Why This Is Not An ‘English Teacher’ Review

Content warning: cites and links to reporting and personal essays on sexual abuse

We’re coming up on the seventh anniversary of a world-changing event: the publication of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s bombshell New York Times exposé, “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades.” The story had immediate effect in the entertainment industry, as survivors of sexual misconduct (or worse) by powerful men came forward with their own stories, seeing evidence that journalists were interested in reporting out their stories. Historically, abusers with enough money or clout could kill damaging features about their actions; maybe that era was finally coming to an end. Or maybe abusers have just spent the last seven years learning how to ride out allegations and then go back to work.

If you were even dimly aware of the news in the days after the initial Times report, you probably remember several of the men who were credibly accused of sex crimes without my having to mention names like Kevin Spacey, Charlie Rose or Matt Lauer. Ensuing years would see allegations against (among many others) Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi; CBS president Les Moonves; comic and actor Chris D’Elia; TV creator Dan Schneider; and comedian and host Russell Brand. Some faced legal action; others lost jobs or status. But even the most cursory of looks around the current entertainment landscape confirms what commentators have been saying for years: “Cancel culture” isn’t real, and most people who’ve been publicly disgraced by the exposure of their worst behavior haven’t been damaged in any lasting way.

For example: Louis C.K. Just over a month after the Weinstein report, Kantor collaborated with Melena Ryzik and Cara Buckley on an article about five women who had come forward to accuse the comic of sexual harassment. C.K. immediately confirmed that the claims were true, in a statement in which he described at some length the power he’d had over his accusers and their admiration for him without using the words “apologize” or “sorry.” 

I Love You, Daddy, a feature film C.K. wrote and directed and in which he starred, was dropped by its distributor, and C.K. lost his partnership at FX, which had aired his namesake sitcom. But less than a year after the Times report, he returned to doing (unannounced) stand-up sets. A couple of years after that, he was back with a new special. Three more have since followed, including one taped at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show; he won Grammy Awards for his comedy albums in 2022 and 2023. Sorry/Not Sorry, a new documentary about his departure and comeback, may remind some who’d forgotten about his dark history. But controlling the distribution of his work almost certainly means he’s made more money on sales than this feature doc evaluating his checkered career will. 

Or: Chris Hardwick. The Nerdist founder had been hosting the NBC game show The Wall and various AMC after-shows for several years when, in 2018, his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra published an essay on Medium detailing allegations of abuse during their relationship. AMC suspended his shows; NBC said it would “take appropriate action” in light of Dykstra’s allegations. But it took just a few weeks for both networks to clear Hardwick, who’s still hosting The Wall in its fifth season.

I could go on… so I will! 

Casey Affleck was sued for sexual harassment in 2018 by two women who’d worked with him on the mockumentary I’m Still Here. If you have a subscription to AppleTV+, Affleck’s new movie The Instigators is free to stream.

Author Neil Gaiman has (as of July) been accused of sexual assault by three women. The third season of Good Omens, the Prime Video comedy based on the book he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, not only still has a third season in active development — Gaiman has also been invited to comment on how great it’s going to be, as though nothing else were going on with his career or life.

Comic Bobby Lee seemed to have weathered concerns about his having possibly committed child rape in Tijuana by, last year, claiming the story he told about it was a joke. Just a couple of months ago, he was back in the news, apologizing to George Janko for sexually harassing him during a podcast appearance. That seems to have been enough to save Lee’s cameo from getting cut out of Jackpot!; we’ll have to wait a while longer to see whether he makes it back to Max’s And Just Like That… for Season Three.

Sex crimes aren’t the only kind famous men are currently dodging. On his press tour for the forthcoming Wolfs, George Clooney has been vocal about his unwillingness to work with a “miserable fuck like David O. Russell” (who still has a thriving, Oscar-buzzed career despite the police report his niece Nicole Peloquin filed against him for sexual assault more than a decade ago). But Clooney apparently has no problem with his Wolfs co-star Brad Pitt, whose ex-wife Angelina Jolie’s claims of physical abuse he perpetrated against her came out almost two years ago.

Assault allegations against Terrence Howard — from more than one ex-wife, among others — have been in the public record for close to a decade. They don’t seem to bother his Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer. The two worked together again on the limited series Fight Night, which will stream on Peacock early next month.

Netflix’s Baby Reindeer revolves in part around a successful TV producer grooming and raping a protégé he claims to be mentoring. So you might think that creator Richard Gadd — who reportedly based the series on his own experiences — would, once he became a producer on his own show, be especially sensitive to the imbalance of power between himself and a performer who auditioned to appear in his project. But he wasn’t, triggering an investigation into his conduct (in which Netflix ultimately cleared him). 

English Teacher is a new comedy, starring and co-created by Brian Jordan Alvarez. It is premiering two episodes on FX September 2nd. Maybe you’ll learn more soon about the people who worked on it. Or maybe they’ll lie low for a while until you’ve forgotten you ever learned anything about them at all.