However, now it seems that having created a toxic work environment is some kind of crime. Mr. Whedon is actually being "investigated" by a major studio for having done this. Why? Is this a prosecutable offense? What is the hope that if this reassessment of Mr. Whedon's past job performance is found to have been "toxic"? An apology? A ban on his being able to work again? A kinder, gentler work place for superheroes? Are they going to have shoulder rubs at the craft service table (no, we don't want to invite inappropriate touching allegations (have you ever been in a group shoulder rub? They're quite popular at community theater rehearsals; and yes, they're as creepy and inappropriate as they sound). How about a Trust Fall and a round of Mr. Rogers' "It's You I Like" between takes? Not to diminish the complaints of several of Mr. Whedon's employees; but let's face it. Some people are mean and you just have to deal with it. And let's face this: in a lot of cases, mean people get shit done. Cranking out a brand new hour of TV once a week for seven years, I think, would make anyone a little testy. And other than him being a jerk; it doesn't seem as though he did anything that was criminal. Perhaps morally and ethically wrong. And now he has to apologize? If we expect apologies from everyone in our lives who were mean to us; all we'd do is sit around listening to apologies. I worked in Hollywood. I was publicly bullied in front of an audience by the star of the show. Do I want an apology now? No. I chalk it up to experience. And today I'm a better man for it. It made me pull up my big boy pants and soldier on. And now I have an anecdote and that person still has a Q rating that's in the single digits.
Are people just that bored that they're like doing deep-dive research into incidences of meanness from days gone by? Why is Paris Hilton getting press for her old interview with David Letterman wherein he ridiculed her for her stint in prison? Did she not know what David Letterman was like? His whole schtick was making people uncomfortable and mocking them and needling them without mercy if he so chose to fixate on something needleable. That was his stock and trade. He built a talk-show on being an asshole. He was mean if he wanted to be and especially if he didn't like you. Even if he did like you! He liked Paris enough to have her on the show numerous times after this traumatic event; and she went on...so, like, why are we even talking about this? Lindsay Lohan's fans are whining about her treatment on Letterman. Again, Letterman was a professional d**k. Why did she go on his show if she knew she was at risk of being mocked? And why is her having been mocked then being reassessed now? And excuse me, but weren't Paris, Lindsay and Britney Spears all getting in and out of numerous and sundry motor vehicles around this time and "accidentally" flashing their exposed "intimate areas" for all the paparazzi to photograph and the world to see? I mean I think I speak for a lot of people when I say we still feel sexually harassed by that "fad." Where's our apology for that? If male celebrities started flashing their junk getting out of limos, I'm pretty certain it would end their careers faster than you could say "chocolate starfish." But male or female; nobody wants to see your exposed bathing suit areas, uninvited. I don't care if it is pixelated.
That's just a mean thing to do.