The revelations of sexual abuse and assault that have come out of Hollywood over the course of the last couple months prove two things. The first is that these cases aren’t "scandals"; they are indicators of a system that allows these types of wrongdoings to happen. Secondly, the people guilty of perpetuating these attacks either don’t acknowledge or don’t understand that what they are doing is wrong. Instead of writing a long-winded editorial explaining the ins and outs of sexual harassment, Tracee Ellis Ross created something even better: The Handsy Man, a children’s book for sexual predators regardless of their industry.
Ross, guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday night, unveiled her story to the audience after a brief introduction recapping what’s been happening in Hollywood for anyone who was unaware. She reiterated that what’s happening isn’t a series of scandals. “It’s a systemic problem about the abuse of power that takes place across all industries,” she said with conviction. Ross then introduced her Dr. Seuss–esque book to the audience and read aloud from its pages, eliciting a large amount of laughs from the audience.
“You may not compliment my butt/You may not call me a 'ho' or 'slut'/And even if you’re stoned or drunk/Do not expose to me your junk,” she recited, each line growing louder and louder. When she finished the last page with a lesson on consent, the crowd burst into a round of applause and cheered while Ross closed the book and silently nodded.
Hopefully the book really does come out soon.
