Jeffrey Katzenberg Apologizes to Molly Ringwald For Crude Comment He Never Made

We’re now in what might be called the third wave of rote actress responses to the Harvey Weinsten sexual harassment scandal. The first wave were the women assaulted by Weinstein. The second wave actresses with stories of unnamed men in positions of power sexually harassing or objectifying them, in the manner of Harvey Weinstein. The third wave is now merely bandwagon obligations. Like the fans who show up to playoff games in brand new team apparel. We get you.

Molly Ringwald became the 97th actress to share her anonymous and unverified tales of Hollywood evil man versus oppressed woman. In an essay for the New Yorker, Ringwald noted how she was lucky to have not been a victim of Weinstein, which is neighborhood adjacent to actually being a victim. Also how one time she was forced to audition in a dog collar even though the collar had nothing to do with the role. More details would’ve helped. Like, did the casting director give you a flea bath or make you squat and pee? 

Ringwald’s big revelation was that an unnamed studio chief, who everybody immediately knew to be Jeffrey Katzenberg, once made a crude remark about her in a magazine interview:

“The head of a major studio — and incidentally, someone who claims himself to be horrified by the Harvey allegations — was quoted as saying, ‘I wouldn’t know (Molly Ringwald) if she sat on my face. Maybe he was misquoted. If he ever sent a note of apology, it must have gotten lost in the mail.”

Maybe he was misquoted is somewhat key in the allegation, as Katzenberg, has claimed he never made such a remark about Ringwald in a printed piece in Movieline magazine in 1995. Katzenberg’s reputation around town is rather stellar, though that counts for little in the frenzy of convenient McGuffin’s needed for a proper witch hunt post-mortem.

In light of the current atmosphere, Katzenberg was forced to apologize to Ringwald for a comment in a magazine that everybody in town has long ago since written off as a misquote. Nobody can find any other single example of Katzenberg speaking publicly in a crude manner. That’s odd.

“That Molly Ringwald had to read those words attributed to me and believe I said them is horrifying, mortifying and embarrassing to me. Anyone who knows me now or back then knows I do not use language like that as a matter of course, or tolerate it. Ms. Ringwald, 22 years too late, I am deeply, deeply sorry.”

This entire charade is rather pathetic. Lumping in the good guys with the bad guys for the sake of #MeToo attacking all guys is rather obscene. In fact, it’s rather Weinstein of you to see the opposing gender as open season targets for your personal ends. Especially when they are forced to admit guilt to matters in which they are not guilty, because the Inquisition provides lesser punishments for the confessors regardless of veracity.

This is the third wave. If you’re thinking there won’t be a fourth wave, you’re kidding yourself. It’s like the sharks circling the survivors of the USS Indianapolis. The horrible side of nature.

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