Hollywood is having a moment of reckoning regarding abusive workplace behavior.
The LA Times took a deep dive into accusations of workplace misconduct at the talent agency ICM. The array of allegations include at least one instance of sexual assault, plus more standard bullying that has permeated all the major talent agencies in Hollywood.
The agencies have long run on a “pay your dues” mentality, where agents would bully assistants, then those assistants would one day become agents bullying their own underlings. Some members of Gen Z are thinking about how they can stop the cycle of abuse.
And The Hollywood Reporter wrote about how some companies are hiring so-called “rage coaches” to help leaders tamp down the kinds of bullying behavior that is increasingly getting them into trouble.
One of those coaches is Randy Spelling, son of famous TV producer Aaron Spelling. Spelling told The Hollywood Reporter that when he finds people resistant to his training, he reminds them, “If you continue to say this and do this and act this way, at some point you won’t get to do the work that you love. Do you want to trade places with Harvey Weinstein?”