As accusations of sexual harassment and assault continue to mount up in Hollywood, actor Tom Hanks opened up and gave his take on the situation. The Forrest Gump actor thinks that people should be patient and wait to see how the accusations play out over “the long haul.”
“Picasso was a womanizer; this is not excusing anybody. You just have to wait and see how it settles over the long haul.” Hanks told BuzzFeed News. “This is not a sprint, this is a marathon.”
Streep, on the other hand, who was friends with movie producer Harvey Weinstein, but took a stand against him amid numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations, compared the recent influx of sexual harassment cases to the likes of Shakespeare.
“We still revere Shakespeare,” she said. “I mean we haven’t thrown [“The Merchant of Venice”] out and there is no question that that play is antisemitic. There’s no question that ‘The Taming of The Shrew’ is misogynist. Everybody has their blank spots, but the genius that understands about the human experiment is worth safeguarding and shouldn’t be touched.”
Hanks continued on to say that if every person who made films in Hollywood who acted inappropriately got thrown out, that “Netflix would go out of business.” In other words, Hanks feels that a “patient, considered approach” should be taken when dealing with alleged Hollywood perverts and predators, reports Metro.
Within the past several months, numerous Hollywood stars and actors have been accused of numerous sexual-related infractions, including Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Brian Singer, Danny Masterson, John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, and many more. While Hanks feels that the work speaks for itself, he does admit that at some point, the accused person’s character can and will come into play, but it will take time for justice to prevail.
“I think work does speak for itself, but character does come into the conversation at some point, but I think that lands over time.”
Hanks and Streep star together in the upcoming historical drama/thriller film, The Post, scheduled for release in theaters on Dec. 22.
[Feature Photo: Tom Hanks/AP/Grant Pollard/Invision]
