Portrait of a Survivor Part 2

"When I first met him, I was like, this guy is going to be a fucking problem."

In Part 2 of our oral history "Portrait of a Survivor," we hear from a new perspective on an abusive Hollywood showrunner... that of his assistant's close friend.

"He has that cult leader personality, that sort of psychopath thing where he's very superficially charming. I know a lot of people with those personalities."

We hear how our confessor escaped the toxic situation with her friend's clear-eyed perspective and support. And we see how it all came roaring back to her years later, when she saw a warning on an assistant board against working with someone... and the subject line was her abuser's name.

"I think the initial email came out at like eight in the morning. By 10:30, there were like 15 more emails from different people, like, 'He's a terrorist.' 'He's the worst person I ever met.' All these people sharing their experiences. Then a reporter reached out to me asking for a comment."

As the confessor and her friend navigate the process of trying to go public about a powerful abuser in Hollywood, we're also joined by TV/film critic and journalist Maureen "Mo" Ryan. Mo has worked with countless survivors, especially for her book Burn It Down. In the process, she has found perspective... and even hope.

"Anyone, in any job, is often confused about what to do about a problematic situation. But in this industry, the disincentives are huge. And those have not really gone away... But many, many people have found a positive way forward from having come forward."

Join us for this powerful conclusion of "Portrait of a Survivor" to see how our confessor dealt with the fallout of abuse in her own life, and how she found the strength and support she needed to move on.

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Check out some of our favorite shows:

• Screenwriters' Rant Room
• Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss
• It Happened in Hollywood
• The Secret History of Hollywood

Hollywood Confessional is a Ninth Way Media production, produced by Meagan Daine and J.R. Zamora-Thal.

Sound Effects and Music provided by Zapsplat and Pixabay.

Keywords: filmmaking podcast, film podcast, screenwriting podcast, entertainment podcast, Hollywood, filmmaking, writerslife, actorslife, setlife