Once again, the vile sexual nature of Hollywood reared its ugly head this week when actor Anthony Rapp accused fellow actor Kevin Spacey of molesting him at a party.

It seems since the accusations of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual assaults that the floodgates have opened against predators in the mainstream entertainment industry.

Rapp alleges that when he was 14, 26 year-old Spacey invited him to a party at his apartment, which was in and of itself inappropriate given Rapp was underage at the time. At the end of the night, Rapp claims that Spacey carried him over to Spacey’s bed, climbed on top of him and proceeded to make a sexual advance on him. Thankfully, Rapp was able to escape the situation before experiencing further harm.

What allegedly took place was not just attempted molestation or attempted sexual assault. What allegedly occurred was actual molestation. The traumatic sexual assault of a child is far beyond an “attempt.”

Spacey released a statement on Sunday addressing the accusations by saying that if they were true, then he apologizes. He then ended his statement by coming out as gay in the hopes that the media and the public would focus on the revelation of his sexual identity, not the accusations.

There have been many headlines from mainstream media outlets that make no mention of his alleged molestation of a young boy. ABC News, Reuters and the New York Daily News all created headlines sensationalizing Spacey’s revelation of being gay, but failed to mention the accusations.

On top of the major media outlets creating excuses for Spacey, Netflix at first decided to move forward in the production of the next season of House of Cards. While they have recently decided to officially cut ties with Spacey, the issue is that they hesitated. Instead of canceling the show or firing Spacey immediately, producers show how morally corrupt they are by prioritizing profits instead of shunning an alleged pedophile.

This is the reason so many Americans have a deep distaste for the media.

Part of what makes this story so appalling is how it is not surprising at all. Just as in the cases of Weinstein and Bill Cosby, there have supposedly been rumors for years about Spacey being a pedophile.

The rumors were so rampant that even the popular TV show “Family Guy” featured an episode revolving around Spacey’s alleged pedophilic tendencies. If we are to believe these rumors, it once more sheds light on the lack of morality from the people who claim to have been aware of many of these monsters’ actions for years.

Knowing about a crime and not reporting is called being complicit, and it continues to be more apparent that Hollywood elites are perfectly content with being complicit as long as they can go on making movies and walking the red carpet. These people are so morally corrupt that they would rather cheer on a man coming out as gay than condemn him for being the worst thing humanity produces: predators who prey on children.

As more and more people are coming forward with their experiences being assaulted by Hollywood big shots, we need to reevaluate our loyalties to entertainers and prioritize the safety and humanity of the victims over the artwork of their abusers. I hope the narrative changes for Spacey and others soon before our society slips deeper into one completely lacking in morals and values.

Clint is a senior in LAS.

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