Two-thirds of Hollywood stuntwomen have been bullied or sexually harassed in the workplace, according to a new survey. The same proportion knew of someone else in the industry with similar experiences, reports Deadline. The majority of victims had suffered at the hands of male stunt coordinators.
Of the 43 respondents, two alleged they had been intentionally injured on set, while one said she had been subjected to an attempted sexual assault. Close to 40% had seen men dressed as women to perform stunts for female actors, while 35% had witnessed “painting down”, the often-criticised practice whereby white stunt professionals are made up to double for actors from ethnic minorities.
The survey was carried out independently by Julie Johnson, author of the biography The Stuntwoman and one of the first women stunt coordinators, whose work included the 1970s TV series Charlie’s Angels.
Johnson was one of the first professionals to blow the whistle on the prevalence of cocaine use in Hollywood’s stunt community, following a 1982 study also conducted by the veteran stuntwoman. For her troubles, she was threatened by the mafia and blacklisted by some studios.
In her latest survey, two-thirds of respondents told Johnson they saw no evidence of drug or alcohol abuse in the industry in 2016, though figures on assault and sexual harassment have changed little in the intervening decades.
Johnson has sent the results of her survey to David White, national executive director of the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA. “Over many years,” reads her accompanying letter, “far too many of us have been subjected to bullying and sexual abuse.”
The campaigner told Deadline that she hoped the new survey, produced independently after SAG-AFTRA allegedly indicated it could not move forward swiftly on its own study, would lead to “a better understanding of our lives in this business. Producers and the union have to work closer together on our behalf. It’s long overdue.”
