In case you missed one of the more stomach-churning stories of early 2019, Max Landis is back in Hollywood after December 2017 sexual assault allegations sent the screenwriter scrambling to the comic-book-papered hole from whence he came. Though few people can be happy with this news, one of his accusers has come forward anonymously with details of her alleged assault. The reason for responding now is due to Landis’ career comeback–instead of being blacklisted for what she says he did. She had been interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, but says that the piece was shelved there because she and the other women wouldn’t give their names for fear of harassment. Seems like a reasonable thing to worry about.
READ MORE: Max Landis Makes His Comeback With New Feminist Film
In a Medium post titled “I Submit the Following to the Court of Public Opinion,” the accuser describes the events of a 2012 trip to Joshua Tree with the Hollywood wunderkind/nepotism recipient (potato, potahto). In her account, she says,
I started feeling dizzy and decided to lie down. I accidentally caught sight of him changing out of his bathing suit, and he told me later that I had laughed flirtatiously. Taking that as an invitation, he ran over to me and grabbed me. I wormed out of his arms and ran away, thinking at first that he was just playing around. He grabbed me and pushed me down onto the bed, with his knees holding my thighs apart and his hands holding down my arms so that I couldn’t get away. I could feel his erection pressing into me through my clothes, and he was pulling up my shirt. He kept trying to kiss me as I was turning my head from side to side trying to dodge him. I kept saying no. Specifically, I stated the following: “This is a really bad idea. Stop. Please, no, this is a really bad idea. No, stop.” (Repeated a dozen or so times.)
She also gave The Daily Beast records of their Facebook messages, where Landis admits his actions were *ahem* “a boundaries violation.”
Such a quick recovery from credible allegations should be surprising (unfortunately it’s not), but the killing of the piece in The Hollywood Reporter adds additional questions surrounding the screenwriter’s behavior and his place in Hollywood.
