Arnold Schwarzenegger Admits To Groping Women And Says He’s Wrong
Arnold Schwarzenegger admits to groping and says it was wrong.
In the past several years since the #MeToo movement gained momentum, a number of A-list Hollywood celebrities have been forced to reconcile their inexcusable behavior and take a stern look in the mirror. While some celebrities and big figures in the industry refuse to take accountability for their past, such as Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, others have made it a point to wholeheartedly apologize for the role they played in the normalization of abuse and misogyny in the film industry. In the most recent example, courtesy of a write-up from Variety, Arnold Schwarzenegger has stepped forward to accept responsibility for groping women in the past, stating plainly “It was bullsh-t. Forget all the excuses, it was wrong.”
The comments were made during production for the upcoming Netflix docu-series Arnold, which follows the Austrian strong-man turned actor turned California Governor on his amazing journey, warts and all. Though the groping scandal seemingly failed to make an enormous impact on Schwarzenegger’s career, the story has obviously caused a number of fans to question their loyalty toward the actor. When this groping controversy first reared its head back in 2003, just days before Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Gubernatorial race was set to count the polls, the Terminator actor was highly dismissive of the accusations, stating that they simply didn’t happen, while admitting that he could sometimes behave poorly.
Obviously, the violation of women’s personal space and bodily autonomy accounted for significantly more than a bit of bad behavior, leaving Arnold Schwarzenegger to look back and regret comments made in his own defense at the time. The FUBAR actor conceded that his behavior was in fact egregious, and admitted that his defensive language was an unacceptable knee-jerk reaction utilized to cover up his misdeeds. Of course, the actions can’t be taken back, and the damage has already been done, though it is nice to see a powerful figure in Hollywood come to terms with his own faults and take responsibility for his past.
Despite the controversy from the groping incidents, Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to win the 2003 election, taking the highest state office of California until his resignation in 2011. During that time, Schwarzenegger landed two placements on the Time Magazine 100 most influential people in the world list, as well as a host of other accolades, cementing the actor’s place in history. Investigative reporters who broke the story now 20 years ago have since remarked that they were shocked how little impact the news seemed to have on Schwarzenegger’s campaign, though modern politics have obviously proven that the general public are perfectly comfortable letting major controversies slide in years since.
Netflix has clearly forged a high-functioning working relationship with the action icon and former politician, as the Arnold docu-series is just one of several projects Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed with the streamer. In a recent humorous announcement from the streaming service, Netflix has named Schwarzenegger the “Chief Action Officer” of the network, amid the rollout for FUBAR, which is available to stream now. Whether fans were aware of the groping story from two decades ago or just finding out today, it’s unclear how this incident will impact Schwarzenegger’s legacy moving forward.
