dang it.
Ladies and gentlemen...I didn't see this coming.
In fact...I don't think we all saw it coming.
Chris Savino, creator of The Loud House, has been fired from Nickelodeon and it's popular animated series earlier today, after allegations have surfaced this week that he had sexually harassed a female staffer 15 years ago.
According to this then-exclusive article from Cartoon Brew (a website I am aware of isn't very trustworthy by a lot of people in the animated fandom watering hole), the female staffer, who preferred at the time to stay anonymous, claimed Savino sexually harassed her for some time, and that many other rumors of allegations have surfaced (12 to be real) claiming that he had harassed other female staffers for as long as a decade across the several other shows he's worked on--including The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Lab and Johnny Test. Because of this, he has been put on a spotlight for what has to be a long-growing scandal of male luminaries committing sexual harassment against female luminaries in the entertainment industry. And as such, has put Nickelodeon in a very bad light.
At first, the network didn't do any notable action about the shocking reveal, but did respond via its parent company in a statement to Cartoon Brew:
“Viacom is committed to the safety and well-being of our employees, and to fostering a workplace free from harassment. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on specific employee matters, but we take all allegations of this nature very seriously, investigate them thoroughly and take any necessary actions as a result.”
Later on that day, as the poop hit the fan, news broke that Savino has been suspended from the network, pending an investigation into the female staffer's claims. And if that didn't knock you down like inside like a house made of Lincoln Logs, it was revealed that a well-known animation veteran by the name of Anne Walker Farrell (at this time a director on BoJack Horseman) revealed that a male animation veteran sexually harassed her 15 years ago. And through a series of tweets, it was revealed that that male sexual harasser was Savino.
— Anne Walker Farrell (@lemurmcfemur) October 18, 2017
I feel sorry I didn't speak up sooner. I learned my lesson. Speaking up, and looking out for the younguns out there. <3 Never again.— Anne Walker Farrell (@lemurmcfemur) October 18, 2017
It me, hi. It happened a long time ago, 15 years. I spoke about it a bit in an earlier thread; apparently dude's approach hasn't changed.— Anne Walker Farrell (@lemurmcfemur) October 18, 2017
What a night.— Anne Walker Farrell (@lemurmcfemur) October 18, 2017
I carried this story too long.
Tiny animation bbs, I see u. I love you. Let's take care of each other. <3
Take him down, @Nickelodeon. Grandma's been waiting for this day for a long damn time. #metoo— Anne Walker Farrell (@lemurmcfemur) October 18, 2017
And in another shocking (but admittedly well-deserved) development, Nickelodeon fired Savino from the network and his roles of writer, director, executive producer and show-runner of The Loud House.
damn.
You know what? ...he deserved it.
But first, lemme go back a bit. (I wanted to make a post like this when all the data I could grab hold of came in, but this cliff-notes version will do here).
A few months ago, the world and legacy of Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein was rocked, crumbled and broken down in flames (well-deservedly) when an allegation by actress Rose McGowan was revealed that he had sexually harassed her in the 90s. Because of this, many more women have since come forward revealing similar allegations against Weinstein in that he had either harassed or assaulted them. Some women even revealed that he raped them. And it's gotten to the point when actress Alyssa Milano created the #metoo movement, when millions more women (acting and civillian) revealed similar incidents that happened to them at one point (or even some points) in their lives. It came fast, it came swift, it came furious, and it came hard. And even if you aware of allegations or outright proven reveals of sexually assault or rape by well-known Hollywood vets like Roman Polanski and Woody Allen (and [in a similar instance by an animator] Clarence creator Skyler Page, who barely worked on the show and voiced the title character before his ass got canned from Cartoon Network) over the decades, you got to admit, all this news (which went to the point where fucking Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek spoke up with their own disgusting stories of assault) was overwhelming--just like this news. (I certainly didn't take this easily, that's for damn sure). And just as I (internally clearly) rooted for these women and applauded them for bravely coming forward with their harrowing accounts of harassment, I (again internally) shitted on Weinstein for being a mega-perv and creep, I didn't take this sitting down (well, metaphorically) and couldn't take it all in.
(That is until this post.)
And since this secret perv until recently was the creator of a goddamn kids cartoon, I felt like I got hit by a 18-wheeler. And like Weinstein, I was ready to see subhuman man Savino like his now...a subhuman man--and an absolute pervert who can't keep his hands and thoughts to himself. Thoughts that share ideas and stories that made up one of the most praised and popular animated series of this decade. Oh Jesus Alive, I almost forgot about the show. Now that I think of it, the fact that this guy created and largely put together the body of work of a series for mostly kids that features a boy sharing his childhood home with 10 female siblings definitely doesn't look or feel the same anymore. (And apparently one of the voice actors thinks so too, as Jessica DiCicco liking some tweets by Walker Farrell have shown.) Plus, think about this: The Loud House is the first show in years (Since like The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom and Avatar) to seriously challenge SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS both in ratings and in popularity. This guy and his team worked HARD to make this series what it is and see it become a hot commodity--not only on Nick but across all of the kids networks (and you know I was one of the many who heaped its praises). The fact that now, this series will now suffer under a big shadow of controversy that it's creator has committed salacious acts against humanity. It really makes your heart hurt for the cast and crew--pretty much everyone else who works on this series will now have to continue on with this shadow looming over them without their boss around them to work with them. And the fans too.
And before the news came in, I actually liked Savino--well, at least his work. You'll still see me enjoying the earliest seasons of Johnny Test and latest seasons of Dexter's Lab, no doubt; but before the news came in, I found him a decent guy from what I've seen and heard on social media. AND he has a wife and family. And when this news broke, I was shocked as shit. But believe me, as I was ready to wait for more allegations to make sure I made the right thoughts, I was immediately ready to denounce him as a good human being, and was very close to considering never watching The Loud House again and leaving its fanbase as a whole. But I decided to separate the man from the work and continue watching the series while beginning to spew genuine unadulterated justified hate towards Savino himself for his decade+ of treating women terribly like breasts and a vagina with a human attached. (And trust me, it's very hard to continue watching the show when these simple credits (including an ever-present blue/circled one) will still be around across all older episodes...
Right now, and from this moment forward,
I will say this as blunt as possible:
As of this moment, I'm furious as fuck at Chris Savino for sexually harassing women for over a decade--and learning about it despite loving this show that he created. And I'm happy that he was at first suspended by Nickelodeon (showing that they take shit like this seriously and did everything that they could as fast, carefully and heavily as they could to resolve this issue right (no matter what other people on entertainment websites think like the hipster-like assholes they are), and that he is now fired from Nickelodeon and the series he created. He deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law and his victims deserve to be vindicated for being undeservedly chosen as victims of his internally predatory actions and behavior. It's a damn shame this happened, but I'm happy it ended in his termination. I'm also hurt it happened (for the women who suffered and the cast and crew who had no idea until it hit the fan.
That's my thoughts...for now.
DAMN...
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