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David Schwimmer’s Sexual Harassment Videos Are Awkward, Uncomfortable, And Extremely Important

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 20:48 PST, Apr 10, 2017

David Schwimmer recently guest-starred on The View, telling the hosts he’s been working with director Sigal Avin on a series of videos designed to put a face to sexual harassment. His aim is to show viewers what sexual harassment actually looks like.

The Huffington Post reported that Schwimmer’s new awareness campaign shows that at least one-in-three women have reported sexual harassment in the workplace. Avin previously launched a similar campaign in Israel, then reached out to David Schwimmer to bring the project to the United States. The popular Friends actor said this was the perfect time for the project, particularly with the current tensions over harassment and women’s rights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QeRw_hB7eQ

Speaking on The View, Schwimmer said: “We’ve seen a lot of sexual violence in the media, but we’ve not seen this particular gray area of sexual assault, where it’s about power and a certain dynamic.”

There are five videos in the That’s Harassment series, with each portraying a specific situation whereby sexual harassment might occur – whether it be a corporate workplace, doctor’s office, or a casting session. Every video story is true, and they’re acted out by actors like Grace Gummer, Cynthia Nixon, Michael Kelly, Bobby Cannavale, and Emmy Rossum. Besides being one of the executive producers, David Schwimmer also stars in one of the videos. They can be found on the campaign’s Facebook page and throughout this article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9voEJvMKc

For David’s mother, the video titled “The Doctor” struck a very personal note.

“She, for the first time, told me that after seeing ‘The Doctor’ film that she was sexually harassed by one of her doctors. And my sister, when she was a young woman, was sexually harassed by her doctor. Like, I didn’t know either of those things.”

The short film titled “The Co-Worker” features Donald Trump’s infamous “grab them by the p*ssy” comment, but Schwimmer is adamant this is not an anti-Trump issue.

“That’s not what this is. Having said that, I found Trump’s boasting of committing sexual assault really disturbing. I think our leaders have to demonstrate a certain kind of character. When I think about my daughter, I find that difficult to explain.”

Anti-Trump advocates find it interesting that Trump has declared April to be Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month – interesting because at least 15 women have publicly accused him of sexual assault.

Schwimmer and Avin are both very clear about the principle goal of the That’s Harassment campaign, and that is to bring men into the conversation.

“I really hope that men see these videos as well, so they can learn, ‘Oh, that’s not appropriate behavior.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zK4OLUkcH8

Page 6 reported that David Schwimmer feels he’s standing up for the women in his life by creating the That’s Harassment videos for his sexual harassment campaign.

Schwimmer was interviewed by Cosmopolitan about the campaign.

“I grew up with stories of sexual harassment from my mom. Every woman in my family, in my life, has been harassed, except my daughter, thank God, who’s only six. During the course of these stories and this process, I was repeatedly putting myself in the mindset of what it must be like to be a woman in the world today.”

He went on to explain that he feels women are objectified their entire lives and “become accustomed to being a second-class citizen.”

“A lot of women don’t even recognize when they’re being harassed. Because you spend your whole life not being treated with the kind of respect that men are automatically given.”

In other news, Page 6 reported that David Schwimmer and his wife Zoe Buckman have decided to take a break from their marriage.

Fifty-year-old Schwimmer and 31-year-old Buckman made a statement to Page 6 on Wednesday confirming their separation.

“It is with great love, respect and friendship that we have decided to take some time apart while we determine the future of our relationship. Our priority is, of course, our daughter’s happiness and wellbeing during this challenging time, and so we ask for your support and respect for our privacy as we continue to raise her together and navigate this new chapter for our family.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI_P6G3yWG0

A friend of the couple stated that at the moment, David and Zoe are determining the best way to move forward as a family, with raising their daughter together as their main priority.

This was the first marriage for both parties. The couple met in London in 2007 when David was directing Run Fatboy Run, and they share a 6-year-old daughter, Chloe.

Now, according to the Huffington Post, the former Friends star has decided to cancel his scheduled appearance on former co-star Matt LeBlanc’s show Top Gear after his marriage breakdown.

Page 6 reported that David Schwimmer’s starring role in Friends made him feel very isolated, and he struggled to cope with fame.

Today, David has reinvented himself as a director and TV star, and he opened up to The Hollywood Reporter in an emotional interview about the detrimental effects the Friends show had on his life.

“As an actor, the way I was trained, my job was to observe life and to observe other people, so I used to walk around with my head up, really engaged and watching people. The effect of celebrity was the absolute opposite: it made me want to hide under a baseball cap and not be seen. And I realized after a while that I was no longer watching people; I was trying to hide. So I was trying to figure out, ‘How do I be an actor in this new world, in this new situation? How do I do my job?’ That was tricky.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbgMSPxemog

The talented actor-director admitted that his sudden rise to fame when Friends first hit TV screens in 1994 had a huge impact on his personal life and that it took many years for him to adjust to being a star. Calling the experience “jarring,” Schwimmer says that the instant fame took a huge toll on his relationship with other people.

The show was such a huge success that, after 10 seasons, the final episode in 2004 titled “The Last One” pulled in a record-breaking 52 million viewers across the United States.

[Featured Image by Rich Fury/AP Images]

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