In the wake of the growing sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein, an Oscar-winning producer, it appears that it is just the tip of the iceburg. Other actors in Hollywood have come forward with their stories of abuse in an industry that promotes hiding your life from the audience.
The 10-month investigative piece that The New York Times put together involving three women who accused Weinstein of rape, encouraged others to come forward, including a former NFL player.
Actor Terry Crews has been inspired by the courage some of his collegues have had and come forward with a story of his own.
The 49-year-old Brooklyn Nine-Nine star alleges that a "Hollywood honcho" touched him inappropriately at a Hollywood function in 2016.
Yes, this just happened last year. This wasn't something that happened in 90's or even 20 years ago in the mid-2000's. Which means it could still be happening today.
In a Twitter thread, Crews wrote: "This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME. My wife [and] I were at a Hollywood function last year [and] a high level Hollywood executive came over 2 me and groped my privates."
So what did he do?
"Jumping back I said What are you doing?! My wife saw everything [and] we looked at him like he was crazy. He just grinned like a jerk," he wrote.
"I was going to kick his ass right then - but I thought twice about how the whole thing would appear," he continued.
"'240 lbs. Black man stomps out Hollywood Honcho' would be the headline the next day," he admitted.
"Only I probably wouldn't have been able to read it because I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN JAIL. So we left," he concluded.
He wasn't shy about what happened to him, sharing his story with everyone he worked with.
"That night and the next day I talked to everyone I knew that work with him about what happened," he wrote.
The executive didn't ignore the situation either. That same executive called him in the next day to offer an apology, but never gave a reason for what provoked the unwanted touching.
Crews left it at that because he didn't want be be ostracized in the industry.
"I didn't want 2b ostracized"” par 4 the course when the predator has power n influence," he wrote.
After the incident Crews can relate to how victims felt after an assult.
Including trying to prove your story and the impact that it will have on your life going forward.
He related back to his love for his career and how some people take advantage of that.
He doesn't want to name, names about who assaulted him, however.
While he knows what it's like to remain silent he wants to see other perpetrators brought to justice.
"Hollywood is not the only business where this happens, and to the casualties of this behavior- you are not alone," Crews added.
"Hopefully, me coming forward with my story will deter a predator and encourage someone who feels hopeless."
With Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow coming forward in the Weinstein case, Crews's story proves that these types of assaults can happen to anyone.
Source: Lad Bible / Vanity Fair / Independent