Episode 119: Geek Girl in the News: Sexual Abuse & Racism in the Entertainment Industry – Marilyn Manson, Joss Whedon, World of Warcraft, & the Golden Globes
Geek Girl in the News looks at the awesome or not so awesome news that will make you go either: “YAY” or “OMG I can’t believe that.”
The latest and greatest geek girl news from February 2021 covers the abuse allegations gainst Marilyn Manson and Joss Whedon, racism in the World of Warcraft raiding community, a complete lack of diversity – STILL – in Hollywood’s Golden Globes, Gina Carano being held accountable for her actions and dropped from Disney, Lucasfilm, and her Publicist, The Last of Us actors REVEALED, and Henry Cavill’s SHOCK new role!
** Before we go further, we have two content warnings with timestamps. **
- Sexual Abuse, Assault, and Domestic Violence 4:30 – 28:08
- Violent Racism in Gaming 28:30 – 35:51
Our first story is about the multitude of women coming forward with accusations of abuse and assault at the hand of Brian Warner, AKA Marilyn Manson. Evan Rachel Wood finally disclosed the name of her abuser, Brian Warner, on her Instagram account, describing what equates to domination, psychological and sexual abuse, and domestic violence.
Amber Heard confirms Wood’s claims by remembering an interview Manson did back in 2008 where he details calling Wood 158 times one day and describes fantasising about physically assaulting her. Since Wood’s revelation, 15 other women have come forward (so far) with allegations against the metal musician.
Did Manson get away with his open statements of abuse because he is a shock artist? Maybe we didn’t take it seriously because was it real or was it all an act? Whatever the reason it went on for so long was, it’s out in the open now and we hope it won’t be brushed back under the rug.
Like our next story focused on the abuse allegations at the hands of creator Joss Whedon. Charisma Carpenter who played Cordelia on Whedon’s hit shows, Buffy and Angel, released a statement detailing the abuse she faced from the director. She’s been publically supported by most of the cast to varying degrees. And further news has come out that younger actress Michelle Tractenburg, who played Dawn Summers, was not allowed to be alone in the room with Whedon.
Yikes forever.
Hopefully these Whedon abuse allegations are too public to be pushed back under the rug now.
Next, we’re talking about the rampant and violent racism that’s perpetuated in World of Warcraft, especially some of the top NI raiding guilds. Screenshots of chat logs with violent racist language appeared on Reddit showing the truth of what’s going on behind the scenes. But it’s not just behind the scenes, it’s been disclosed that in raiding applications, questions are posed that essentially state in order to be on the team, you need to be okay with violent racist language (and preferably participate in that, too).
It’s time we stop breeding these racist gaming cultures within Warcraft – and other MMOs. We need to take a hard stance against this, call out this violence, and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.
Then, to absolutely no one’s surprise, the Golden Globes committee is facing backlash again about a lack of diversity on their board. Not to mention a lack of diversity in their nomiations! This is getting EXHAUSTING, white Hollywood. The rest of us want to celebrate BIPOC in film and TV, can you get a mitt and get in the game? Thanks.
But in a bid of good news, Disney and LucasFilm have held Gina Carano, known for her role as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, accountable for her absolutely toxic bullshit garbage she spouted on Twitter. We’re not going to repeat it here, but THANK YOU to these companies for setting a precedent that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
We’re ending the episode with some GREAT news!
Our current faves Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) are teaming up as Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us! HBO are creating a live-action TV show based on the best-selling game of all time. No news of a release yet but we are fucking HERE for it.
Last, but definitely not least, Amanda’s biggest hearthrob, Henry Cavill, teased us with an Instagram photo of him in a makeup chair holding a new script. Yes, it was blurry, but since when does that stop the internet?! The internet sleuths were out in full fucking force and have (hopefully!) successfully deduced that Mr Cavill seems to be making an appearance in a forthcoming Mass Effect live action. Helloooo yes please!!
What do YOU think about these news stories? We’d love your take! Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!
In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories:
- Marilyn Manson: All The Allegations Of Abuse, Assault We Know So Far
- Amber Heard speaks out on Marilyn Manson sexual assault allegations
- Charisma Carpenter’s Twitter Statement About Joss Whedon Abuse
- Buffy staffers ‘feared and idolised’ Joss Whedon, who ran the show like a ‘high school’
- Buffy star Nicholas Brendon won’t comment on Joss Whedon allegations as he undergoes surgery for paralysed penis
- Buffy star Nicholas Brendon breaks silence on abuse claims, saying he loves Joss Whedon but ‘there were transgressions’
- Sarah Michelle Gellar speaks out as Buffy co-stars accuse Joss Whedon of ‘toxic’ abuse
- Buffy star James Marsters ‘heartbroken’ by Joss Whedon ‘toxic’ abuse allegations
- Buffy showrunner Marti Noxon speaks out on Joss Whedon abuse allegations: ‘I would like to validate their story’
- World of Warcraft’s community is grappling with allegations of widespread racism in its top-end raiding guilds
- Time’s Up, Celebrities Call Out Golden Globes for Having Zero Black Members
- Gina Carano Has Been Fired From “The Mandalorian” Following Offensive Social Media Posts
- Game of Thrones’ breakout star Bella Ramsey to star as lesbian icon Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us
- Henry Cavill teases ‘secret project’. And super sleuths say it has something to do with Mass Effect
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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!
- Episode 99: Geek Interview: Being Black and Nerdy with Justin Williams
- Episode 86: Geek Discussion: Twitch and #MeToo with BiggusBennus!
- Episode 65: Geeking Out About The Witcher: Monster Hunters, Witches, and the Duality of Humankind
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Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika