Monty Python's Terry Gilliam slams #MeToo, calls it a 'witch hunt' where white men are 'blamed for everything'
The #MeToo movement gained momentum when Harvey Weinstein was accused of several allegations. After Weinstein, Hollywood came crumbling down as several A-list stars were accused of sexual crimes. While many hailed the moment and believed that it led to a change in Hollywood, actor Terry Gilliam is not happy with how the movement took shape.
Speaking to The Independent, Gilliam expressed his problems with the movement. Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt,” he said hinting that many innocent people were wrongly accused during this movement. “I really feel there were a lot of people, decent people, or mildly irritating people, who were getting hammered. That’s wrong. I don’t like mob mentality. These were ambitious adults.”
He added, "There are many victims in Harvey’s life and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices. We all make choices, and I could tell you who did make the choice and who didn’t." Gilliam further said that in most of the instances, people come after the white men to blame things on.
He took a page from his experience and explained why he thought so. "She has got her story of being in the room and talking her way out," he said recalling a conversation he had with a fellow celebrity. "She says, ‘I can tell you all the girls who didn’t, and I know who they are and I know the bumps in their careers.’ The point is, you make choices. I can tell you about a very well-known actress coming up to me and saying, ‘What do I have to do to get in your film, Terry?’"
He continued, "I don’t understand why people behave as if this hasn’t been going on as long as there’ve been powerful people. I understand that men have had more power longer, but I’m tired, as a white male, of being blamed for everything that is wrong with the world.” Gilliam was consistent with his views that the public is critical about a white man when he is blamed as compared to anyone else.