Amber Tamblyn has waded into the sexual harassment debate, insisting she’s not yet ready for the redemption of men.
The 34-year-old spoke out after Matt Lauer became the latest star to be accused of sexual misconduct, with the allegations made against him resulting in his dismissal by NBC this week.
Tamblyn wrote in an op-ed piece for the New York Times: “Why do we need to talk about the redemption of men when we are right in the middle of the salvation of women? Not even the middle, but the very beginning?
“Throughout history, women haven’t been in a position to come forward with their stories and be taken seriously as a rule.
“That’s the reason we sometimes wait 20 years to report something — harassment, assault — if we say anything at all. We haven’t been silent because we forgot or made our stories up. We’ve been silent because we’ve been silenced.
“But women now feel comfortable telling such stories. And maybe even more importantly, we are seeing consequences for those actions. This is more than a watershed moment — it’s a flash-flood point.”
She continued to question, “Why are we obligated to care about salvaging male careers when we have just begun to tell the stories that have plagued us for lifetimes? It seems some men like a revolution only when it’s their kind of war.”
Insisting nobody, Harvey Weinstein aside, has to “disappear from the public eye forever,” Tamblyn shared, “We’re in the midst of a reckoning. It’s what toxic masculinity’s own medicine tastes like. And people should allow the consequences to unfold.”
“The power of celebrity and cultural approval must disappear for the time being so that all women see and believe that consequences do exist.”
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Tamblyn was showered with praise after the article was posted online, with actress Jessica Chastain being among those to comment on her “beautiful words.”
Rose McGowan, who was one of many to accuse Harvey Weinstein of rape, also shared the piece on her profile.
Since the Weinstein scandal emerged early October, dozens of high-profile celebrities, including Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor, and Al Franken, have been accused of sexual misconduct.
