Amber Tamblyn pens powerful op-ed about James Woods 'culture'

Amber Tamblyn is “done with not being believed.” In the aftermath of her claims against James Woods, the actress wrote an affecting piece in The New York Times attacking the culture that attempts to make liars out of women who come forward about harassment and assault.

“This is less about what just happened with Woods and more about Woods Culture and how we can end it,” she prefaced on Twitter.

Tamblyn began the op-ed describing an incident on a television set when she was 21. A crew member made her feel unsafe by showing up at her apartment after work and “staring daggers” at her on set. She reported this to a producer, who claimed “there are two sides to every story.”

“For women in America who come forward with stories of harassment, abuse and sexual assault, there are not two sides to every story, however noble that principle might seem,” Tamblyn wrote. “Women do not get to have a side. They get to have an interrogation. Too often, they are questioned mercilessly about whether their side is legitimate. Especially if that side happens to accuse a man of stature, then that woman has to consider the scrutiny and repercussions she’ll be subjected to by sharing her side.”

In recent days, Tamblyn was called a liar by Woods, who started a recent situation on social media. The actor criticized Armie Hammer’s film Call Me By Your Name for depicting a relationship between a 24- and 17-year-old. Hammer dropped the hammer when referenced how Woods began dating a 20-year-old woman when he was 66.

“In an instant, I was reminded of a memory from when I was 16,” Tamblyn wrote of this situation. “Mr. Woods attempted to pick me and a friend up when we were at Mel’s diner in Hollywood, seeing if we wanted to go to Las Vegas with him that very night. I informed him of my age, to which he said, ‘Even better.’ I told this story publicly as a way to back up the claim that Mr. Woods was, indeed, a hypocrite. Mr. Woods called my account a lie.”

She added, “Mr. Woods’ accusation that I was lying sent me back to that day in that producer’s office, and back to all the days I’ve spent in the offices of men; of feeling unsure, uneasy, questioned and disbelieved, no matter the conversation.”

Read Tamblyn’s full op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times.

After the initial back-and-forth unfolded on Twitter, Tamblyn posted a screenshot of a text conversation with the friend in question, who backed up her claim against Woods. “Since I know people love to question the intengrity and honesty of women when they come forward with stories like this, here you go,” she tweeted.

When Woods denied the accusation, Tamblyn fired back in a column published by Teen Vogue. “It is with hope, Mr. Woods, that I ask you to go inward now and ask yourself the hard stuff,” she wrote. “Are you and your history with women and girls a part of the problem, Mr. Woods?”