Noel Clarke sexual harassment allegations, suspended by BAFTA

[Cwenthryth]

www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/apr/29/actor-noel-clarke-accused-of-groping-harassment-and-bullying-by-20-women

🤬🤬🤬

Especially galling that BAFTA was seemingly made aware of this before giving him his very recent honour. I watched his acceptance speech and found it really moving in terms of celebrating a working class black man’s success in a historically white industry. Turns out he’s an (alleged) sexual abuser. Fucking great.

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

20 women coming forward probably means there are some truth to it but at this point they are allegations.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is patriarchy in action.

One accused man is assumed innocent and the default of the TWENTY women is passed of as 'meh, it could be true, maybe'.

I don't buy the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' when it comes to sex crimes considering an unacceptable 99% of sexual predators are never convicted. Why the hell should women accept the 'innocent til proven guilty' crap when nearly all woman experience sexual harassment?

Tell me @Timeisavirtue how many women must come forward about a man before you begin to believe them?

It's because they lie to ruin men who reject them sexually. All twenty of them. The idea, obviously, is that men in Clarke's position go around vehemently sexually rejecting numerous young women who then wait twenty years to have their names made public and every part of their lives forensically examined just to pay him back.

I mean, if the misogyny doesn't hit you between the eyes, the complete incoherence of that argument must.

It really doesn't 'punish' the other actors. They will be keen to distance themselves from him now. It is best for their careers not to be associated with him.

I saw an interview with him some years ago, when Kidulthood was released, and was really struck by his breathtaking arrogance. I’ve never forgotten it. Vile person.

I thought it was Noel Coward who'd been accused!

Bafta should have investigated the claims before awarding him.

Definition of ‘Allegation’

noun
plural noun: allegations
a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof.
"after leaving he made allegations of corruption against the company"

‘One made without proof’ - give the man a break until proven

Omg there's a whole thread of newspaper articles about different instances of JB getting his dick out!! I would hope that if someone at my workplace did that even once they'd be sacked out spot. How is that OK? Are now the people around him going to pretend not to know about this??

But acting is his workplace. If a teacher/lawyer/supermarket manager / medic/ insert role here was accused of sexual assault or harassment, they would be suspended until further notice. This is not any different.

Exactly @Piggywaspushed, apparently he kept trying to get into Denise Van Outen dressing room so he could wave his dick about in front of her.

@weekend2021

Definition of ‘Allegation’

noun
plural noun: allegations
a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof.
"after leaving he made allegations of corruption against the company"

‘One made without proof’ - give the man a break until proven

@weekend2021 20 women have accused him of sexual harrasment. What more do you actually need? Give the man a break? Pfft

@Ohchristmastreeohchristmastree

I never liked him (like a few other posters on here), now I know why. Something was always off with him.

This kind of thinking is dangerous. Yes trust your instincts, but so many people who do abhorrent things appear perfectly normal, are well-liked, and don't set any radar off. That's how they are able to hide in plain sight and get away with their crimes for so long. People made similar comments to yours when Jimmy Saville was exposed. It might make you feel better to think you can tell who is good or bad, but the reality is we have no way of telling.

BAFTA could have put the exact same statement out ('in view of the serious allegations' etc) before the awards. Why didn't they? I don't suppose we'll get an answer to that but we can surmise they had an agenda and were keen and eager to get on and do the award

probably because he's not white. It's ok to be sexist/misogynistic, but not racist. Hint: it's not ok to be either/any of them.

I know people who encountered NC in a professional capacity and the consensus was that in order to describe the guy you’d desperately try to find a stronger word than cunt. They also made sure to never work with him again. The fact that an entire industry has been fawning over him for years tells you a lot about the industry.

@poppycat10 exactly - I've seen many a person say that white women by and large falsely accuse black men of sexual misconduct, because racism. As a white woman who was raped by a black man, I'm furious. I think BAFTA were quite happy to throw women under the bus to tiptoe around the racism issue

Very disgusted with JB if those allegations are true. Being gay doesn't mean you get a free pass. How horrible.

It seems to me that the screen/music industries need a regulator to which women can report concerns with a guarantee that they will not be damaging their careers. But I don't really know how it would work. It's like when women take their employers to employment tribunals for sexism like earning less than men doing the same jobs and they get threatened with "you'll never work in this industry again".

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

20 women coming forward probably means there are some truth to it but at this point they are allegations.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is patriarchy in action.

One accused man is assumed innocent and the default of the TWENTY women is passed of as 'meh, it could be true, maybe'.

I don't buy the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' when it comes to sex crimes considering an unacceptable 99% of sexual predators are never convicted. Why the hell should women accept the 'innocent til proven guilty' crap when nearly all woman experience sexual harassment?

Tell me @Timeisavirtue how many women must come forward about a man before you begin to believe them?

Didnt say I didn’t believe them, I just said whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty. 20 people is a substantial amount to come forward so I assume there is truth to what’s being said however imagine if he’s actually innocent and now his name has been dragged through the mud. All I’m saying is people shouldn’t be named and shamed until they’ve been proven guilty. I’m well aware not all men are innocent in fact there are a fare few that are quite frankly assholes.

@chicklingpixies

I know people who encountered NC in a professional capacity and the consensus was that in order to describe the guy you’d desperately try to find a stronger word than cunt. They also made sure to never work with him again. The fact that an entire industry has been fawning over him for years tells you a lot about the industry.

If people dislike him so much why on earth were they all queuing up to work with him? In real life you'd be saying I'm not working with him. He's not all that special! At all.

@Timeisavirtue "innocent until proven guilty" only works in a world where fair credence is given to victims. Seeing as 99% of sexual predators get away with it, it doesn't apply here.

There's a reason people's name are out out before they're found guilty. Jon Worboys, who raped over 100 women in his taxi, would still be raping today had his name and face not been put out there and so many victims came forward. We need to live in a society that put women's safety, not men's reputations, first.

Do you think he was/is psychologically ill? Why would someone ruin their career by doing this?

Obviously it’s deeply disgusting behaviour. But why would an intelligent successful person think they could get away with it?

Would he be taking drugs and not realise what he was doing?

@Alonim

Do you think he was/is psychologically ill? Why would someone ruin their career by doing this?

Obviously it’s deeply disgusting behaviour. But why would an intelligent successful person think they could get away with it?

Would he be taking drugs and not realise what he was doing?

The same reason Harvey Weinstein and Jimmy Saville and Bill Cosby did it - they thought they were invincible, because for every victim, there's 30 people willing to either disbelieve her or cover up for him.

Be quiet @Timeisavirtue what proof do you want??
I was raped at 21. Never took him to court. He fucked off abroad. It haunts me every day. I had a paedophile grope me age 9.
I had a flasher expose himself to me at age 12.
I had a man follow me off the bus and grab my breasts at 25.
How many more stories do you want and pray tell me what proof you need??? Me still crying about it? My bad anxiety because of it all?
Or do you want to do say "there there" to poor ikkle likkle man??

This is awful, awful behaviour. He's literally assaulting these two women in a public setting.

@chicklingpixies

I know people who encountered NC in a professional capacity and the consensus was that in order to describe the guy you’d desperately try to find a stronger word than cunt. They also made sure to never work with him again. The fact that an entire industry has been fawning over him for years tells you a lot about the industry.

All the people you knew who encountered Noel Clarke said that? To you personally? Using the C word?

I'm not defending him, accusations from 20 people is more than significant, however unsubstantiated hearsay means nothing.

Things like this bring the scandal mongers out of the woodwork.

Why can we not wait and see what transpires?

It’s a very weird industry. I feel sorry for people working in that environment.

@Alonim

Do you think he was/is psychologically ill? Why would someone ruin their career by doing this?

Obviously it’s deeply disgusting behaviour. But why would an intelligent successful person think they could get away with it?

Would he be taking drugs and not realise what he was doing?

I'm almost certain he will now claim he was. It seems to be the new get-out clause, albeit a huge insult to people who do suffer from mental illness and manage not to sexually abuse others.

[quote Unsure33]@DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat

Yes but that proves a point . You go to court and then people end up in jail.

That’s the system that needs improvement .

You should be able to report through the correct channels and action and action should be taken .

I am sorry I still feel trial by media is wrong .

If this comes to court the jurors will have read everything in the papers and in some cases that could mean a trial will collapse .

Then the guilty person would get away with it .[/quote]
No.
Bill Cosby was first accused in 2004. He wasn’t found guilty until 2018, when he was jailed as ‘a sexually violent predator’. In that time SIXTY other women made accusations. Most of them were not believed for most of the time. Some of them wouldn’t have been sexually assaulted if the first woman to accuse him had been believed. It took a viral joke by Hannibal Buress for women to start coming forward.
Harvey Weinstein paid off those accusing him of sexual assault for DECADES before anything started to even remotely stick. Many, many people knew, did nothing, and therefore facilitated it. EIGHTY women, to date, have made allegations. Again, some of those may not have been assaulted if this had not been allowed to go on. It is only because the likes of Meghan Twohey and Roman Farrow were prepared to publish and air the allegations, that Weinstein is behind bars now, and not because the criminal justice system, in any country, is fit for purpose when it comes to women and girls as victims of assault and violence, receiving justice.
So, well done The Guardian (for once). And no, there has been no trial, and Noel Clark has not been found guilty until proven innocent, they’ve simply published allegations against him. Allegations that he will now have an opportunity to demonstrate are untrue, as he claims they are.