Perhaps Showtime should consider changing the title of their newest drama "Shameless" to "Pointless." Because that's a good descriptor of their cast and crew's latest stunt.
Actress Emmy Rossum (who also starred in the Phantom of the Opera and....honestly, that's the only thing I can think of) tweeted Monday that she and the entire “Shameless” crew observed a “full minute of silence” for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who’s accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school 35 years ago.
Rossum, who’s not even remotely connected with the Kavanaugh case in any way, nonetheless tweeted an official “statement” Monday that no one asked for, along with a cell phone video of a bunch of actors holding red Solo cups and standing around a TV set doing nothing.
My statement. pic.twitter.com/yZjK1PjzJC
— Emmy Rossum (@emmyrossum) September 24, 2018
We had a full minute of silence on set to support Dr. Ford. #BelieveSurvivors #BelieveWomen #TimesUp pic.twitter.com/7zcHeRw13k
— Emmy Rossum (@emmyrossum) September 24, 2018
Unlike many for whom moments of silence are observed, Ford is, of course, very much alive. In fact, after much back-and-forthing on the matter, she’s tentatively agreed to testify in an open session before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday regarding her claim that Kavanaugh once tried to rape her during a party when he was 17 – a claim for which she’s produced zero proof, and of which all three of her named witnesses have denied having any knowledge.
As ridiculous as her self-laudatory stand might be, Rossum is far from the only celeb who’s taken up Ford’s cause. Before the ink was even dry on the accusatory letter she sent to Democratic lawmakers, a gaggle of starlets (along with a few random non-famous women) had already released a video for MoveOn.org praising Ford for her bravery and signing it “your sisters.”
Others have launched the social media campaign #DearIvanka petitioning the First Daughter to convince President Trump to nix Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Krista Vernoff, a showrunner for ABC’s long-running soap drama Grey’s Anatomy, boasted that she and her fellow crewmates staged a walkout Monday “in solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and sexual abuse victims worldwide.”
On my first day as a television director, I walked out along with my cast and crew in solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and sexual abuse victims worldwide. #DearProfessorFord #metoo #TIMESUP pic.twitter.com/eTMvNWSVm8
— Krista Vernoff (@KristaVernoff) September 24, 2018
It’s not clear how moments of silence and storming off a television set actually help – or have a thing to do with, in fact – women who’ve been sexually abused. But then, it wouldn't be Tinseltown without a whole lot of manufactured drama, would it?