Issa Rae is speaking out against Hollywood’s tendency to prioritize profit over accountability. In an Elle cover story published Oct. 13, she reflected on five years since the rise of the #MeToo movement and discussed Hollywood’s ongoing tendency to let abusers and unacceptable behavior slide.
“There have to be legitimate consequences. Hollywood is very bad about consequences,” she said. “It’s literally the worst industry when it comes to punishing people for misdeeds and actions, because money will always reign supreme.”
Rae went on to specifically reference Ezra Miller, who has been the subject of intense scrutiny after facing multiple arrests and charges for disorderly behavior, theft, and other issues. However, “The Flash” – which Miller stars in – is still slated for release with them attached as its star.
“I’m gonna be real: The stuff that’s happening with Ezra Miller is, to me, a microcosm of Hollywood,” Rae said. “There’s this person who’s a repeat offender, who’s been behaving atrociously, and as opposed to shutting them down and shutting the production down, there’s an effort to save the movie and them.”
The Miller case, she added, is a “clear example of the lengths that Hollywood will go to to save itself and to protect offenders. . .It’s just a constant pattern of abuse that’ll only persist if Hollywood continues to insist on being this way.”
For her part, Rae knows that even though merely by “working in this industry, we’re enabling,” she can still make conscious choices. “I can control my own environment and who I work with,” she said. “I can hold people accountable within my world and my bubble. I don’t have to work for everybody.”
Rae is the founder of HOORAE, a media company that “develops content across mediums in an effort to continue to break boundaries in storytelling and representation,” according to her website. Her latest production, “Rap Sh!t,” first aired in July.
