Brendan Fraser Sexual Assault.

His career was derailed by a back injury, changing tastes, and Colin Farrell. Some foreigner grabbing his ass at a party wasn't the only reason he stopped working.

Actors like him always have a shelf life. What was his draw? He wasn't a versatile "serious actor" like Edward Norton or Johnny Depp. He wasn't a blockbuster comedic gem like Jim Carrey or Will Ferrell. And he wasn't beefcake, like John Stamos or Gerard Butler. He was...just there. He was always perfectly adequate, but never really a leading man. And while he was useful at 25, when he played cavemen or depressed baseball players, it wore thin as he approached middle age and couldn't play doofuses anymore.

It's sad, because he really seems like a good person who does his best. But the industry has no use for people like him after a while.

It can be really traumatizing, OP.

Someone I trusted very much, who is a family member, did this to me. It fucked me up for a very long time.

It’s disrespectful. It just not OK. ESPECIALLY if you’ve known the person who does it, for many years, & you trust them.

Hollywood isn’t just made up of predators and victims or opportunists.

There are MANY men and women in the business, who are hard working, very talented, decent folks, who just like us, want to go to work and make an honest living.

I briefly once dated someone who had been one of Fraser's stage directors in the earlier part of his career, around the time of films like "With Honors." He clearly still had an enormous crush on Fraser, whom he said was straight but very gay friendly. but he told me Fraser was very innocent still and didn't fully realize how rough Hollywood could be because he had succeeded so early in his career and not through the casting couch (according to this guy). he also said Fraser was very serious about his craft, and was only taking hunk roles to get more attention in Hollywood and make money.

I wondered then if Fraser would just keep going up and up (which he did until "The Mummy 2" or would have trouble with his career when he got older (which happened after "The Mummy 2"). I think what happened is that a number of things went wrong after "The Mummy 2," including his marriage failing, and his awareness finally that he was valued ONLY as a hunk and not as an actor. My guess is that the groping incident became the final straw for him, and he just emotionally collapsed.

[quote] It just not OK.

Oh, FFS. You type frau.

Fat Frau.

I’m more traumatized by OP’s atrocious spelling and sentence structure.

He was great in Gods and Monsters.

I was a nervous, shy gay boy but if I had been triggered, upset or tramautized every time I was groped or otherwise treated to inappropriately aggressive, sexual or just plain rude physical contact from adults I wouldn't be her to type:

Quit lying, Brendan, or at least quit blaming being fat and only getting attention for playing even fatter than you are for awards nominations on someone groping you in 2003 when you were a fucking adult.

Christ.

R1 Brendan Fraser wasn't beefcake????????????

[quote] I was a nervous, shy gay boy but if I had been triggered, upset or tramautized every time I was groped or otherwise treated to inappropriately aggressive, sexual or just plain rude physical contact from adults I wouldn't be her to type:

But you admit you're gay, and Fraser was not.

Moreover, you were probably groped in bars (as I was when younger), when you were out looking for sex and knew this might happen there, and Fraser wasn't--he was at a work function, and had no idea this would happen there.

Sorry.

R9 Point taken, but still. I might have an old-fashioned idea of masculinity, but this allowing oneself to be traumatized by every little thing strikes me as pathetic. If Fraser had spent time on the front lines in a war or tried to feed a family on low wages, he might have been able to put a pass by a fellow male at a party in perspective.

It wasn't just "a party"--it was really a work event.

R11 Oh okay. Well, that makes all the difference, I guess. Since it was a work event, the experience must have been utterly shattering. It's a wonder he didn't immediately go home and commit suicide.

Minimizing sexual harassment in the workplace is pretty assholic in 2023.

Artists are sensitive, and the arts is the most brutally competitive field that tends to treat artists as disposable. Fraser was likely very sheltered and was hoping to win an award based on what he considered merit and talent. Wasn't this an awards event where he was groped by a higher up in the governing body? The message Fraser must have gotten from that groping was that no one took him seriously as an artist. It was deep (pardon the pun) disrespect from someone who was supposed to be a gatekeeper of Fraser's art form at a moment when Fraser was searching for respect.

OP says that the head of the Golden Globes did this. There's a power differential, there. Fraser may have felt like he had no recourse.

Not everybody reacts to sexual harassment in the same way.

R13 OK, snowflake. If you say so.

He seems weak.

[quote] traumatized by every little thing

R10 Sexual assault cannot be included as one of life’s inconveniences. We aren’t privy to his life experience and thus can’t judge what sort of emotional bomb such an encounter might have set off in him. Just because I wouldn’t have the same reaction doesn’t mean he shouldn’t, or is lying if he claims he does. There weren’t any “little things” he was traumatized by.

[quote] He seems weak.—oh my bottom i was goosed

"Goosing" is pinching the ass.

By his account, the head of the Golden Globes tried to insert his finger up his rectum.

If you don't see the difference there, there's no hope for you.

How does that happen through clothes?

R19 He had paints on ya nong.

I was at the Magic Castle about 10 years ago (I was in my late 30s) and a person I knew grabbed my crotch as he walked past me. I thought it was hot.

It just occurred to me that R19 is the guidance counselor from South Park, Um Kay? He lives his life in strict accordance with whatever is in the orientation package issued by the authorities. It's a sad drab existence but at least he's obeying the rules--or so he would have us believe.

I make a living as an artist and I've been groped without permission by women several times; it didn't shatter my mental health or prompt me to exile myself for decades from the circles in which the incidents occurred. Consequently I've been side-eyeing Fraser's emotional fragility since that story first broke.

I think one's reaction to a groping is going to be informed/influenced by one's history and perhaps one's mental state at the time. If Fraser was already feeling fragile and insecure in his profession or personal life, the groping in that setting could have reinforced the feeling of being "less than" and thrown him into an existential crisis. If he were in a confident headspace, he might have shrugged it off or even flipped out and told the guy off, retaining his integrity and self-worth.

Unless you are a child, or you are being attacked in an alley or something truly dangerous, I feel that you would have to be in an existentially fragile headspace for a grope to throw your entire life and career into chaos.

This is coming from someone who was sexually abused as a child.

Having said all of that, I think for me, I am always comparing things to worse things that happened to me as a kid. For me, a grope in a public place where I have access to other humans, and plenty of exits, would be truly the least of my worries. Whereas for someone that had grown up in a loving, wholesome family and had been sheltered from life's ugly cruelties, such a grope might be very shocking and distressing.

I guess it's important to acknowledge as a poster did above, that there was a power imbalance. And in a context meant to celebrate and recognize skill, craft, merit and artistry, the groping reduced Fraser from an artist to a piece of meat.

So actually, I don't fucking know what to think. I guess ultimately, when it comes to trauma, YMMV. I am very happy for the guy that he's getting his life and his career back on track.

Why the fuck does it matter OP? You probably didn't see the movie so shut up. He was fucking excellent in it and he probably won't win because he was blacklisted for speaking his truth which you clearly don't understand.

r4, you type Republican

Of course it’s not cool to grab someone’s body, or make that sort of move on them. But c’mon, there had to be something very fucked up about Fraser that this incident was something he could not get over or stop thinking obsessively about for a decade.

It had nothing to do with him, it was all in the mind of the douche who grabbed him, so why couldn’t he get over it? Was he molested as a kid, repressed it and then remembered it when he was felt up again? If so, why not take the opportunity to go into therapy and work it out? Fraser’s either a loon or a simpleton.

Either way, Simple Simon doesn’t deserve to win an Oscar. Too many of he acting nominations this year are about pity re thwarted or neglected lives and careers. I don’t give a shit about that, it has nothing to do with acting. They can afford therapy, they don’t need to win Oscars too.

"I make a living as an artist and I've been groped without permission by women several times"

Sure, Jan!

Oh for Pete's sake: he got plump and started balding. And Hollywood stopped calling.

IT WAS LITERAL VIOLENCE!

I remember being in my twenties walking down a dimly lit corridor in a club, and a guy threw me up against the wall and started going to town on me--totally uninvited. I was so glad he did. It was hot. I still think of it fondly.

Can we imagine Brando going in for this "Oh, I was touched and it derailed me for decades" stuff? When he was young he was constantly being propositioned by his gay friends in the business. He would say, "Well, they seemed to want it so much, and it was pleasant for me, so I thought, Why not?" Seems like a pretty sane and cool attitude to me.

I feel for him. It fucked up Terry Crews.

Been there done that.

R28 It sounds like you’re the one who needs some time on a therapist’s couch.

Fraser was likely sexually abused as a child. The event was triggering of past trauma and it multiplied the impact. Not everyone can compartmentalize trauma as adeptly as the typical Datalounger.

R1, how did Colin Farrell affect his career?

R37 We don't know if he was or if he wasn't. It would help to know, but we don't know.

No, I’m good, R 36, thanks.

R33

”Sane”. Just the word I associate with Marlon Brando.

I think the guy grabbed his ass, he didn't grab his privates

He said the guy tried to penetrate his taint, so that’s private.

Terry Crews is a huge anti-gay bigot. He made some very nasty comments about gay men raising kids.

Same thing with Tracy Morgan. Look up what he said about gay men when he was on stage in Nashville about him wanting to kill gay men. But then he had that car accident and we all just forgot about it.

I didn't. I'm hoping the truck driver comes back for a second try.

Groping is whatever for me but if someone really tried to stick a finger up his ass then that is pretty traumatizing. And it was probably some fat ugly producer too.

I'm the most raped person in Hollywood, not him.

I went through 4 casting couch situations in my last year working in theatre. (was it sexual assault? no, although I definitely lost work because I wasn't fucking some important directors/artistic directors.) At some point during the "me too" business I very discreetly pointed that out online. A female friend responded by telling me that men need to shut the fuck up about "me too" because it is a [bold]WOMAN'S ISSUE[/bold].

I wound up blocking her, though I'm still embarrassed just how much anger her response triggered in me.

[quote]I remember being in my twenties walking down a dimly lit corridor in a club, and a guy threw me up against the wall and started going to town on me--totally uninvited. I was so glad he did. It was hot. I still think of it fondly.

Um, okay.

So if you were approached the same way by somebody who you had no physical interest in whatsoever would you still have fond memories? Say, some large, gross, older guy had his way with you and you couldn't get away.

[quote] Say, some large, gross, older guy had his way with you and you couldn't get away.

Hey!

R37 LOL, "likely." You just freelance opinionate, don't you? You have no idea of what the actual facts are?

R49 Um, okay. So you're saying crossing the line into lack of consent is all right as long as the aggressor is physically attractive?

R48 is just looking for an excuse to bash metoo. No women attacked Anthony Rapp or the guys who spoke out against Spacey

[quote][R49] Um, okay. So you're saying crossing the line into lack of consent is all right as long as the aggressor is physically attractive?

*blinks several times*

Is there anything in my statement even remotely saying that?

"I like chocolate"

"why do you hate strawberry so much??"

[quote][R48] is just looking for an excuse to bash metoo. No women attacked Anthony Rapp or the guys who spoke out against Spacey

Are we all having fundamental reading comprehension issues today??

R54 Put your thinking cap on for a minute, would you? To the poster who said he had fond memories of being thrown up against a wall in a club even though it was uninvited, you said he'd have thought differently if the aggressor had been old and gross. So what distinction do you yourself think you're making there?

R55, you're the one having trouble reading. I was criticizing the poster who tried to claim that women are attacking men who speak out

[quote]So what distinction do you yourself think you're making there?

That rape isn't about hottt sex as much as about power and control. Next stupid question?

Industry insiders allegedly say it as especially traumatic for Fraser because the person who assaulted him sniffed his finger afterward in Fraser's presence and kept doing that all night.

R59 Great. Now I'm hungry.

Thanks a lot, Fraser Taint!

You're joking, right r59?

R58 I guess there's no point in asking you to clarify what you mean when you can't even seem to remember what you said in your last post.

r59 is trying to be funny, he wasn't sniffing his fingers

In real life, every time I've been around a guy like r7 who acts like adults groping and assaulting little kids is just normal, everyday behavior, I have immediately stepped away from them as much as I possibly can. In every case, they've all turned out to be enormously fucked-up assholes, too.

[quote]Of course it’s not cool to grab someone’s body, or make that sort of move on them. But c’mon, there had to be something very fucked up about Fraser that this incident was something he could not get over or stop thinking obsessively about for a decade.

Guy with power over Fraser who tried to shove his finger up his asshole without permission, in a public place: not cool.

Fraser who gets upset about the incident: very fucked up.

Good to know, thanks Dr. Datalounge for once again cracking the case.

I love these posters, like R65, who seem to think Data Lounge is a sort of hive mind. Where do you come up with that? Where's your evidence for this idea that there's a DL consensus of opinion?

I remember when I was tiny (teens) and how much a pass at me stressed me out because I didn't have any routine in handling it. This was particularly true of passes by fellow women at me, who were never even aggressive or per se threatening. So I get him, but only up to a point. While I belive that he couldn't handle the incident at the time, I still think he's milking it now. You really have to get out of your victim role at some point.to lead a life not centered around such shit. Random stuff that happened to me include a group of American GIs walking up to me in the sidewalk and grabbing my tits through my jeans a d tee, laughing and moving on. Another time, someone walking up to me and just hitting my face and runnung away. Never did any of the people I was with at the time start a fight or pursue the perpetrators, which was more annoying than the thing itself. Anyway. I know women who have been raped and generally people to whom nasty shit happened, much much worse than what randomly happened to me. You absolutely need to say "fuck it" at some point and actively, positively build your life without letting yourself be defined by one incident. To have an image of yourself like that of a precious vase that can be shattered by a single event no matter how traumatic is not helpful. I am also deeply convinced that this needn't be how the human psyche works. For example: see many Holocaust survivors.

R67, tl;dr

R68 short version: shit happens, but an adult should eventually rise above letting random shit define him.

[quote]a guy like R7 who acts like adults groping and assaulting little kids is just normal,

Fraser was no “little kid.” WTF?

We’re talking about an adult groping another adult and you’re over here with the “won’t somebody think of the CHIRRENNNN??!!!” bullshit.

How does someone stick a finger up a clothed ass?

Perhaps he was just taking Brendan's temperature.

OP- First of all Brendan Fraser is NOT straight.

I was at g in Chelsea ca. 2008 . I was leaning against a wall in the back of the bar and this drunk ( young and good looking) guy walking by me said something in a drunken slur then grabbed my crotch. I pushed his hand away. I was a BIT annoyed - no more and in a way it was flattering.

Seems pretty obvious that Fraser has pre-existing mental health issues. A grope/finger at a party does not trigger total collapse in the majority of people.

I was grabbed and now wiping my behind triggers me!

R75- That's quite upsetting considering the fact that Frasier is a psychiatrist himself

What is with the assault apologists in this thread? If you think that putting your finger on someone's taint over their pants, then sliding your finger up and in between their butt checks, and touching their butthole, whether there's a layer or five of fabric or not..... without their consent.........is okay.......... you're fucked up. In case you haven't been told. There's no gray area.

We also don't need more individual experiences shared as a way to shame others. "Well *I* got surprise gangbanged by five guys on the subway last week but it ended up feeling so GoOod! I mean I don't see why he's so wound up about it!"

Did anyone hear him on WTF with Marc Maron? Maron broke down at one point when referencing a scene from The Whale. Fraser had to stop talking throughout the interview when discussing the film and the grope. At the end of the hour, I thought that he is a) overly medicated; b) performing to garner pity and Oscar votes; c) overly sensitive; or d) slightly crazy.

I've been groped by 4 friends (different occasions). I didn't like it but left it alone. The last one affected me more as I know it was sexual and his effort of making a pass (at a party and boyfriend in next room)

Saying that it's odd for someone to retreat into hermitage over a brief unpleasant moment isn't the same thing as saying they have no right to be displeased with or complain about it.

True, Matt.

Nor are we saying it’s ok for people to be groped against their will, but it’s how you react (or, in this case, overreact) to it that makes the difference.

Yes, i think most people here are not being assault apologists. What is somewhat intriguing is that BF blames this incident from 2003 for a number of things which the extent of the assault does not appear to merit. Of course he may have been sexually abused earlier on but we don’t know that. It does seem overreaction, and his speech the other day was unbalanced.

What I disagree here is that the sexuality and/or attractiveness is in any way relevant to an assault. Like if he was gay he would’ve been less traumatized.

He may be a highly sensitive person with a highly sensitive taint. That's a perfect storm in this situation.

R78 No one said it was okay, you fucking South Park guidance counselor idiot. In fact, it's actually you who are more on the side of the abusers in cases like this, because your indulgence of every shrieking victim in defiance of logic and due process makes normal people skeptical of legitimate cases. When Al Franken was run out of the Senate in 2018 on very tenuous unproven allegations of sexual misconduct, almost everyone on the left side of things was enthralled by the "believe her" idea. All of that looks pretty shabby and embarrassing now.

Rape fantasies are better left shared with your court-ordered psychiatrist.

[quote]But the industry has no use for people like him after a while.

Well, he's about to win an Oscar, so that should cheer him up.

He did go to the Golden Globes though not too long ago.

Remember his missed clap?

R1, I disagree. That man was fine when he was young. He always had a weird nature though that even came across on screen. It's like sometimes it worked for the character, other times it didn't.

Brendan Fraser Disses Golden Globes as ‘Hood Ornaments’ That ‘Mean Nothing to Me’: ‘I Don’t Want It. I Didn’t Ask to Be Considered Even’

Are the Oscars any different and did the Academy ask him if he wanted to be considered?

[quote]R7 if I had been triggered, upset or tramautized every time I was groped or otherwise treated to inappropriately aggressive, sexual or just plain rude physical contact from adults [bold]I wouldn't be her to type[/bold]

Do you have a split personality?