The Oscars take place this Sunday, bringing together Hollywood’s elite. And artist Joshua “Ginger” Monroe is using the occasion to call out the industry for systemically covering up sexual assault allegations in the past. The controversial artist has created a giant gold statue of Harvey Weinstein sitting on a casting couch (complete with the former studio executive holding his Oscar in a manner suggestive of a phallus) and placed it near the Oscars venue. In-depth reporting surrounding Harvey Weinstein’s long list of accusers last fall sparked an international conversation centered on sexual assault in the entertainment industry. Actresses then brought the conversation to the homes of millions of Americans at the Golden Globes, calling for all attendees to wear black. A number of actresses also dedicated their acceptance speeches to speaking out against sexual assault and harassment. But many who took part in the demonstration were also once friends with Weinstein. In a way, Ginger’s piece is shining a light on the hypocrisy that the same industry players and institutions condemning Weinstein were the same ones who awarded him.
“The whole couch and the entire image it gives off was to me a visual representation of the practices and methods that are used in Hollywood with these big powerful people,” Ginger tells The Hollywood Reporter. “They have money and power to give jobs and they use that for their own sexual gratification and there’s no better way to visualize this than the way we did with the casting couch.”
Instagram-friendly protest pieces are becoming increasingly popular. Today, “three billboards” outside the Oscars venue also called out Hollywood for sexual abuse. One billboard said, “And the Oscar for best pedophile goes to…” We’ll be watching closely Sunday night to see if/how the industry responds to the criticism.