Kate Bosworth on #MeToo, Her New Movie & Her Solid Sense of Self

On Saturday, actress and producer Kate Bosworth joined us as keynote for our Desert PopUp with MINI at the The Commune at the Ace.  

Taking the mic in front of 1000 attendees, Bosworth shared about the ups and downs of Hollywood, what it takes to make it, and keeping a solid sense of self through the years. “My whole life has been swinging from the rafters, whether as an artist or student,” she shared.

Swings that included risky moves. 

“I moved to LA on my own when I was 18,” Bosworth said about deferring from Princeton. Even though she was the first in her family to be accepted to Ivy League, she knew she wanted to be an actress. Her family was “thrilled,” but she had her sights set on making it in Hollywood. “I had a little studio apartment and started going on audition after audition after audition.” Furthering, “A lot of those roles didn’t have a lot of meat there.” All of the sudden Blue Crush landed in her lap. She felt plenty of affinity with the character, knowing, she said, “of what it was like to have a dream and want to achieve that dream.” But to also, “feel self doubt and fear.” Although she had never surfed, she went in to read for the breakout role that ultimately became hers.

But she didn’t land it immediately. The powers that be loved her for the part, but she needed to be able to surf. Bosworth had no idea how to ride a wave or paddle out. So the producer Brian Grazer and director John Stockwell told the novice they were going to try and cast real surfers for the role. That process would take about three weeks. During those three weeks Bosworth didn't twiddle her thumbs. Instead, she went out and found herself a surf instructor in Malibu. “For about 3-4 weeks and for 6-7 hours per day, I somewhat learned to paddle and not be a total amateur.” At the end of that time she called up both Grazer and Stockwell and asked, “Would you please watch me surf?”  

She landed the role not because she was the best surfer, but because she was determined. She was athletically focused. “That’s something I like to impart on anyone starting out their career,” she said, “have focus, be determined, and know what you love and you will find a way.”

"Have focus. Be determined. Know what you love. And you will find a way."  

“I look at my twenties with fondness and a lot of cringe moments,” Bosworth shared. “It’s only through experience that you learn things. You have to be willing and open to fail, which is hard for ambitious people. But you are going to fail. That will lead to something bigger and better.”

Most recently the actress has flipped her actress cap to producer for Nona, a film that chronicles sex trafficking work in Central America. Nona is an acronym for “No Name.” It tells the story of a girl from Honduras searching for a better life. “It was important for us to show the how,” Bosworth shared. “These are victims of very serious crimes and they are preyed upon.” The referenced "us" is Bosworth's husband a co-producer, Michael Polish, who also wrote and directed the film. It is the first feature from the pair through their newly formed production company, Make Pictures Productions.

As for the future, she’ll continue to make work that matters to her-- and that matters to her husband. “He loves women’s stories,” the actress explained. “I feel truly grateful to be married to a partner who talks the talk and walks the walk. And even in our most intense moments we’ll find something to laugh about pretty quickly.” What makes it work? She laughed, “A lot of kissing.”

What Bosworth doesn’t find a laughing matter are the #MeToo stories coming out of Hollywood. However she feels hopeful. “We all feel really similar and I think that’s really powerful. A female collective is happening right now, and as women in male-dominated work spaces, regardless of profession, we all felt a need to buckle down.”

“I love women,” she continued. “I love working with women. The one thing as an actress that’s very unsatisfying is that it’s very rare that you work with another actress. You’re often the ‘girl’ cast among six men. What’s great about this is that we’ve found ourselves working together. I do have a lot of hope. I think dialogue is important first and foremost. This isn’t a singular experience. This is a collective experience and we are better united.”

Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's Editor in Chief. Find her here. 

Photo credit: Becki Smith House Photography. Find her here.  

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Do We Have a Rape Accusation Double Standard?

Harvey Weinstein. 

Jeremy Piven. 

Louis CK.

Kevin Spacey. 

James Toback.  

Hollywood men are burning at the stake of their own creation. We’ve entered a news cycle that’s holding men accountable for their actions. Their shows are being cancelled. They're even being removed from completed movies. We're talking about actions, like those that comedian Louis CK stands accused of—  as of today’s NY Times piece.

(Side bar: in light of this, we feel compelled to revisit Samantha Bee's Penis PSA sketch on Full Frontal a month ago. “Fellas," the host said, "I’m a big comedy star slash Hollywood executive, and I’ve found that it’s quite easy not to masturbate in front of my employees. In fact, it’s one of the easiest things I don’t do. Every day, I wake up, get dressed, take the subway to work, and then don’t masturbate in front of anyone.”)

But there is a name that’s been thrown in the accused mix that some are having a harder time accepting and/or reconciling. 

Ed Westwick.

As of publication time, the former Gossip Girl star has been accused of rape by two women.  Deadline writes, “A former actress has come forward accusing Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick of raping her in 2014. The allegation comes just days after actress Kristina Cohen claimed Westwick raped her in February 2014. Westwick denied Cohen’s claims on Tuesday, writing on Twitter, ‘I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape.’”

Today the actor Tweeted, “It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and provably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct. I have absolutely not, and I am cooperating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible.”

Before Westwick tweeted his denial, his girlfriend Jessica Serfaty took to Twitter to defend him against the allegations. Writing, “I know you, I know the truth. Such sadness in my heart. I love your kind gentle soul. Bless.” 

She then posted the below on Instagram, which at the time of publication has over one thousand comments.

The comments range from angered support in favor or the couple: “Just 2 stupid women who as last class actors and dont [sic] get the attention they think they deserve…so how could they get better publicity. Ur both better than this shit.” To victim blaming, “Yeah, right. I’m sure all these Women probably threw themselves at him to get a part in the movie, whores,” and “I believe he didn’t do it!! Too many woman crying wolf all of the sudden, with zero evidence and a half plausible story.” To those who support and believe the victim. “Thanks for discrediting a rape victim everyone, rape culture is your fault,” one commenter wrote. 

The allegations against Westwick bring up a lot of interesting and difficult questions. Why is it easier to believe/support sexual assault allegations when they are brought against older, less ‘handsome’ men? Why do we choose to believe some victims and not others? What is the “right” way to support your partner when they are accused of vile acts? 

Is it as black and white as saying #metoo and I believe all women? Are there people for whom we don’t want the allegations to be true? Certainly. Inherent biases abound when dealing with such highly charged conversations. 

These are questions to which we hold no easy answers.

An often-cited Violence Against Women report states, “within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women ‘cry rape,’ that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives.” Other motives in the case of Ed Westwick would be— fame? Notoriety? When faced with questions like these many women wonder why anyone who make up such a horrific story. According to the same report, the prevalence of false allegations is between 2% and 10%. Although false rape accusations are statistical outliers, they do exist. 

In 2015, Donna Zuckerberg wrote this for Jezebel: 

“Rape allegations also draw attention to an uncomfortable contradiction. One of the core beliefs of our legal system is that defendants are innocent until proven guilty. On the other hand, many people—after an entire recorded history that has often assumed the opposite—have a default response of wanting to support and believe those who say they’ve been sexually assaulted. So how do we handle the fact that these two stances are fundamentally irreconcilable? If we believe that alleged rapists are innocent until proven guilty, then on some level, we have to believe that victims might be lying until they can prove that they’re telling the truth. We don’t want to automatically assume that everyone accused is a rapist, but we also don’t want to assume that accusers are liars. There is no unequivocally safe ground from which to judge.”

That doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s an incredibly touchy subject for all sides, espeically when women are banding together more so than ever before. Thousands of women have broken their silence. On Instagram alone the #metoo has over 550,000 posts. But what happens when we don’t like the narrative or have a hard time stomaching the accused as "rapist?" Harvey Weinstein fits our internal descriptor of a rapist. He looks like a monster, we think. But what about when the curtain doesn't match the drag? 

Dallas Clayton, the illustrator and author who is behind the “Stand Here and Think About Someone You Love” mural in LA, was accused of rape by Dawn Baston last month. Despite his popularity, at least on Instagram where he has 243k followers, there was no real backlash. Only a few reacted. Sophia Amoruso and Girl Boss took a bold stance, covering up one of his most popular LA murals. Vans pulled a shoe line collab from their website. Rudy's Barber Shop cancelled their a collaboration. However, he has his own book deals and a movie that he co-wrote with Sia, starting Kate Hudson (you know, the one for which she’s famously shaved her head) called Sister coming out in 2018. There is no news. No coverage. There are more stories covering Kate’s hair than Baston’s story. A Google search of "Dallas Clayton rape" turns up zero results. 

Is it because Clayton, like Westwick, also doesn’t fit our idea of rapist? How could the guy behind “An Awesome Book!” do such a tremendously not awesome thing? 

We don't have the answers, but we'd love to hear your thoughts below. 

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Me Too: The Create & Cultivate Staff Weighs In

Last Saturday, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, "Suggested by a friend: If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem." As Vice pointed out, via Ebony, “It was since revealed by Ebony that a campaign with the same name and aims, though without the social media virality, was initiated by a black woman named Tarana Burke ten years ago.” 

This has been building forever and magnitude doesn’t even begin to describe the situation. As one friend’s Facebook status asked: “So, every woman I know has been sexually harassed? Horrified.”

Me too.

You’ve seen a lot of it the last two days. Felt a lot of it in your gut. Maybe it's bringing up feelings you've avoided dealing with. Maybe you have "not me" too guilt, as one CEO texted me yesterday. Maybe you're wondering "does this count?" There’s no way to Bento Box this convo into neat little compartments. And the conversation around our office has been all over the damn place. We're going through the five stages of grief, surely, but we're also talking and sharing our stories. We happen to be a little intubated by C&C because we work with so many women. (We are, quite literally, a staff of 9 women.) Some of us (raises hand) have chosen to work with women because of such horrible work experiences with men. Is that the answer? Maybe not. 

But because we work in a safe space that doesn't mean we haven't experienced harassment both in and out of the workplace. 

#metoo. We're sharing. 

“Sorry I can’t help myself sometimes.”

When I was 21 I took a job at a marketing agency with two male co-founders and a mostly male staff, I was the only female employee. I was young and eager to please, this was my first job and I was just getting my work wheels in motion. I remember the first time it happened. I was leaving a meeting walking down 5th Ave. and my male colleagues were commenting on the client's breasts and how they couldn’t take their eyes of them and “mmmm” (grunt noise followed by an equally barf-y motion). I kinda just kept walking, put my head down and pretended not to hear but it kept happening. I would be in meetings and my boss would come stand behind me and press up right against my back and rub my shoulders, only to tell me he couldn’t stay for the meeting because he had a “hard out at 3.” The words, the motions, still make me want to vomit. I would mutter okay and keep looking at my notepad.  

All of these micro-aggressions led me to develop a defense mechanism, a “I'm one of the guys and I can handle this mentality,” that was equally sad and difficult to accept. It wasn’t until my next job, one where my boss, mentor and someone I admired took everything too far, did I do something different. It was my first big work trip, I was staying in a hotel room, in a different state, pitching a big company--  it was all so exciting! I remember going out for a steak dinner with my boss and clients (first work trip!) and having a glass of wine (on the client!) it was a new experience for me and then then clients sort of left. My boss and I stayed and the conversation turned to love lives. He kept telling me my boyfriend wasn’t good enough for me and I deserved better, all of this while his wedding ring was glistening in the steak house lights. I remember responding with a “yeah, cool. Totally. Im tired!” As we made our way back to the hotel room, we were both on the same floor (damnit), I walked toward my room and he slipped in front of me, “One more drink?” he asked. "Ummm I’m okay," I said. “ I have a suite,” he persisted. I said, "No, I'm tired," quickly swiping my hotel key and taking refuge in my room.  He me texted afterward: “Sorry I can’t help myself sometimes,” or something to the equally gross and not OK effect. This continued on and off for three months. After so much dodging and coming up with excuses to not meet, I had to find a new job. 

"I still remember his red sports car." 

At the time I was proud of my title...

"Teacher's pet." 

"Mr. so-and-so's favorite"

It was 5th grade and although it felt completely harmless at the time, when I think back on it now I cringe for the other girls who must have been made to feel like they were his favorite student (now knowing that such a title comes with a price).

The special treatment ranged from solo "field trips" to the zoo, 1:1 lunch outings (during the school day) and even after school hangouts at his house where he lived as a recent divorcee. (His daughter's presence, who was many years younger than me, must have given my mom the piece of mind she needed to allow this.)

I still remember his red sports car. I remember driving with him alone. I remember feeling prettier than the other girls in my class. I remember feeling smarter and more like-able. So much so that even during those few times where I felt nervous or anxious around him I told myself not to complain. Not to ruin it. 

Even years later, when a girl from my school publicly accused him of molesting her, I told myself it wasn't true.

Mr "so-and-so" could never do that. I remember thinking she was just be looking for attention. Even at that age, I blamed her. I made it her fault. Conversations about it with other classmates always started with, "Oh, come on" or "She's making it up." And yet they ended in "He wouldn't have, would he?"

I played memories over in my head. Recounted steps. Replayed our times spent alone. I wondered if I blocked things out. I still wonder if I did. I just wanted to be liked. I craved attention and in the process I turned my cheek (my very young, poreless cheek) to an older man who took advantage of his power and his influence. 

Male privilege, rape culture, victim blaming... It is engrained in our culture, even in the minds of 10 year old girls. I wish I could go back in time. I wish I could choose to say no to being "the favorite" I wish I hadn't believed it was special or that I was special because of it. Most of all I wish I could have hugged her. The girl who stood up for herself. I wish I would have told her it was not HER fault.

"Stay true to myself, hold my own."

I’ve been fortunate to join multiple teams where the majority of the staff is female. From the Keep A Breast Foundation to now C&C, they are led by empowering women who, over the years have taught me how to unapologetically stay true to myself, hold my own, and craft my voice in a way for it to be heard and respected. 

I’m also thankful for the experiences I’ve had with the men I’ve worked with, because they too valued my opinions and work, and never failed to see me as their equal. As we have seen from basically the beginning of mankind, I’ve been lucky. My time in the music industry, which is majorly known as a “boys club,” was also positive. But I have countless of female friends with shocking and heartbreaking stories.  While I can’t say “Me Too” in the workplace, I am disgusted and angry and will always say, “I believe you. I am here for you.”

“Ahhh yeah, I like the way you walk.”

Cars. I have a fear of them. I’ve had so many experiences minding my own business walking on a sidewalk or in a parking lot where a man or a group of men, usually twice my size and age, have pulled up next to me, hollering for me to come closer. 

*whistles*

“DAMN GIRL, YOU LOOKIN FINE."

“Ahhh yeah, I like the way you walk.”

“You look so exotic, let me get your number.”

etc, etc. It’s terrifying. Not flattering. But I put a polite smile on my face to not offend or anger them, as if I’M in the wrong. And I quicken my step hoping they don’t follow me. It’s exhausting to always have a guard up day and night. 

"If I was wearing a cheerleading uniform." 

When I was interning in NYC for a sports management company (super illegally - 0 payment or credit) the CEO use to make me attend “mandatory” Sunday work meetings where I had to travel over an hour to watch sports games with him and his friends at bars. Does that seem innocuous? Maybe to some, but looking back, was it beyond inappropriate. Definitely. 

More specifically, I cheered professionally throughout college. And I mean… If I was wearing a cheerleading uniform (which I wore for 15 years of my life) it was like I had a sign on my back that said men can feel free to touch me wherever you want. Professors, student athletes, co-ed teammates, strangers at games, guests at the president of the university’s house, coaches... I was fair game after the game to them. It's insane now when I look back at it. But it paid for college so it was something I put up with. Equally as crazy. 

"Will never work with men again." 

I used to work for major telecommunications company in the mid-west. It was all white men. Khaki men. They knew nothing about entertainment or lifestyle marketing, which is what I was brought in to do. 

I ended up getting laid off, replaced by a 55-year-old white man. And I swore when that happened I would never work for white men again. They were never sexually inappropriate, but they talked down to women all the time. I heard the phrase, “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” constantly. In large meetings and in small meetings. After that experience I knew I wanted to work for a female-owned company or a company where the senior leadership team was comprised mainly of women. 

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