The Smiths front-man, Morrissey, told German newspaper Der Spiegel that Hollywood bigwigs facing sexual assault allegations, like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, might just be victims of people who were “disappointed” after meeting or sleeping with them.
In the bizarre interview, Morrissey appeared to suggest that Weinstein’s and Spacey’s accusers were providing authorities with false information, and that “everyone” in entertainment has slept with a minor — so it shouldn’t be punished, because “everyone” would be in jail.
“I hate rape, I hate assault, I hate people being forced into a sexual situation,” Morrissey said. “But in quite a few cases, you look at the situation and think that the people being described as victims are simply disappointed. In the whole history of Rock ‘n’ Roll there’ve been musicians who’ve slept with groupies. If you go through the history, almost everyone is guilty of sleeping with minors. Why don’t we throw everyone in jail?”
His generalized comments about sex with the underaged quickly became specific. In his following remarks, Morrissey attacked Anthony Rapp, the actor who initially accused Kevin Spacey of a sexual assault which Rapp says occurred when Rapp was only 14. Morrissey claimed that the actor should have avoided Spacey’s bedroom if he wasn’t interested in a sexual experience.
“You have to ask, ‘where were the boy’s parents?’ You ask yourself, if the boy didn’t know what could happen,” Morrissey claimed. “I don’t know what it was like for him but in my youth, I was never in a situation like that. Never. It was always clear to me what could happen. If you’re in someone’s bedroom, you have to know where it could lead. That’s why I don’t find the whole thing very believable. It seems to me Spacey has been unnecessarily attacked.”
Rapp, of course, says Spacey didn’t give him a choice; after a party, Rapp claims, Spacey picked him up and physically carried him into a bedroom, where Spacey laid on top of Rapp until Rapp escaped and locked himself in a bathroom.
But Morrissey didn’t limit his criticism to just Spacey’s accusers. According to the rock legend, most of the women who have come forward with claims against Harvey Weinstein knew what they were doing, but regretted sleeping with the movie mogul after the fact.
Those people knew exactly what would happen [when they went up to Weinstein’s hotel room], and they played along. Afterwards they were embarrassed or they didn’t enjoy it,” he said. “And then they turn it around and say: ‘I was attacked, I was surprised, I was pulled into the room.’ But if everything went well, and it helped them to a big career, they wouldn’t be talking about it.”
Morrissey received immediate backlash, but that probably won’t bother him. He’s clearly in a world all his own.