The Other McCain

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Has #MeToo Finally Gone Too Far?

Posted on | May 17, 2018 | 1 Comment

 

If you’ve watched MTV’s Catfish, you may remember Ayissha Morgan, a lesbian who was the victim in 2015 of an online-dating deception that the show’s hosts, Nev Schulman and Max Joseph, were able to unravel. Now, she is claiming she was sexually harassed by Schulman:

The show, now in its seventh season, began airing in 2012. In it, Schulman investigates online relationships, attempting to verify whether people are who they say they are on the internet.
In a video posted May 12 on YouTube, Ayissha Morgan, who appeared on the show in 2015, alleges that she was sexually harassed by Schulman throughout the production.
A lesbian, Morgan claims Schulman . . . pushed her to “reevaluate” her sexuality and have sex with him. In another video, posted May 14, Morgan alleges that a female production assistant, “Carol,” got her drunk and took advantage of her. The next day, she claims, Schulman invited her into his hotel room, where he allegedly propositioned her.
In a statement sent by his publicist, Schulman denied the charges.
“The behavior described in this video did not happen and I’m fortunate that there are a number of former colleagues who were present during this time period who are willing to speak up with the truth,” Schulman said. “I have always been transparent about my life and would always take responsibility for my actions — but these claims are false.”

If this accusation were proven true, as Shakespeare might say, it would be a grievous sin, and grievously shall Schulman answer it. However, the scenario alleged here seems wildly improbable to me, and there are reasons to doubt the veracity of Schulman’s accuser.

She has attempted, without much success, to parlay her 15 minutes of Catfish fame into a career (her YouTube channel has fewer than 4,000 subscribers) and her most obvious motive for making these allegations against Schulman would be to garner publicity. Is it possible that Schulman would “go for the two-point conversion,” as we used to say in college of guys trying to put the move on lesbians? While we can’t say that anything is impossible, the real question is not even whether this accusation is true, but whether it was wrong. Schulman got married last year, but in 2015, he was still a bachelor. If he found Morgan attractive, was he guilty of “harassment” for expressing interest in her?

“But she’s a lesbian! He pushed her to ‘reevaluate’ her sexuality!” you say.

To which the appropriate response is: So?

If you say it’s wrong for a heterosexual man to express interest in a self-identified lesbian, does that mean it’s also wrong for gay men to express interest in heterosexual men? Because this happens all the time, without anyone automatically considering it “harassment.” Heterosexuals would be accused of homophobia if they objected too loudly to propositions from gay people, but perhaps it is absurd to expect a sense of fair play from the #MeToo movement. There is no statute of limitations, no due process, no standards of evidence — a man is accused, his reputation is instantly destroyed and his career is automatically ended.

Let us stipulate, as a hypothetical, that there is some element of truth to what Morgan says. If Schulman “propositioned” her, should this alone be sufficient cause to cast him into outer darkness? Unless his behavior was grossly insulting, threatening or violent, I’d say no harm, no foul.

As it is, Schulman says his co-workers can attest that nothing of the kind actually happened and we therefore have a “he-said/she-said” controversy, not unlike the 2006 Duke lacrosse rape hoax in which liberals rushed to believe the alleged “victim,” who proved to be a liar.

 

Category: Sex Trouble

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One Response to “Has #MeToo Finally Gone Too Far?”

  1. FMJRA 2.0: It’s Only Rock & Roll : The Other McCain
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