The first #MeToo Moment in the Oklahoma film industry is well underway.
Over the weekend, several local women shared powerful testimonials on Facebook about the nightmarish experiences they allegedly faced while working for OU professor turned local movie producer – Dr. John Scamehorn.
John's a Professor Emeritus for the OU School of Chemical Engineering. Over the years, he's used the money he made in the field of surfactants to weasel his way into the local film and theater scene.
The two testimonials garnering the most attention were shared by a pair of Scamehorn's former personal assistants – Chandler Corbeille and Stephanie Logan.
They paint a picture of a rich, privileged, dirty man who sexually harassed young women who were less than half his age, misled actresses about the subject matter of his content and films, and apparently compiled a large personal library of photographs of women that were taken without their knowledge or consent.
Here are the Facebook posts...
First of all, props to those two women, and the others who have shared their stories, for having the courage to come forward and help bring attention to this man's antics. Can someone in the legitimate media track down their Title IX filings and let us know how nothing happened? I know OU and David Boren like protecting people and organizations with money and power over the interests of students, but this takes things too far.
Either way, those are some sick and disturbing allegations. If true, Scamehorn should be investigated by the FBI immediately. In fact, the accusations are almost as disturbing as this trailer for Scamehorn's opus – Pax Masculina. It's a dystopian future film set in a time where brave "insulant" women fight for freedom while living in a peaceful, utopian, male-run society.
Here's the trailer:
I know I have a daughter and I'm a big softie now, but that's... odd. I guess you can say Pax Masculina is kind of like The Handmaid's Tale, but only if it was written by a red-pill popping misogynist with a hanging fetish who likes to have intellectual debates about whether or not women should have the right to vote:
That's John's one and only tweet from his Twitter account. It's similar to the stuff he would post on his now deleted Facebook account:
Knowing John's views on whether or not the suppression of women is a good thing, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Pax Masculina (a movie he pitched to actresses as having a central theme of "female empowerment") was promoted in a paid ad on the website Return of King – a self described "neomasculine" website that promotes guy power and the return of women's rights to prehistoric levels.
I think that sound you just heard was former OU regent Kirk Humphreys googling "How to watch Pax Masculina for free."
Anyway, I've talked with a bunch of Ogle Moles about Scamehorn and allegations against him over the last couple of days. These Moles have starred in Scamehorn's movies, worked in his plays, and avoided him at parties. The sad, consistent theme I've been hearing is "I'm not surprised." Apparently, Scamehorn's behavior and bizarre anti-women views were all but common knowledge, but nobody dared bring it up because he had money and financed projects. Basically, he was treated like just about every other rich white man in history. Must be nice.
Anyway, we'll continue to follow this same story and let you know about any updates or developments. If you have anything you want to share, or know of any other local creepster who deserves a #MeToo moment, send us an email.
