Two points:
1) I don't think that rape was one of the accusations levelled against him. I think is was sexual harassment and/or coercion. And, if he did indeed sexually harass any of his models, then his talent does not excuse that.
2) I am not denying that sexual harassment exists. I am not denying that it is vile and awful and a problem in the workplace. What I am saying, is that the accounts of harassment against him, or at least those to which I have been privy, are inconsistent, and were made years after the fact and none of them were coupled with calls to the police. That makes me doubt the veracity of the claims. It is a massive leap to suggest that I am somehow arguing that people's claims shouldn't be taken seriously by the criminal justice system; rather, when the accuser doesn't go to the police or any other attendant law enforcement body, and years after the fact claims that something untoward happened, my doubts are raised.
If someone is accused of a crime, that accusation must be viewed critically (which is different than saying dismissively or skeptically). All I said in my original post is that the accounts by the models, for the reasons elucidated above, do not convince and so I am not ready to condemn Richardson.
Catweazle, trust me that I have zero interest in engaging you, were you so inclined. I'm not looking for an argument. I just wanted to express my opinion on this matter. That you, willfully or not, misrepresented my point of view in order to make a straw man argument about something else entirely is disheartening. Consider this my "you can't fire me, I quit" comment.
Not to split hairs, but that's a recent shoot. The stuff he did for them in the 90s is fantastic. Again, a matter of taste, but even if you hate his stuff, that doesn't mean that you lower the standard of evidence against him when determining whether or not he is a serial sexual harasser.
Yeah, I'm so sure that people don't come forward after rapes because I'm on a blog saying I like his photos and that the evidence against him isn't strong.
Also, what is the misogynistic nature of his work? That he photographs himself in coitus? That he takes nude photos?
I know we're supposed to hate him, but I really like a lot of his fashion photography. Pretty much everything he shot for Harper's Bazaar in the '90s is excellent.
Again, not speaking to his character, but he does produce great work.
As for his less commercial stuff (i.e. everything in his books), it's not my cup of tea, but I'm not going to clutch my pearls.
Does he manipulate and harass his models? I hope not, but the stories from the models themselves are less than convincing to me. If true, it's indefensible, good body of work or not.
I got about five or so episodes into Banshee before giving up (there are only so many scenes of Russian mobsters speaking to each other in accented English, in lieu of, ohidontknow, Russian that I can stomach before I bail) but if anyone ever wants to discuss the ridiculous hotness of the lead, i'm here for you.
Also, I really like Nashville* so long as i fast-forward through the singing.
*the show, not the Altman movie. Although I'm sure the latter is fine**.
**a classic
But the sentences adhered to the sentencing guidelines as mandated by the state of Ohio; it's not as though the prosecutors sought a mild sentence because they didn't assign any seriousness to a crime of this nature. So, under the law as it exists, they got the sentence that they could. At least, that's my understanding.
At the end of the day, though, forget this CNN blip (which, yes, I get that it's an outrage, but in terms of the 24-hour news cycle, it's a blip) and focus on the fact that the two who were charged were ultimately convicted. That's the good news in all of this. Let's not make our own (legitimate) outrage the story here. The fact is that in spite of the collusion of the adults around them, these two minors who had every social advantage over the victim (hometown sports heros, etc), were nonetheless unable to escape the justice system. That's a very good thing. So maybe let's try to make this less about US and how outraged WE are by some shitty network's reporting and instead focus on the precedent set by this case and it's outcome.
I'm a big fan of Dave Holmes' tumblr because, as evidenced by this post, he is able to beautifully articulate those arguments that the rest of us are too frustrated/tired/angry/inarticulate to make. I actually nod along while reading him, like some common twat reading the New Yorker in a cafe*
What I'm saying is that he's the best.
*not something I have ever actually seen
I for real had to fix myself a drink* after last night's episode.
Also, I positively BEG you good people of Videogum to refrain from producing/posting any .gifs of the tarantula. Please. I am a delicate lady and you'd like me if you knew me, so just please honour this request that I have no right to make. Please?
*open a beer.
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