你也许听说过,哈维•韦恩斯坦戳他head above the surface of his slime pool the other day, attending a performance event in New York called Actor’s Hour. At this event,billedas “the first pop-up speakeasy dedicated to artists”, comedian Kelly Bachman threw off her cloak, bared her Wonder Woman armor, and marched across that battlefield like a goddess. Weinstein was in the audience and no one was saying anything, so Kelly Bachman took the mic and she f-cking said something. Check her out in action:
First of all, “I didn’t know we had to bring our own mace,” and, “This kills at group therapy,” are GREAT jokes. Dark, yes. Really f-cking dark. But also, really good lines. And she threw those lines out even as she was being booed for mentioning Weinstein’s presence in the room. That could not have been fun, it had to be upsetting—Bachman described it as her “nightmare come to life”—and that space looks small, so she was probably only a few feet from Weinstein as she was calling him out. But she did it. She goddamn did it.
And shout-out to Zoe Stuckless and Amber Rollo, who also confronted Weinstein and got escorted out of the venue. You can see Stuckless standing up to Weinstein in a video included in the link below. It’s clear this room was not against Weinstein, and yet Stuckless and Rollo both got up and said something anyway, and that is brave.
But a big thumbs down to Alexandra Laliberte, the organizer of Actor’s Hour, who welcomes “all walks of life into my space”, and believes she is protecting young artists with “freedom of speech”. Put them in a walk-in closet with an accused rapist facing criminal charges, but they’re perfectly safe as long as they can say whatever they want. I mean, they’ll be booed and maybe even removed from the venue if they DO say whatever they want, but, um, something something due process first amendment. My ass is covered!
Due process is important, but goddamn I am so tired of people hiding behind that like it absolves them of having any f-cking morals. The courts will decide if Harvey Weinstein is to be incarcerated for what he has done. YOU can decide if you believe his actual dozens of accusers, and if you then want to tolerate his presence at an event meant to nurture the very community he made into his hunting ground. You think it’s in any way impressive or courageous to admit someone like Weinstein into your performance space? Do you think you’re being provocative or daring? It’s not and you’re not. It’s the weak posturing of a coward, too afraid to stand up to a bully. What if due process fails (it often only benefits the powerful and privileged and wealthy) and Harvey Weinstein gets off? Are we supposed to let things go back to the way they were, with Weinstein free to harm anyone he wants? Or do we stand up to him? And what’s the difference between standing up to him now, or in that hypothetical future?
Another big thumbs down to Andrew B. Silas, a comedian who took the stage after Bachman. During his set, Silas said,"I'd like to address the elephant in the room. Who in this room produced Good Will Hunting? 'Cause that sh-t was great."After getting dragged for being utter garbage, Silas attempted to course correct,telling Buzzfeed Newshe “did not mean for hisGood Will Huntingcrack to support Weinstein,” and that he “didn’t want Kelly to feel alone” and “didn’t want to tread on her”. He concluded, “I swear I’m not a piece of sh-t.”
You know who is DEFINITELY a piece of sh-t? Anyone swearing they’re not a piece of sh-t. Maybe in Silas’s head he thought he was being supportive of Kelly Bachman, and maybe he honestly thought “Good Will Huntingis good though” is a sick burn. He’s from Florida, anything is possible. But what he did is not supportive of Bachman, or dunking on Weinstein. What he did was get up and compliment a movie Weinstein produced, which is EXACTLY the kind of thing that kept Weinstein in power for so long. His successful career has been weaponized against anyone who speaks against him, and Andrew B. Silas did just that when he made that comment, he weaponized Weinstein’s success against Bachman’s truth-telling. So, yeah, total piece of sh-t.
As enraging as this story is, let’s not focus on Weinstein. He does not get our energy. Instead, let’s give our energy to Kelly Bachman. She’s onTwitter, she hasa websitewhere you can check out comedy shows she hosts and her work as a filmmaker, you can watchher short filmorread an interviewwith her, and below is a clip of her performing at Caroline’s in New York. Give her clicks and hits, give her positive attention and real support. Give her your time, because she deserves it. When faced with a monster, Kelly Bachman did not back down, and for that, she is the hero of the week.
Lainey PS. We are using a photo of Kellyfrom her Instagram accountas the feature photo in this post because there are no photos of her available at our photo agencies. That, hopefully, will change. But until then, we hope Kelly doesn’t mind us sharing a picture she posted of herself.
