• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Latest
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
The Frisky
  • Home
  • News
  • Health
  • Celebs
  • Movies
  • Love
  • Relationships
  • Style
  • Entertainment
  • Parenting
  • Royals
  • Travel
Celebs

Elijah Wood Claims Child Sex Abuse In Hollywood Is An Out-Of-Control Nightmare

by Billy Antonio August 17, 2018
by Billy Antonio August 17, 2018
1.3K

Is Hollywood enabling the sexual abuse of child stars? According to at least one former child star, the answer is yes. In a (paywalled) interview with the Sunday Times, Elijah Wood claims that organized child abuse is common practice in the film industry, and that it is covered up by powerful industry figures.

Best known for playing Frodo in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Wood began his film career at the age of 8 with a minor role in Back to the Future II. He credits his mother with keeping him safe from any sort of abuse, stating that while he never went to the “parties” where such incidents occurred, “a lot of vipers in [the] industry” were abusing child stars regularly. He also points to Amy Berg’s documentary on child abuse in Hollywood, An Open Secret,which he describes as accurate but in a way that “only scratches the surface”. Wood goes on to compare America’s film industry to the abuses committed by late TV star Jimmy Savile in the UK.

“You all grew up with Savile — Jesus, it must have been devastating.”

For non-Brit readers: Savile was the first and last person to host the live music show Top of the Pops and fronted Jim’ll Fix It, a show where children wrote in asking him to fulfill requests such as arranging for them to meet their favorite celebrities. He became a family friend of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, received a knighthood, and worked with numerous charities…

CREDIT: Getty Images

(The NSPCC is Britain’s National Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Children.)

…and, after his death in 2011, was the subject of at least 450 investigations based on testimonies from 300 people who claimed that he’d sexually abused them. The youngest victim was 5 at the time of the abuse. Adding more awfulness to the awful fire, he often made charity and publicity visits to hospitals, many of these victims were extremely physically vulnerable.

What makes it even worse — if it could be any worse — is that his actions were an open secret. Britain’s shock-value comedians were joking about him being a pedophile when he was still alive and could have been prosecuted, and hospital staff were reportedly aware of his reputation but let him visit anyway. Some victims made complaints near the time of the assaults, but no action was taken until after Savile died.

That’s why Wood’s claims at least merit serious investigation. Savile abused an unimaginable number of children and young people, people knew him as a child abuser, and he seems to have got away with it. Who’s to say the same thing can’t happen in Hollywood?

Besides, although there are no widely known cases of Hollywood figures abusing children to this degree, it’s easy to see how quick the industry is to defend the act, especially when the perpetrator is white and male (which most top Hollywood people are). In 2009, after Roman Polanski was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 1977, over 100 actors, producers, and filmmakers signed a petition for his release. In other words, even when victims are backed up by official verdicts, the industry’s priority is to protect its own.

There are organizations speaking out against this mentality. Bizparents, which supports child actors and their families, provides free information on its website about pedophiles and child sexual abuse. But for real change to happen, the industry needs to stop intimidating victims into silence. As Wood puts it, “That’s the tragedy of attempting to reveal what is happening to innocent people.” It needs to stop sheltering abusers and to exercise its duty of care over all actors, especially when they’re vulnerable children.

Original by Kelly Kanayama

child abuseelijah woodjimmy savilemoviesroman polanskisexual assault
Billy Antonio

previous post
Lady Gaga’s Reason For Never Wearing Pants
next post
Cheating Isn’t That Bad

Related Posts

How to Improve Safety on Your College Campus

May 10, 2023

5 Best Jamie Lee Curtis Movies To Watch

April 3, 2023

The Best Game Adaptations from Popular Media

March 31, 2023

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Animals
  • Anime
  • Art
  • Astrology
  • Beard Care
  • Beauty
  • Betting
  • Biography
  • Blog
  • Business
  • Buying Guides
  • Cannabis
  • Cars
  • Casino
  • CBD
  • Celebs
  • Children
  • Citizenship
  • Clippers
  • Clothes
  • Computer
  • Couple Time
  • COVID-19
  • Crime
  • Crypto
  • Culture
  • Design
  • DIY
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Featured
  • Food
  • Food & Drink
  • Furniture
  • Galleries
  • Gambling
  • Games
  • Gardening
  • Gifts
  • Girl
  • Gossip
  • Guide
  • Guys
  • Hair
  • Hair Care Tips
  • Hair Dryers
  • Hair loss
  • Hairstyles
  • Health
  • Highlights
  • History
  • Hobby
  • Home
  • Horoscopes
  • Hot Rollers
  • How to …
  • Industry
  • Internet
  • Interview
  • Law
  • Legal Advice
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Love & Sex
  • Love Your Self
  • Makeup
  • Marketing
  • Medicine
  • Mind & Body
  • Money
  • Motorcycle
  • Movies
  • Moving
  • Music
  • Nails
  • Net Worth
  • News
  • Parenting
  • People
  • Pets
  • Photography
  • Products for Hair
  • Real Estate
  • Recipes
  • Relationships
  • Religion
  • Royals
  • SEO
  • Shopping
  • Skincare
  • Sports
  • Studying
  • Style
  • Super Stars
  • Tech
  • Technology
  • The Body
  • Tips
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Tools
  • Toys
  • Travel
  • Type
  • Uncategorized
  • Vape
  • Vehicle
  • Video
  • VR
  • Wedding
Footer Logo
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Latest
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2024 - All Right Reserved.

TheFrisky.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

We at TheFrisky participate in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn commissions on products or services that we recommend or promote through our website. When you click on a link to purchase a product or service that we have recommended or promoted, we may earn a commission from the sale. This commission helps us maintain and improve our website and provide you with valuable information and resources.

The Frisky
  • Home
  • News
  • Health
  • Celebs
  • Movies
  • Love
  • Relationships
  • Style
  • Entertainment
  • Parenting
  • Royals
  • Travel
The Frisky
  • Home
  • News
  • Health
  • Celebs
  • Movies
  • Love
  • Relationships
  • Style
  • Entertainment
  • Parenting
  • Royals
  • Travel
© 2024 - All Right Reserved.

TheFrisky.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

We at TheFrisky participate in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn commissions on products or services that we recommend or promote through our website. When you click on a link to purchase a product or service that we have recommended or promoted, we may earn a commission from the sale. This commission helps us maintain and improve our website and provide you with valuable information and resources.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy