Who Is The Pedophile Evan Rachel Wood References In 'Showbiz Kids' On HBO?
She's opening up about the child abuse that happens behind the scenes in Hollywood.
Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock This week, the documentary Showbiz Kids dropped on HBO, including interviews from stars who began their careers in Hollywood as children opening up about the child abuse that runs rampant behind the scenes in the entertainment world.
One of the stars featured was Evan Rachel Wood, who talked about her frustration watching someone win a Golden Globe who she knew to be an abuser, but she didn't name names.
Who is the pedophile Wood referenced in Showbiz Kids on HBO?
In the documentary, Wood mentioned that she's seen boys and young men abused in Hollywood.
Wood opened up about how she realized that not only girls and young women were being abused in Hollywood circles — it was boys who were targeted, too, and it became especially alarming to her when she saw the abusers being praised for their talent.
"At the Golden Globes I watched a pedophile get an award," she said, adding, “I knew, not a lot of people know, but I know he’s molested boys in the industry.”
This Isn't the first time she's mentioned this happening.
In 2018, Wood tweeted about the experience at the Golden Globes on her since-deleted Twitter account.
"I walked out in tears last time I was there because I saw someone who abused a close friend win an award," she tweeted at the time. "But I worked up the courage to go up to them afterwards and just say 2 words. 'I know.' Hopefully they don't even show up this time."
The man in question was a winner at the 2017 Golden Globes.
There were obviously a lot of winners at the 2017 Golden Globes, but knowing where Wood was when this moment took place does help to narrow it down a bit. Unfortunately, as Wood mentions in the series, many people don't know about what the man in question has been accused of, so the answer to this question isn't too obvious. It's also possible the man she's talking about went up to accept an award as part of a group and may be a lesser-known figure in Hollywood, so there are a lot of possibilities here.
Fans on Twitter think it could be Casey Affleck.
Some fans who have watched the series are trying to figure out who Wood was talking about, and some viewers on Twitter believe it may be Casey Affleck, since he has been accused of sexual misconduct in the past by two women who worked with him on his film I'm Still Here. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2010, and Affleck has maintained his innocence ever since.
Many others are drawing a blank.
Others are speculating about who it might be, but are unable to come to any conclusions because of the lack of details that Wood provided — though there's no doubt that was very intentional on her part. One fan assumed that Wood didn't mention any names to avoid being sued, so it's very possible she's talking about someone whose accusations have never been made public before.
Another possibility is Bryan Singer.
Though Singer is a known pedophile in Hollywood — he was part of a lawsuit in 2017 where he was accused of raping a 17-year-old boy — he may or may not be the person Wood is talking about in the documentary. He doesn't appear to fit the description she gave, since he didn't seem to be in attendance at the 2017 Golden Globes and didn't win an award that year.
Wood has never mentioned who he is by name.
While Wood has always been an outspoken advocate of the #MeToo movement — and she was obviously willing to open up about her own experiences for this documentary — she's never publicly called out the man in question. Maybe one day, she'll share the full story but until then, we don't know for certain who she's referring to.
Please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.