Hollywood has a long history of harassing women. The casting couch stories were whispered about long before Harvey Weinstein’s scandal broke. While so many women didn’t speak out for fear of losing their careers, one woman made a strong stance against Hollywood executives sexually assaulting and harassing actresses. Maureen O’Hara was very vocal about this as early as 1945.
Maureen O’Hara Was Hollywood Whistleblower
“The Miracle on 34th Street” star put her acting career on the line in an interview with “The Mirror” when she was just 25.
She spoke out about the attempts made to ruin her career after she wouldn’t accept the sexual advances made by Hollywood executives. What a brave woman!
“I am so upset with it that I am ready to quit Hollywood,” said the then 25-year-old.
“It’s got so bad I hate to come to work in the morning. I’m a helpless victim of a Hollywood whispering campaign. Because I don’t let the producer and director kiss me every morning or let them paw me they have spread the word around town that I am not a woman – that I am a cold piece of marble statuary.”
Today’s actresses were relatively silent about the horrific treatment from Hollywood moguls like Weinstein until recently. Which makes it even more remarkable that O’Hara took a such bold stance that no other actress of her era made.
Maureen O’Hara was truly ahead of her time.
The Queen Of Technicolor
Often called the Queen of Technicolor, O’Hara recognized the risk she took speaking out to the press about Hollywood’s casting couch.
“I guess Hollywood won’t consider me as anything except a cold hunk of marble until I divorce my husband, give my baby away and get my name and photograph in all the newspapers,” she said. “If that’s Hollywood’s idea of being a woman, I’m ready to quit now.”
A picture of O’Hara’s 1945 story is in the tweet below.
O’Hara continued speaking out years later.
In 2004, she said, “I wouldn’t throw myself on the casting couch, and I know that cost me parts,” she explained. “I wasn’t going to play the whore. That wasn’t me.”
Her opportunities in Hollywood likely were affected, but she was adored by fans and was a legend on the big screen. A video of some of her best scenes is below.
What a brave and talented woman!
The backlash must have been tremendous, but she didn’t fold under the pressure of Hollywood’s awful treatment towards women!
Modern Maureens
While indviduals in Hollywood have been getting on the wrong side of the law all along, after O’Hara it wasn’t until recently that there seemed to be a major sexual predation scandal like Harvey Weinstein’s.
Thanks to brave women like Maureen O’Hara, over 80 women were comfortable enough to come forward and speak out about Weinstein’s actions and his behavior.
The number of A-List celebrities who denounced Weinstein is incredible. Just a few include:
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- Angelina Jolie
- Ashley Judd
- Rose McGowan
- Kate Beckinsale
- Lea Seydoux
- Eva Green
- Dozens more
And unlike some episodes in the past, it worked. Weinstein is now a convicted sex offender and will spend at least 16 years in prison.
Without Maureen O’Hara taking action when it was needed, who knows what Hollywood would look like today.
Source: Fox News
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