Home
Archive
Columnists
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Register to Vote: Rock the Vote, powered by Working Assets Wireless
Advertisement
  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Sarah Jessica Parker Whores for Woman Beater

Posted by Don Hazen at 5:17 AM on September 18, 2007.


Don Hazen: Why is Parker standing by Chris Albrecht, the former CEO of HBO who's had a long history of assaulting women?
17sjpandalbrechtlg
parker

Share and save this post:
Digg iconDelicious iconReddit iconFark iconYahoo! iconNewsvine! iconFacebook iconNewsTrust icon

Got a tip for a post?:
Email us | Anonymous form

Get PEEK in your
mailbox!

 

There seems to be an epidemic of all sorts of violence against women -- beatings, stabbings, shootings. Often wives and girlfriends are the target. Even People Magazine had a recent feature on high school girls who get trapped in relationships where their "cute' or "popular" boy friends regularly pulverize them. But it seems so hard for prominent people to hold their pals even the slightest bit accountable for bad behavior.

One guy who seemed to pay the price for women battering was Chris Albrecht, the former CEO of HBO, who developed mega shows like The Sopranos and Sex in the City. He was forced to resign last May after being charged with assaulting his girlfriend in a Las Vegas parking lot. Then it came out that he had payed at least $400,000 to a women in 1991, who worked under him, who accused him of choking her during a disagreement in her office. We don't know what happened in between.

But in the Hollywood world of many chances, Albrecht has landed firmly on both feet as a major player as head of the global business unit at IMG, a growing Hollywood talent agency, owned by big finance guy Theodore F. Forstman. The NY Times reported the new life for Albrecht in a god-awful puff piece by Andrew Ross Sorkin in the business section yesterday. The article did not quote a single person who uttered anything remotely negative about the newly re-empowered Albrecht and his past behavior. And in a great show of enterprising energy, Sorkin gives a key quote framing the new role and image of Albrecht to......... the Goldman Sachs partner who helped broker Albrecht's deal. I bet that guy offered a lot if insight. Quite a journalist that Andrew Sorkin.

But the most nauseating performance in the article was by Sarah Jessica Parker, who is quoted as saying:

"I would never be reluctant to working with him again. Maybe I'm being Pollyanna-sh but people want to work with people who are successful."

Right. It doesn't matter what the guy does in his private life, as long as the big bucks and juicy roles keep pouring in for Ms. Parker.

Albrecht may have had a substance abuse problem, and if he fixed it, good for him. But for Parker to not even give a nod to a pervasive problem of violence against women by making it crystal clear that the guy's behavior doesn't even warrant a moment of consideration, is pretty pathetic. Parker added that she had been very upset when she heard about Albrecht's resignation: "It was like losing a parent" but said, she: "wasn't interested in the grisly details." That's good, Ms. Kiss-ass Parker, keep those eyes closed tight.

Digg!

Tagged as: media, parker, hbo, violence against women, entertainment, albrecht

Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet.


Study Shows 'Center-Right Nation' Narrative Spiked Immediately After Election Day
We're not talking about theory anymore - we're talking about empirical fact.
Post by David Sirota. November 21, 2008.
Will Gen. Jim Jones Be Obama's National Security Advisor?
Although not as bad as keeping Gates as Secretary of Defense it would still be a very disappointing selection.
Post by Chris Bowers. November 21, 2008.
Obama's (Rumored) Pick for Secretary of the Treasury Makes Wall Street Happy
He's going to be the Secretary of the Treasury in the midst of a financial crisis, so it's probably worth taking the time to get to know him.
Post by Steve Benen. November 21, 2008.
Advertisement
Comments Turn comments off sitewide Give us feedback »
Comments closed.
The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated.
View:
Who writes the checks?
Posted by: Markson on Sep 18, 2007 6:25 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That's why.

Stop looking to celebrities, especially borderline has-beens, for any semblance of courage. They only pretend to have any decency when its fashionable. Where were all the celebrities, who are just now coming out against the Iraq war, in 2003? Right, quiet so as not to disturb their bank account.

Why any woman looks up to the likes of Parker is beyond me.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

go for the powerful
Posted by: Fairybear on Sep 18, 2007 7:09 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Instead of focusing on S.J.Parker why not give us a list of clients of IMG. Then we can know the names of all the folks who are supporting this man. We could also use the names and contact information for the people responsible for hiring this guy. Parker is an actress but alone she's powerless. Give us the power people. They may be less glamorous BUT much more useful.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: go for the powerful Posted by: VZEQICVA
why?
Posted by: pacto on Sep 18, 2007 7:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
MS. Parker, is not a has been,she has succesfully risen to the minute amount of fame by sleeping with Charlie Sheen,has beens are people who were famous, she isnt a has been,she is a never was

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

What the hell is this?!
Posted by: wonderwoman on Sep 18, 2007 10:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Sarah Jessica Parker has been an actress since she was a teenager (Square Pegs was my favorite show as a kid!). I have no great love for her - Sex In the City grates on me - but she's an actress who worked hard to get where she is. Slept with Charlie Sheen?!! Oh yeah, that'd get you far as an actress. Cause Charlie Sheen has really risen to his station on his acting chops...

And Mr. Hazen may need reminding that violence against women - especially by boyfriends & husbands - is not a new epidemic. It's age-old. What is the number one cause of death among pregnant women? Homicide - and usually at the hands of a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend or ex/husband.

This is a ridiculous article. So, Sarah Jessica Parker says she's going to work with him regardless of what he's done in his private life? Men do that ALL the time. I'm not condoning what she's said or done. But of all of the people that continue to work with & for this guy, I"m supposed to be pissed off about Sarah Jessica Parker?!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Am Disappointed
Posted by: realmuzik on Sep 18, 2007 1:56 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have to admit I kinda' liked SJP. She got into acting in part to rise above the poverty she often faced as a young child. She didn't grow up with that "silver spoon" in her mouth like those certain talentless starlets we're forced to hear about every day. But the feminist in me cannot condone this kind of "shenanigan." I would sacrifice my million dollar paychecks to send priceless messages that sexual assaults by ANYONE, regardless of class, must be addressed HEAD-ON. Yes, I am starting to get tired of these celebrity pieces here. But celebrities are people too, and I see nothing wrong with pointing out fault where fault is "exposed." These crimes happen to real people of all ages hourly. It's time to rise above them with the intolerance they deserve.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Burningman
Posted by: wcox on Sep 18, 2007 10:09 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
SJP is a sweet, compassionate woman who has been working hard all her life and giving her money to needy people all her life. To attack her on this issue is demented. The LV police have quotas each month for arresting people for domestic violence. Sometimes they are correct and sometimes they are just filling their quota for the month. My daughter's first husband was arrested by them for fracturing her skull...that was correct. Her second husband was arrested by them when he turned quickly to catcher from falling on the sidewalk in LV...that was bogus. You don't know because you weren't there...were you?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Burningman Posted by: wangmo