Harvey Weinstein’s Actors Hour Fiasco and the Illusion of ‘Cancel Culture’
“New York City harbors talent in many, many shapes and guises. It cultivates, nurtures and feeds the creative and offers the world’s biggest and most varied audiences. But the road to your chosen stage or limelight is not easy, and certainly not for the faint of heart.”
These are the words of Alexandra Laliberte, the young founder of Actors Hour, a showcase for performers hosted at venues throughout New York. Actors Hour, which Laliberte started in 2018, has recently come under fire for welcoming Harvey Weinstein. Yes, that Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, including rape, by multiple women—mostly current and former actors—and is currently awaiting trial for five charges of rape, sexual assault, and “predatory sexual assault,” to which he has pleaded not guilty. The trial will begin on Jan. 6.
In the meantime, Weinstein has found himself, not once, but twice, at Actors Hour events. The most recent instance occurred at Downtime Bar in the East Village on Oct. 23. According to comedian and actor Amber Rollo, who was present at the event and tweeted about it, a person in attendance began protesting Weinstein’s presence at the show’s intermission, directly confronting him. “[They were] shouting and crying and seemed to be the only sane person there. [THEY were] kicked out,” Rollo tweeted. This person has been revealed to be Zoe Stuckless, a 21-year-old actor and playwright (Stuckless uses they/them pronouns). Stuckless told BuzzFeed that a man escorted them out of the event, repeating “due process, due process.”
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