All the Harvey Weinstein news that’s been coming out for the past several days … it sure has been tough to stomach, huh?
Every single day — sometimes it feels like nearly every single hour — we hear new details about all the horrible things he’s done throughout his career.
A new woman comes forward with a new story, filled with new horrors, as if our faith in humanity wasn’t shaky enough these days.
And the stories aren’t even just limited to the crimes of Harvey Weinstein: tons of celebrities are feeling inspired to share stories of sexual harassment they’ve experienced throughout their careers, regardless of who the perpetrator was.
We’ve heard (or been reminded) of some pretty terrible tales about Ben Affleck, and actors like Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek have made it clear that men are victims of sexual assault in Hollywood, too.
But now we’re hearing a new story — one about George Clooney.
And it sure is a doozy.
Let’s think back, around 20 years ago, to a time when George was on a little show called ER.
For the first three seasons of the show, George acted alongside a woman named Vanessa Marquez, who played the role of Nurse Wendy Goldman.
Vanessa didn’t return for the fourth season though, and except for a few small roles here and there, she hasn’t acted since.
And that’s because, as she claims, she was blacklisted from the industry after speaking out about sexual harassment on the set of the show.
The whole thing began when George made a statement about Harvey Weinstein — the two had worked together extensively over the years.
In the statement, he called Harvey’s actions “indefensible,” and claimed that “I’ve never seen any of this behavior — ever.”
Vanessa discussed the matter on Twitter, where she wrote “B.S. Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up abt harassment on ER. ‘Women who don’t play the game lose career’ I did.”
She says that she’s been telling this story since it happened over 20 years ago, but since George Clooney is such a beloved actor, no one believes her.
“Clooney is doing pre damage control,” she theorized about his Harvey statements. “He has his own secrets and I know them!”
She called him a “predator” and a “hypocrite,” and said that “He’s not who he pretends to be,” he’s “a monster in his own way.”
As for the harassment she faced on the set of ER, she said that she experienced both sexual assault — she referred to what happened to her as “pussy grabbing” — and that things also got racial, and she heard “Mexican jokes EVERY day.”
“Happened to all the women,” she claimed. “They chose 2 b victims. I fought.”
To be clear, she never says that George was one of the people who harassed her on set, just that he was involved in blacklisting her after she brought the issue to light.
Many people are alarmed at this story, because there’s never really been any horror stories about George Clooney.
And George himself has already taken the time to address this story.
“I had no idea Vanessa was blacklisted,” he said. “I take her at her word. I was not a writer or a producer or a director on that show.”
“I had nothing to do with casting. I was an actor and only an actor. If she was told I was involved in any decision about her carer then she was lied to.”
“The fact that I couldn’t affect her career is only surpassed by the fact that I wouldn’t,” he concluded.
Vanessa, meanwhile, stands by her story.
What awful story are we going to hear next?