Sunday, March 2, 2008

Calling on Clinton to Reject and Denounce Nicholson

We know that this week Hillary Clinton was quick on the draw when Barack Obama said he "denounced" the views of Louis Farakhan. Senator Clinton wanted Senator Obama to "reject" Farakhan and the latter's support, which Obama agreed to do.

Today there is news that Jack Nicholson has endorsed Hillary Clinton:

Hillary Clinton supporters have been spot-on in pointing out that overt sexism is socially acceptable while overt racism has generally been forced underground. I hope they don't miss this one, because it really disgusts me. Support from Jack Nicholson, and nobody flinches? This Jack Nicholson???

In 1997, Nicholson was sued by prostitute Christine Sheehan, who alleged that Nicholson had refused to pay for services rendered and had instead assaulted her, and repeatedly smashed her head onto the floor of his Hollywood home. The lawsuit was settled with a substantial payment from Nicholson, but Sheehan later alleged that her injuries were worse than she had originally believed. At last report she was seeking an additional $500,000 from Nicholson.

Or, as another report puts it:

Prostitute Takes Jack Nicholson To Court... Again
12 May 2000 (WENN) Jack Nicholson is being sued by a former prostitute who claims she is dying after he allegedly beat her up. Christine Sheehan says she was invited up to Nicholson's luxury Hollywood house in October 1996, but when she asked for payment for her services, the movie star got angry and allegedly beat her head against the floor several times. Sheehan originally filed a civil suit in 1997, and received $33, 000 after the SHINING star settled out of court. But now the former prostitute claims the money is not enough - and after legal and medical bills, the cash has all been used up. Her lawyer IRA CHESTER says, "About a year after she received the original payment her injuries and the damage to her brain stem got worse than originally thought... Now the injury is actually killing her. She has no vision at times and finds it hard to cope with the pain... The medical bills have already reached $60, 000, but if she is to survive she needs an important operation that promises to set her back $500, 000 (œ325, 000). The original settlement isn't enough." The suit was filed at Santa Monica Court last week and Nicholson is expected to challenge the action. Nicholson's publicist refuses to comment about the case.

It is impossible to find in the American media just how the case was eventualy settled. A British friend and tireless advocate for women recently reported to me that she had been in England at the time of the Jack Nicholson case, where there was extensive coverage. Arriving at an American conference of feminists against pornography, trafficking, and prostitution, this friend anxiously asked everyone what they thought about the Nicholson case. No one knew what the hell she was talking about. There had been a virtual media blackout in this country, where sexist pricks who hire hookers and even beat them can still be Hollywood cool. This friend, who got her news coverage in England, reported that the verdict, which is NEVER reported on American websites, was that Nicholson has to pay for 24 hour nursing care all the rest of this woman's life.

Oh, and what about homophobia? Heeeeere's Jack!

...Another time, the issue was ... sexual politics, but Nicholson proved less than radical. When some Hollywood celebrities called for a boycott of Colorado, in 1993, because of that state's referendum law excluding homosexuals from civil rights protection, Jack announced his opposition. Any boycott of the state where the actor happened to maintain two hideaway homes was, he told the press, "rubbish."

As a woman and an advocate against violence and for gay civil rights, I demand that Hillary Clinton BOTH denounce and reject any support from Jack Nicholson.

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