OPINION:
Mariah Carey, pop icon of the 1980s, has been accused of sexual harassment.
Equal opportunity, right? Why should Harvey Weinstein have the corner on sexual-tied aggressions?
And don’t forget, after Weinstein, came all these others, kindly compiled by CNN: Actor Kevin Spacey, screenwriter and director James Toback, actor Ben Affleck, ex-president George H.W. Bush, fired Nickelodeon creator Chris Savino, Amazon Studios head Roy Price, celebrity chef John Besh, journalist Mark Halperin, NPR editor Michael Oreskes and Vox editorial director Lockhart Steele.
The common denominators? All were accused of some form of sexual harassment, and all are men.
Well, here comes Carey, to break the gender bank.
She’s been accused of “behaving in a sexual way toward her former personal security [guard], Michael Anello. TMZ reports that Anello is also accusing Carey of denigrating him by calling him a skinhead, a Nazi and a white supremacist,” Newsweek reported.
He’s threatening to sue Carey for $220,000 for unpaid work he performed for her as CEO of his Los Angeles-based Anello Security & Consulting.
TMZ said Carey’s spokespeople “have no information on the sexual harassment claim,” which involves an allegation from Anello that he helped the songstress move luggage into her hotel room, and there, was subjected to an unwelcome advance.
Specifically, he claims Carey “was wearing a sheer negligee” in the room, and he “tried to excuse himself but Carey insisted that he move the luggage. At this point, he left the room,” Newsweek put it.
Sexual harassment, or seduction gone south?
You decide. But sexual harassment is quickly becoming what day care child abuse under former Dade County Attorney General Janet Reno was in the 1980s — what Salem witch trials under colonial rule in Massachusetts was in the 1690s. It’s out there, it’s being talked about, it’s being scrutinized, it’s being prosecuted and punished — and there’s a real need to beware.
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