True or false? Should you believe this and should the media run with it?
When I was 19 years old, I wished to become an actress in Hollywood. One day, on the set of Cheech and Chong, I was asked to stand in for an actress who was getting her hair done. I was told to lie on the bed with Tommy Chong, with the sheets and duvet covering us both, my side of the covers pulled over my face so that during filming it would not be noticed that I was body doubling for the actress.
While under the covers with Chong, I felt his hand cup my breast and then travel down my body to between my legs. He grabbed my hand and placed it on his penis and rubbed it up and down. I was mortified and didn't know what to do because the camera was rolling and there were people all around. I was only 19 and naive and not very versed in how to deal with sexual assault, a sexual assault that occurred with a group of men surrounding the bed, a group of men who were friends with Mr. Chong, a famous actor and comedian, and me, a nobody that they could care less about.
I remained paralyzed under the sheet while Chong laughed with his crew and continued to move his hands and mine wherever he wanted. When they finished filming and the actress I was standing in for came into the room, I was summarily dismissed and I got out of the bed and pulled my dress down in front of everyone; I was crying but no one even looked at me and I ran from the room.
I was so traumatized by the experience that I left Hollywood and my dreams and over the years I had to seek counseling as I didn't trust men after that. I only told my sister and father what happened because they asked why I left Hollywood so abruptly and gave up on my long desired acting career.
I didn't come forward years ago because I was just an extra in the film industry and I knew no one would believe me over Tommy Chong who was loved and admired by many. But, now that I, too, have been on television for years and I am more mature and able to handle the fallout, I want to come forward and let people, especially other women who may have been abused by Mr. Chong, to know what happened to me and encourage others to come forward if they have had a similar experience. I want to let the public know that no one should get away with sexual assault just because they are famous and the victim is not. I hope coming forward will help others deal with sexual abuse and bring their abusers to justice.
Now, to the evidence:
On the side of Pat Brown:
She can prove she was in Hollywood at the time she claims the incident occurred.
She can prove by way of old dated letters (with the envelope) that she was on the set of Cheech and Chong's movie.
Her sister will verify that she was told by Pat Brown that the incident occurred and that she was told of the incident shortly after it occurred.
On the side of Tommy Chong:
No one remembers Pat Brown on the set while the movie was being filmed.
No one remembers an incident in which Tommy Chong was in the bed with Pat Brown.
No one remembers an incident in which an upset young extra jumped from the bed with her dress up over her waist and ran crying from the room.
The father of Pat Brown is dead; therefore, he cannot testify to what she said years ago.
Even if Pat Brown claimed years ago Tommy Chong sexually assaulted her, there is no way of knowing if this was truthful or just a fantastical claim of Pat Brown's to gain attention or to explain to her family her failure in Hollywood as an actress.
No one knows if Pat Brown and her sister are telling this story in order to achieve notoriety or money.
No one knows if Pat Brown and her sister are telling this story in order to achieve notoriety or money.
If other women come forward with similar claims, do you believe this adds to the evidence on Pat Brown's side of the equation?
Do you think this is a story the media should spread and a case Gloria Allred should take up since no police report was ever filed?
If this story goes public, who do you think the victim is? Pat Brown or Tommy Chong?
DISCLAIMER: I have just received a phone call offering me legal representation against Tommy Chong. THE POST IS FICTION! It is meant to make people THINK TWICE about media stories in which a famous person is accused of sexual assault without proof. I was NOT assaulted by Tommy Chong or any other famous person.
Criminal Profiler Pat Brown
October 16, 2016
I don't know the answer, but one thing I'm sure of is that young women and men need to be educated, whether in school or by their parents, in regards to the clearest, most efficient way to handle an assault. For instance, you don't spend 15 minutes on a plane letting Trump grope you before you get up and do something about it. We saw this in the Cosby case as well - women making very bad decisions. Obviously, a good deal of the population needs better education about how to conduct themselves when assaults start happening.
ReplyDeleteI request that specific cases and political figures not be discussed here as we do not even know if the accusations are true or not which is why I wrote this post.
ReplyDeleteBut, to answer you, Florence, yes, the time to deal with sexual inappropriateness (and some does not really rise to that of sexual assault) is at the time. For example, if you are flirting with someone and he or she leans over to you and kiss you on the lips, this is hardly assault. However, if you then realize that you over flirted or you didn't realize that you were flirting, you just say, "ooh, no," and that is that. If you weren't flirting, and the someone kisses you on the lips, well, they may be just the kind that does that and it may not even be sexual! Geez, some cultures do this and even among family members. But, let's say it is a stronger mouth kiss than you like; you pull away. If touching exceeds your comfort, step away and make comment. If a total stranger comes up and grabs your book, punch him in the face! (Women used to slap men...I don't know why stopped doing that when touched inappropriately). But, if worse happens and there is evidence, a police report is the next line of action.
We - both male and female - have to set limits on our OWN behaviors AND the behaviors of others. But the time to do it is NOW, not decades later.
Yes, agreed. Circumstances get muddier when the accused is a powerful male, as there is an element of possible personal gain for the woman for allowing the assault to happen, i.e. the old "casting couch" situation. Sometimes women don't report immediately because they are ambivalent about the degree to which their own self-interest enabled the assault. So, yes we are responsible for our own behavior and also have to clearly draw the line for the male. Easier to say when you're older. As a young person in the 70's, I had a coach who was a groper and it never would have occurred to me to report it back in those days.
ReplyDeleteFlorence, at a certain point, if we allow the groper to continue groping, we are either enjoying the attention or trading the groping for something. Ambivalence is not necessarily about self-interest allowing an assault because IF the woman (or man) allowed it, then it is not an assault. The ambivalence usually occurs when later you realized you permitted sexual interaction and you didn't get what you wanted out of it (like a job or money or a good time).
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right, although I would just add that there are situations where, especially if you're underage and inexperienced, and the perpetrator is in a position of power, they can really make life Hell for you if you don't appease them, or you think they will. As Helen Mirren has been quoted as saying, "if I had it to do over again, I would have said 'f**k off' more often."
ReplyDelete::laughs::Yes, Florence, and we do need to teach our daughters to stand up for themselves and all others - in a honorable and honest way.
ReplyDeleteYoung people freeze in these situations unless they are not only taught but drilled by their parents what to do, and that never happened in mine or Pat Brown's time.
ReplyDeleteI was in the music business and can't tell you how many attempts were made on my person. I learned to rely on my smart mouth a lot and also learned to LOUDLY bust someone who's pulling something, whether it's sexual or some female trying to bully you and embarrass them in public right then.
The last time someone tried to hold me back from a Hollywood party I had a backstage pass to in an effort to elicit sexual favors to let me in, I "accidentally" came down really hard on his foot with my spiked heel and then apologized profusely, as I walked past him into the party. On some of the earlier harassers, I managed to outrank them at some point and they dared not bother me again.
But young girls are not prepared, and someone need to prepare them to blow the whistle right then and loudly. Teach your daughters to be brutal. Teach your sons to respect women.