Hollywood is being rattled with misogynistic controversies. Since The New York Times published their bombshell exposé on Harvey Weinstein, stars and industry insiders have been more vocal toward their offenders. The tower Hollywood once built to protect these predators is slowly crumbling down, thanks to the bravery of their victims.
I couldn’t help but think that the Weinstein problem–the catastrophe of having misogynistic men in power–is widespread. It’s definitely not a Western one, too. Universally, tales of women being coerced into doing a favor (sexual or otherwise) out of pressure have gone on for centuries and the sadder thing about it is, the victims are made to stay silent in their suffering while their perpetrators run free.
Local showbiz has had its fair share of rumors, assaults, tragedy, and rapists. Anyone who’s been here long enough must have heard about the curious, unfortunate case of the “soda star” Pepsi Paloma. She was no urban legend. A rising star of the ’80s, Pepsi has been steadily making her name in the silver screen at 14 until her career was stunted by the barbaric act of three established celebrities. According to her account, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Richie D’Horsey took her out to a bar, drugged her, and raped her in a hotel room. Also according to her account, she was approached by Tito Sotto, Vic’s older brother, while she was still securing the services of Atty. Rene Cayetano, whom she approached for pro bono services. Years after, she committed suicide for what the press release explained as “money problems.”
In an attempt to bring justice to her years after, accounts of what had happened after the incident had surfaced. Rina Jimenez David, in her column in the The Philippine Daily Inquirer, details the meeting further: “Paloma eventually dropped the charges after she was allegedly visited by one of the trio who said he had only talked with her, but only after placing a pistol on the table in front of her.”
No criminal charges were filed against them and like salt to an injury, the three proceeded to appear on the show, go down on their knees, and ask for Pepsi’s forgiveness from raping her when she was barely a teen.
The Harvey Weinstein problem is not simply because we have let men like him go unscathed for so long. The problem has always been how we have created a safe space to nurture these predators, encouraging them to feel that their sins are easily forgiven, forgotten, and shrugged off. The problem has always been how we haven’t provided a safe refuge for victims to speak and go against suspects like these. The problem, too, is how long this has been going.
Here’s another dilemma to bring home: How do we solve a problem like this?
