No, Matthew, all is not forgiven
VIOLENCE IS INEXCUSABLE IN ANY CONTEXT, AND WE SHOULDN’T BE ASKED TO FORGET OR OVERLOOK PAST DEEDS JUST BECAUSE IT’S CONVENIENT FOR THE PERPETRATOR’S CAREER
I AM glad disgraced Australian writer and director Matthew Newton has stood down from his latest movie project with Golden-Globe winner Jessica Chastain.
His involvement in the high-profile film, Eve, was inappropriate in this post-Weinstein era of #MeToo.
Chastain should be distancing herself from him, not acting as Newton’s feminist ally and helping him whitewash his violent past.
Newton announced he was pulling out of the film he had written, no doubt due to the furious social media backlash. And yet he’s tried to gain mileage from the move, saying he’s trying to make “amends”.
Newton, the son of TV royalty Bert and Patti, clearly wants everyone to move on, but he isn’t being open about what he’s done.
In his statement, he doesn’t mention he’s pulling out of the film because of his history of violence against both women and men.
Instead, he notes his addiction and mental health illness and said he was undergoing treatment.
The mental health get-out-of-jailfree card helped him escape conviction on each of the four occasions he was held to account in court for his actions. It doesn’t wash with me. Milactor lions of people across the globe have mental health issues and don’t go around bashing their girlfriends.
In Newton’s eyes, it’s all about him, not his victims.
Newton also said that for six years, he’d “lived a quiet and sober life” as if we should be congratulating him for not getting drunk and continuing to abuse women.
He’s still called the “bad boy of Australian TV” as if he’s a naughty kid, not a man with a violent history.
Let’s recap. In 2007, Newton was charged with assaulting, stalking and intimidating actor Brooke Satchwell, who was his girlfriend.
He cited mental illness as a defence and an appeal judge overturned his conviction thanks to his “extraordinary” references.
Three years later, another partner, Rachael Taylor, took out an intervention order against Newton, alleging “violence, threats, abuse and intimidation”. Court documents noted his physical, verbal and mental abuse of her, which led to her suffering “concussion, bruising and a sprained jaw” in Rome.
The same year, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a 66-year-old taxi driver, and in 2011, he breached a court order barring him from contacting Taylor. In 2012, he was arrested for hitting a hotel clerk but again escaped without conviction.
It’s just a few years later, and Newton is busy trying to turn things around by using women to whitewash his image. He’s recently been saying how much he loves working with “fabulous, intelligent, wonderful actresses” and “telling female stories”.
So will he tell the story of the abuse he perpetrated on two women he was supposed to love?
Newton was a particularly bad choice for Chastain, given her role in the Time’s Up movement.
“I’ve always made choices … to ensure that on any film set I’m working with people where there isn’t a question about whether or not abuse has taken place,” Chastain said last year.
She cannot be an advocate against domestic violence and work with someone who has a long track record of abusing women.
In any case, other actors who have done far less have been removed from projects. Why should Newton be able to charm his way back into favour by fashioning himself as a feminist?
There’s nothing stopping him from moving on personally, but he can’t force the rest of us to jump on his bandwagon just because he’s got a new film coming out.
In the past, Newton’s supposedly brilliant career and promise as an actor and writer – not to mention his mental health issues – have been used to help him escape punishment.
When it comes to violence against women, it should not matter who your father is, how talented some people think you are or what your mental health status is.
Violence is inexcusable in any context, and we shouldn’t be asked to forget or overlook past deeds just because it’s convenient for the perpetrator’s career.
I am sure Newton’s victims are still feeling the effect of his violence. Why aren’t we thinking of them and the effect of his actions rather than worrying about how it will affect his career?