One day before his new Netflix show is set to premiere, Norm MacDonald went on “The View” Thursday to once again attempt to pull his foot out of his mouth over comments he made earlier this week about the #MeToo movement.
“What I was talking about was Chris Hardwick, a particular comedian, a friend of mine,” Macdonald said Thursday. “And if 500 women go against a man obviously the guy is guilty. In Chris Hardwick’s case, it’s one woman against one man. So I was saying I thought it was good that the pendulum was slowing. Chris Hardwick is as rehabilitated as you can get. Yet he still tells me he can’t walk down the street without people yelling stuff at him.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this week, Macdonald suggested that he was “glad” the #MeToo movement was slowing down, adding there should be a path to redemption for disgraced stars like Louis C.K. or Roseanne Barr: “The model used to be: admit wrongdoing, show complete contrition and then we give you a second chance. Now it’s admit wrongdoing and you’re finished.”
He continued, “There are very few people that have gone through what they have, losing everything in a day. Of course, people will go, ‘What about the victims?’ But you know what? The victims didn’t have to go through that.” The comments were met with intense backlash on social media, leading to Macdonald’s appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” being canceled just moments before it was scheduled to begin.
But on Thursday, Macdonald further clarified by what he meant, specifically the suggestion that what Louis C.K. went through was comparable to the victims. “That’s not what I was saying,” he said.
He clarified by saying that when he spoke with Barr on the phone after ABC canceled her show, “she was crying the whole time I was talking to her. She seemed really, really in a bad place.” He suggested that she call Louis C.K. because he went through something similar — having his career in jeopardy due to his own bad behavior. “Not many of us have gone through this,” Macdonald said.
And that’s where things got tricky, said MacDonald. “And then the guy [referring to the THR reporter] said, ‘What about the victims?’ Well, the victims haven’t gone through this. I was talking about this particular event. Of course, the victims have gone through worse than that. I’m going to get a victim to phone Roseanne?”
Macdonald had initially tried to explain his comments to THR on Wednesday morning on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show. Macdonald, who’s promoting his upcoming Netflix talk show, explained that he wasn’t trying to defend the accused men when he said that he’s “happy the #MeToo movement has slowed down a little bit.”
“I never defended them. I am completely behind the #MeToo movement,” the “Saturday Night Live” alum told Stern on Wednesday. “You’d have to have Down Syndrome to not feel sorry for- of course, #MeToo is what you want for your daughters. And you want that to be the future world.”
Macdonald’s talk show, “Norm Macdonald Has a Show” is still slated to premiere on Friday on Netflix.
Hollywood Hair-Trigger: 11 Films and TV Shows Impacted by Sexual Harassment Accusations (Photos)
The downfall of Harvey Weinstein has created a domino effect across Hollywood, as women are coming forward to expose the sexual harassment in the industry. As producers and celebrities are accused, the films and TV shows they were involved in have also suffered. Here's a running list of the projects that have been delayed, paused, or outright axed as a result of these scandals.
"All The Money In The World": After Kevin Spacey was accused of sexually harassing actor Anthony Rapp as a teenager, among others, Sony pulled the historical drama starring him as J. Paul Getty from AFI Fest and then announced that all of Spacey's scenes would be reshot with Christopher Plummer in the role.
"I Love You Daddy": Louis C.K. wrote, starred in, directed, edited and funded this film about a man whose teenage daughter starts dating a 68-year-old director who is Woody Allen in all but name. But after The New York Times published a story in which five women accused him of harassment, The Orchard canceled the film's premiere and is considering changing the release date after buying it in Toronto for $5 million.
HBO: Louis C.K. was also pulled from HBO's charity special "Night of Too Many Stars" following the scandal, and all of the comedian's work has been pulled from HBO's on-demand service.
"House of Cards": In addition to Rapp's claims against Spacey, members of the crew of his hit Netflix show have come forward with stories of Spacey's misconduct. In response, Netflix first paused production on the show's sixth season, which they later announced would be its last. Then, Netflix severed all ties with Spacey, meaning the show will have to finish filming without him.
"Gore": Netflix's decision to drop Spacey means his biopic about Gore Vidal, which explores the writer's relationship with a younger man, is now without a distributor. The film had completed filming and was in the midst of post-production when Spacey was accused.
Untitled Hugh Hefner Biopic: For years, Brett Ratner has held the rights to make a movie about the life of late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. But after the LA Times published a story about Ratner's history of harassment, Playboy announced that the biopic was going on hold.
"The Current War": The ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal has brought his studio, The Weinstein Company, to the verge of bankruptcy. As the remnants of the company fights to stay alive, it has moved all the remaining films on this year's slate to 2018, including a Thomas Edison biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
"Polaroid": The TWC scandal has also affected its genre wing, Dimension Studios, as it pushed this horror film about a camera with deadly powers to 2018 as well.
"Wind River": TWC has even made moves to protect films that have already had their run in theaters. "Wind River," TWC's only box office success this year, has had all trace of the studio's logo scrubbed for the home release.
Amazon David O. Russell Project: The Weinstein Company was supposed to produce a new Amazon series created by "Silver Linings Playbook" director David O. Russell, but after they pulled out of the project in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, Amazon decided not to proceed with the series.
"The Romanoffs": TWC was slated to produce this series from "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner, but pulled out after the Weinstein scandal hit. Amazon planned to continue the series, but that may not happen after Weiner was accused of sexual harassment by Kater Gordon, a former assistant of his who was promoted to writer and won an Emmy with him before being shockingly fired a year later.
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From release date changes to full cancellations, Hollywood’s response has become swift
The downfall of Harvey Weinstein has created a domino effect across Hollywood, as women are coming forward to expose the sexual harassment in the industry. As producers and celebrities are accused, the films and TV shows they were involved in have also suffered. Here's a running list of the projects that have been delayed, paused, or outright axed as a result of these scandals.
