Australian actress Margot Robbie recently revealed in an interview with E! News that she gave Brad Pitt an unscripted kiss in a new movie called Babylon, written and directed by Damien Chazelle. Regarding the kiss, Robbie told Emmy award-winning journalist Francesca Amiker:
‘You know that was improvised? That wasn’t in the script but I thought, “When else am I going to get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt? I’m just gonna go for it.” It was just great.’
Robbie had to convince her director Chazelle before acting on her idea.
‘I said, “Damien, I think Nellie [the character] would just go up and kiss Jack.” And Damien was like, “Hold on, you just want to kiss Brad Pitt.” And I was like, “Oh, so sue me. This opportunity might never come up again.” And he was like, “It does work for the character.” And I was like, “I think so.”’
Amiker said the moment between Robbie and Pitt ‘will become an iconic kiss scene’ in movie history.
We all know how this would have played out if it was Pitt that snuck in the unscripted kiss and then went on TV and bragged about it – every feminist commentator would have been out for his scrotum with knives and pitchforks. We would have heard lengthy diatribes about male entitlement and long-winded rants about sexual assault in the workplace. Pitt would have been driven out of Hollywood and his reputation tarnished irreparably. Australia’s most controversial feminist would have been having kittens. Double standards much?
News.com.au reported on the Robbie-Pitt incident as ‘kissing and telling’ whilst assuring readers that Robbie ‘is clearly committed to her husband’ because obviously the general public are so dumb that they’re unable to differentiate between acting and real life. There was no talk of #MeToo, sexual consent, or personal boundaries in the article. As is always the case with militant feminism – there is one set of rules for men and another set of rules for those of us who possess a vagina. While we do not know if Pitt was forewarned about the unscripted kiss, the public dialogue surrounding it in the absence of detail is fascinating.
The (religiously Woke) Independent in the UK reported on the story as if to say: ‘Nothing to see here!’ whilst People Magazine, Vulture, and other media outlets followed suit. But what’s worse, the director of Babylon encouraged the unscripted kiss. Would Chazelle have supported a male actor who planned to do the same on an unsuspecting actress? Of course not. Kissing someone without their consent in a regular work environment is legally considered sexual assault. Something of that nature could finish a film director’s career. Yet here we are – with every female commentator’s head buried in the sand.
On the E! News Facebook post about the unscripted kiss, social media users were quick to point out the hypocrisy. One user responded: ‘Double standards. Had that been Brad Pitt, he would have been slapped with an assault charge.’ Another added: ‘Isn’t that rapey?’ It’s worth pointing out that I couldn’t give a fig about unscripted kisses nor do I have anything against the talented Robbie and Pitt. It’s the double standards that exist when it comes to the sexual harassment of men that bugs me.
The Times Opinion/Sienna College Poll recently found that 61 per cent of women, compared to 49 per cent of men are more likely to self-censor and not voice what they really feel – in fear of retaliation and being cancelled. Couple this with the strict #MeToo narrative that brainwashes women into believing they lack sexual agency and they’re downtrodden victims walking the earth amongst predatory males and you realise: Houston, we have a problem!
But seriously, why am I surprised?
When Italian actress and #MeToo darling Asia Argento (who was one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of rape) was accused of having sex with actor and musician Jimmy Bennett (who was only 17 at the time), other #MeToo heroes jumped in to defend Argento.
Rose McGowan tweeted: ‘None of us know the truth of the situation, and I’m sure more will be revealed. Be gentle.’ Huh! What a joke. If only male victims got the same compassion and presumption of innocence. Not only that, Anna North wrote a despicable column for Vox, essentially saying that Argento’s alleged behaviour didn’t invalidate her own lived experience of abuse.
Most people that abuse have been abused, it’s a scientific fact. Yet I have never seen a man’s personal experience of abuse exonerate his own predatory actions. More double standards!
What took place on the Babylon set was what society at large usually considers to be sexual assault, whether Brad Pitt was okay with it or not. Because if the tables were turned, this new blockbuster movie wouldn’t even reach cinematic release.