Over the weekend there have been calls to re-write Tambor’s character out of the show so it can continue without him. I have not watched since season 1 so not sure how plausible this is.
We are going to have a transitional period here, where he have to deal with two kinds of abuse and harassment allegations. One will be about behavior which clearly is harmful/inappropriate and violates either workplace guidelines or state/federal laws. The disputes here will be over whether the behavior occurred. The other kind will be about behavior that (to men at least) was previously perceived as acceptable, and is no longer. In most of these cases, men will discover to their surprise that the silence or even awkward laughs/smiles or other signs of acceptance or encouragement were actually covering extreme discomfort that they (men) were too entitled and or stupid to properly decode. My guess (obviously on inadequate information) is that Tambor’s misbehavior is in that second category. Its possible Franken’s behavior was in that category too (though I don’t think we have yet gotten a full accounting of the two incidents in question there). This second category is going to be a little more difficult to figure out the appropriate consequence for. Franken is trying hard not to be a dick about it, Tambor seems to be trying a little less so, but for both there seems to be an underlying sense of: “I am really sorry if I offended or hurt anyone; but nobody told me there were offended, and if they had I would have stopped immediately.” In sexual harassment law there is an element that respects this - for some offensive behavior, the perpetrator is not really penalized if they stop the first time they are told their behavior was offensive. But there are categories of behavior which are so obviously offensive to the “reasonable woman” that perpetrators are held responsible, even if they were never warned. By now I think it is well understood that the court of public opinion is not obligated to follow the same rules of evidence as criminal or civil proceedings, but I think something like this is still relevant. Louis CK might have argued that he didnt know that masturbating in front of women was offensive, but he didn’t, presumably because he or his advisors realized that the claim would not have passed the smell test. Maybe (though I do not hold myself out as the arbiter of this) if Franken simulated molesting that woman’s breasts but did not actually touch them, he will be able to argue that while crude and immature, it was not obviously harassing behavior at the time, given that nobody complained at the time. If Tambor did something like give full body hugs to women on cast and crew, which they did not like but felt they could not complain about without professional risk to themselves, should that be regarded as sexual harassment or assault? The reasonable adult in 2017 might say yes; the reasonable woman in 2015 might say yes, but some reasonable men in 2015 might have said no. Maybe that doesnt matter - maybe those men should have known, and should bear whatever consequences the court of public opinion now thinks proper. But I do think we should not put Al Franken in same category as Bill Cosby. On Sun, Nov 19, 2017 at 2:59 PM Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: > Tambor doesn't see how he can return to 'Transparent' > > LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Jeffrey Tambor says he doesn't see how he can > return to the Amazon series "Transparent" following two allegations of > sexual harassment against him. > In an ambiguous statement Sunday, Tambor referenced what he calls a > "politicized atmosphere" that has afflicted the set. He also says that the > idea that he would deliberately harass anyone is untrue. > Two women have come forward over the past few weeks to accuse Tambor of > sexual harassment, including "Transparent" actress Trace Lysette and his > former assistant. > Tambor has won two Emmys for portraying Maura Pfefferman in the highly > regarded show, which is now in its fourth season. Many interpreted his > words to mean that he was leaving the show, which has not been confirmed. > Representatives for Amazon did not immediately respond to requests seeking > comment. > > > On Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 5:39 PM, 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> >> Kevin M, today (11/17): >>> >>> He’s been among the named for a while now >>> >>> I sifted through past posts copied to my PTD inbox and found >>> "Not-yet-arrested >> development >> <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/tvornottv/59UsAjeMs3s>" (link). >> Oh well. >> >> B >> >> -- >> -- >> TV or Not TV .... 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