiple women. The separate allegations all have connections
and similarities. A producer on Gossip Girl invited both Rachel
Eck and Kristina Cohen to nights out with the actor, which ended with them being assaulted
by Westwick. The allegations made by Cohen describe the
aspiring actress waking to find Westwick on top of her. Her attempts to fight him off would fail,
and Westwick would allegedly go on to rape her. Westwick has denied each accusation, releasing
a statement noting his disappointment with a rush to judgment. He claims to have not even met his accusers. Nonetheless, the BBC has canceled the TV show
Ordeal by Innocence, starring Westwick, and his series White Gold has been put on hold.
