Harvey Weinstein’s downfall for sexual misconduct may seem like a recent scandal, but the casting couch – the exploitation of young actresses by powerful men – has been a dark undercurrent of Hollywood since its inception. The practice, whereby moguls demanded sexual favours in exchange for roles, has left a trail of ruined careers and lives.
Louis B. Mayer, co-founder of MGM in 1924, was among the earliest and most notorious. According to film historian Cari Beauchamp, Mayer chased actress Jean Howard around his office. When she refused him and married agent Charles K. Feldman, Mayer banned Feldman from the lot and refused to hire his clients for years. Mayer also allegedly groped a teenage Judy Garland, holding meetings with her on his lap, his hands on her chest. The abuse went beyond physical: Garland was told she wasn’t pretty or thin enough, leading to nose jobs, amphetamines and a tragic spiral into addiction and instability.
Other studio heads followed suit. Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures and Jack Warner of Warner Bros. were described as “abusive with a capital A”. Mayer believed his studio was his kingdom, and he deserved all its perks, a sentiment echoed by many of his peers. Actress Marilyn Monroe, passed from man to man, wrote in her memoir: “I met them all. Some were vicious and crooked… You saw Hollywood with their eyes – an overcrowded brothel, a merry-go-round with beds for horses.” Her talent and beauty were coupled with low self-esteem, drug abuse and eventual suicide.
More recently, Tippi Hedren revealed in her memoir that director Alfred Hitchcock sexually molested her during the filming of ‘The Birds’ and ‘Marnie’. She spoke out to warn young women: “This is legion all over the world. There’s nothing unique about it.” Her career suffered at what should have been its peak.
The history of Hollywood is littered with such stories, demonstrating that sexual exploitation is not an aberration but a systemic feature of an industry that has long traded on the vulnerability of women. From Mayer to Weinstein, the casting couch has left an indelible stain on the dream factory.
