'Rocking the Couch': How SAG covered up multiple sexual assault complaints in Hollywood before the advent of #MeToo movement
Little work has been done in Hollywood to address its noxious "casting couch" culture and rampant sexual misconduct in the film industry. It was not until the #MeToo movement gained steam in 2017 when the industry's labor union — Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) — decided to take initiatives to address the grievances of its members. The film union, before the advent of #MeToo era and public declarations of sexual assaults by actors on social media, was as complicit in the industry's abusive culture as the perpetrators themselves.
A new documentary 'Rocking the Couch', written and directed by Minh Collins, highlights a crucial moment in the industry's history, a #MeToo movement of the 90s, that never took off as the union turned its back on it. Produced by Andrea Evans, the film begins by establishing the deeply ingrained predatory behavior in Hollywood dating back to the first recorded sexual assault case in the industry in the 1920s of actress Virginia Rappe. The American actress was allegedly raped in 1921 by silent film star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle under the influence of alcohol. The assault was so brutal that Rappe died after four days. Arbuckle was charged with manslaughter for the alleged attack, however, he was eventually acquitted. Although Rappe didn't get her justice, the scandal did ruin Arbuckle's career.