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Students at the University of Southern California have created a petition to have Bryan Singer’s name removed from the university’s film school amidst sexual harassment allegations. Singer has been accused of numerous sexual crimes, including raping a 17-year-old boy.
Following the allegations against Singer, he was forced to step down from directing the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. After Singer’s departure, Fox hired Dexter Fletcher (Eddie The Eagle) to replace him.
According to the petition posted to Change.org, the students at USC are calling for Singer’s named to be removed from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Singer, director of films such as The Usual Suspects and X-Men, has recently been accused of sexual harassment and assault multiple times.
In 2014, Singer’s film X-Men: Days of Future Past was nearly called ouff when actor Michael Egan III filed a civil suit alleging that Singer drugged him and “forced him into sex at parties in Encino and Hawaii — starting when Egan was only 15.”
The university recently denied a $5 million donation from Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, a decision which the students “applaud”.
via Change.org:
We, the students of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, are formally requesting that Bryan Singer’s name be removed from our Division of Cinema and Media Studies. It is completely unacceptable that this prestigious department within our school still carries the name of Bryan Singer, a man accused multiple times of sexual harassment, assault, and pedophilia.
Despite Singer’s philanthropic work for SCA, having his name attached to a division of the School of Cinematic Arts gives the impression that we, both as an institution and as members of the entertainment industry, value his financial contributions over the safety, respect and future of students. It sets a precedent of lenience for sexual criminals and further undermines the visibility and respect that victims of harassment and assault deserve.
Sexual harassment and assault are prevalent issues in Hollywood, the entertainment industry, and the American workplace as a whole, and they require action to catalyze change, little by little. By continuing to associate Mr. Singer’s name with our university, USC is openly supporting a man who has been publicly accused of reprehensible sexual misconduct. As USC students and alumni, we hold ourselves to a standard of respect, and the SCA administration’s actions are not representative of that standard. We applaud USC and SCA for refusing Harvey Weinstein’s donation; however, this division name change is overdue, and it is a gross administrative error that it has been allowed to remain. It is only consistent with our institutional morality to make this change.
As students of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, we implore Dean Elizabeth Daley and the appropriate administration to change the name of the Bryan Singer Division of Cinema & Media Studies to simply the SCA Division of Cinema & Media Studies. Our university should promote education, respect, and consent, as well as prepare its students to be model members of the USC and entertainment communities, and this continued relationship with Mr. Singer publicly negates those values.
As of the time of this writing, the petition has over 4400 signatures.
Dave Bedrosian/WENN
