The rise of the #MeToo movement on Twitter has been instrumental in revealing sexual abusers hiding in plain sight: in your neighborhood, your classrooms, and then in Hollywood. Many powerful men in Hollywood were revealed for being sexual harassers and assaulters, and sadly, Hollywood is not unique with abusers staying in positions of power or adoration because of their talent.
On February 6thof this year, the Broadway revival of West Side Story took the stage with a man named Amir Ramasar playing the supporting lead, Bernardo. A year and a half prior, Ramasar shared 3 revealing photos of a fellow female dancer at the New York City ballet to another dancer, Chase Finlay, without the woman’s consent, including one of her topless. This violated the woman’s privacy and the trust she put in Ramasar to keep those photos to himself. Initially, Ramasar was fired from his dancer position with the NYC Ballet, but then was reinstated once the company believed the punishment “too harsh”. He was let back into his old role, one of the highest-regarded dancers in the company.
An abuser was put back into a position of power.
His abuse, however, took place before a law was passed, declaring that sharing these kinds of photos without the consent of the person photographed is a Class A misdemeanor, and the fact that these photos were shared over text message and not posted online makes it hard to convict him of the abuse he clearly did.
But we, as the public, know what he did. We know it is despicable. He broke the trust of a person who trusted him with one of their most intimate moments, and for that he should be held accountable, as should his constituents. And we can use our voice.
Tweet about him. Support those protesting his casting in front of the Broadway theatre. Go see the new West Side Story film being released in theaters to wipe away his impact on this story. And make sure the industry knows we want him to get out, and stay away, for good.