“Casting Couch” Still in Use in Hollywood. Oh my! I Am So Shocked!!

As usual, the news industry is excitedly chasing a story that includes some of its key favorite elements, celebrities and sex. This time, the media is chowing down on Harvey Weinstein. These arbiters of morality are shocked – shocked, I tell you! – that sex is going on behind those office doors. This is going to be a large percentage of the media’s coverage because it offers an opportunity to talk with and show video or big stars.

It is hilarious to listen to the moral arbiters cluck, trying to balance their outrage with the fact that this type of behavior has been ongoing, in the entertainment industry, since the industry began. And it is hardly a North American phenomenon. With 15 seconds on Google, one can find stories of various age about Bollywood (i.e. https://www.bollywoodpapa.com/other/10-indian-actresses-reveal-casting-couch-stories/) and other film industries around the world. Marilyn Monroe has several famous quotes on the matter, including, “You can’t sleep your way into being a star, though. It takes much, much more. But it helps” and describing Hollywood as “an overcrowded brothel.”

The idea of a casting couch is so pervasive that almost no one needs to have the term explained. Yet when it is made public, outrage follows. I suppose that, every once in a while, the public needs this type of false catharsis.

I wish just one “expert” would tell the truth. The entertainment industry has an unending, massive volume of young, attractive people flocking to New York and Hollywood with dreams of becoming stars. For the most part, the talents these young people have to sell are limited. They primarily consist of beauty or a unique look, perhaps a small modicum of talent and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to succeed. It is tough for all but more so for women, whose talents have to include good skin, a nice ass and perky tits. There is a reason that Los Angeles is the capital of cosmetic surgery and youthful breasts. The women in the industry know that there are hundreds of women auditioning for each part and that their bodies form the majority of what is noticed.

The truth is that when becoming a star, or even a working actor, is considered a winning lottery ticket, those who are spending the money will always have access to those wanting the winning ticket. And, it should be said, many of those looking for stardom understand that part of the payment is paid in sex with older men. As Marilyn Monroe once said of her career, she “spent a great deal of time on my knees.”