Gross and ridiculous
In a week that’s seen Lena Dunham defend her co-worker accused of rape – declaring the victim’s statement ‘one of the 3 per cent of assault cases that are misreported every year’ (that’s convenient for your pal) – Morrissey’s just dropped a new one: Another Bad Opinion.
Speaking to German news site Der Spiegel, Morrissey claimed that those who report sexual assault are actually just ‘disappointed’ with the outcome of an ‘incident’. Referencing Harvey Weinstein, the singer suggested that victims ‘go along’ with a situation before changing their mind and claiming it wasn’t consensual. He continued: “But if the incident had gone very very well, and led to an incredible career, they wouldn’t mention it.”
Morrissey has also thrown his two cents in on Kevin Spacey, commenting on Anthony Rapp’s allegations that the actor made sexual advances on him when he was just 14-years-old: “I don’t know about you, but in my youth I was never in situations like that,” the musician said. “If you’re in somebody’s bedroom, you have to be aware of where it could lead to. It seems to me like he’s (Spacey) been unnecessarily attacked.”
20 people have complained about Spacey’s behaviour during his time as artistic director at the Old Vic, while over 50 women have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, including rape, resulting in the producer’s firing from his own company.
With one more final dig, Morrissey addresses underage sex in the music industry and – surprise, surprise – that’s the fault of the victims too. “The entire history of groupies – kids who throw themselves at groups and stay in the hotel through the night in the lobby – they want to be with those groups. If you go through the history of music, everybody must be guilty of underage sex, so are you going to throw everybody in prison?”
At a time when the world is finally addressing sexual assault in a major way, it’s vital that those with a public voice don’t in any way encroach on survivor accounts. Fear of not being believed is still insidious, one of many things that facilitates the gross behaviour of powerful predators like Weinstein and Spacey.
So shut up Morrissey.