41. Truth, Consequences, and "Shitty Media Men"

It’s hard to overstate the impact of the Shitty Media Men List on the media landscape back in October 2017. If you’ve never heard of it, good for you (not said sarcastically). If you have, you know it was a Google spreadsheet where 70 women, who remained anonymous, input names of media colleagues and acquaintances along with their alleged misbehavior, from creepy DMs to rape. This was a week after the Harvey Weinstein bombshell in The New Yorker, and men on the list lost jobs, friends, and reputations. As #MeToo was exploding, the idea of fighting back wasn’t popular. Stephen Elliott did it anyway. The writer, filmmaker and founding editor of the literary site The Rumpus filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman behind the list, Moira Donegan.

In this week’s New York Magazine, journalist Lila Shapiro tackles the controversy and the personalities behind it as the legal battle heads toward court. Elliott, a friend of Nancy’s, was afraid the story would be a hit job. It wasn’t. Both Nancy and Sarah found it balanced, if favorable to the spirit of the list. Elliott agreed to come on the show to talk about his experience of being accused of rape, the personal and professional fallout, and whether these sorts of campaigns can ever (or eventually) have a positive impact.

One detail not included in the story was Elliott’s car being spray-painted with the word RAPIST and his garage marked with the letters S C U M. We’re not sure why this was left out; Elliott says he sent the photos as well as the police report to the author. We share them with you here.

We also discuss a current raft of #MeToo lawsuits, including cases against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Paul Haggis, and Danny Masterson. The details aren’t pretty.

Finally, the girls talk about Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native activist best known for refusing Marlon Brando’s Oscar for The Godfather on his behalf. A recent SF Chronicle piece exposed Littlefield as a “pretendian” who invented her Indian background, according to her sisters. (The family was Mexican.) Nancy, with her connections to the Native world, could potentially be exercised about this; she is not.

No hotbox this episode, but we do reveal that Rachel Dolezal has an OnlyFans. Not that we’re linking to it!

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Episode Notes:

“Bad Reputation,” by Lila Shapiro (New York Magazine)

“What to Do With ‘Shitty Media Men?’” by Doree Shafrir (Buzzfeed)

“On Pandering: How to Write Like a Man,” by Claire Vaye Watkins (Tin House)

“Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyers Say Everyone Had ‘Transactional Sex’ in Hollywood Before #MeToo,” by Elizabeth Wagmeister (Variety)

“Harvey Weinstein Accusers Are Furious His Lawyer Called Gov’s Partner ‘Bimbo’,” by Pilar Melendez (The Daily Beast)

“Woman describes alleged rape by ‘dead-eyed’ director Paul Haggis as trial opens,” by Priscilla DeGregory (NY Post)

“Documentary Filmmaker Testifies Oscar Winner Paul Haggis Assaulted Her at Film Festival: ‘I Felt Humiliated,’” by Antonio Ferme, Brent Lang (Variety)

“The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology,” by Lawrence Wright (New Yorker)

“Kevin Spacey Is Cleared of Anthony Rapp’s Battery Claim,” by Julia Jacobs and Nate Schweber (New York Times)

“Actor Anthony Rapp: Kevin Spacey Made A Sexual Advance Toward Me When I Was 14,” by Adam B. Vary (Buzzfeed)

“Scientology church looms over actor Danny Masterson rape case,” by Noah Goldberg (LA Times)

“4 Women Claim the Church of Scientology Came After Them for Reporting Their Rapes,” by Gwynedd Stuart (LA Magazine)

“Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Guilty to Forcible Touching,” by Benjamin Weiser and Colin Moynihan (NYT)

“Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native American icon. Her sisters say she was an ethnic fraud,” by Jacqueline Keeler (San Francisco Chronicle)

Outro song: “Apology Song” by the Decemberists

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