Remember when ‘innocent until proven guilty’ was more than just a platitude? Behold as companies such as Gamma and BangBros usher in an era of cowardly kangaroo courts.
Following the shortest, fastest investigation since 1942 Munich, BangBros has decided to part ways with producer/director Ivan Itzkowitz, who stood accused not in a court of law, but solely on social media, of off-set sexual improprieties with several adult models.
“As a follow up to our statement regarding the 3rd party producer, after investigating this matter, we have determined to cease purchasing content from this producer.” – @BangBrosdotcom
A formal press release is expected tomorrow.
Itzkowitz, who previously shot for Reality Kings, had been under non-exclusive contract to shoot for the Miami-based company.
Now, I like BangBros, and I know some good people who work there. But my job is to call ’em like I see ’em and not play favorites. The process matters as much as, and in fact more than, the outcome. That represents the foundation of our entire concept of justice.
MikeSouth.com has confirmed that Itzkowitz was never even contacted by BangBros’ “investigators”. Wow, that sounds like a fair, through investigation!
At least Gamma had the sense to hire outside counsel to run an actual investigation into the Stills By Alan debacle, and to seek his cooperation (which he provided) — only to chicken out and not release its findings regarding Lily Adams’ claims. SPOILER ALERT: Alan was exonerated. However for PR reasons, Gamma and Alan parted ways. Too much water had gone under that bridge, as they say.
Investigation
Kangaroo court — an unofficial court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted, usually held by a group of people in order to find someone guilty of a crime.
I had reached my verdict on the Feldenstein case before I ever came into the courtroom. I would have found him guilty, whatever the evidence. It was not a trial at all. It was a sacrificial ritual in which Feldenstein, the Jew, was the helpless victim.
— Magistrate Dr. Ernst Janning in “Judgement at Nuremberg” (1961)
Read the First Letter to All Judges (1942)
Compare the actions of Gamma and BangBros to those of the company that distributed liar Leigh Raven‘s Black Payback scene, during the filming of which she falsely and shamefully accused a black performer of rape and assault. A lot of people don’t care for Duke Skywaker’s product, or his in-your-face approach, but at least he had the balls to not bend to the mob and give up his director and performer as sacrificial lambs.
I’m not writing the to defend anyone, and BangBros has the right to work with, or not work with, anyone they want. I don’t know what happened in Florida, and we don’t know what happened in Florida, and BangBros doesn’t know what happened in Florida . . . but we do know what happens when the rule of law is cast aside in favor of other interests, be they political, social, financial or otherwise.
Everyone deserves their day in court. To deprive someone of their livelihood based solely on one-sided accusations made on social media is a very dangerous game. But these kangaroo courts will no doubt continue.
Imagine if it happened to you.
12 Responses
[An inane, typically histrionic comment has been deleted by the author of the post.]
And might I add, this isn’t the only thing Ivan has done wrong. You might want to consider ALL of the things he’s fucked up on before judging BangBros so harshly. Might I remind you he got them in some potentially serious legal trouble for some filming issues last year when he not only filmed on sacred tribal lands but he also filmed someone’s copyrighted artwork WITHOUT their permission.
He also filmed a scne on the side of the highway in clear view of passing traffic! And yes no doubt some of those cars had CHILDREN in them. Fuck that guy.
None of that has anything to do with whether he was treated fairly, Even the guilty are entitled to due process. I do not dispute anything you have written about him previously, but to claim that this was “investigated” by BangBros is ludicrous.
And frankly, when people like Charlotte Cross jump on the bandwagon, I am suspicious.
Of course you removed my comment because you are a pussy and don’t want people to know the truth about your little rapist friend.
How many women made extraordinary claims about your boss, Derek Hay, in that NBC video. terrible accusations of criminal acts. Does their number make them true? Give me a break.
Do you say of him, “well of course he defends himself, but it must be lies!” Of course you don’t.
Yep keep on defending your little rapist friend. Wasn’t it you who started the hashtag “believe all women” mocking victims of sexual harassment?
No, your histrionic outburst illustrates why I deleted it. You’re irrational and are willing to throw out worthless accusations.
If you want to write lies, you have a byline — well, several bylines — on this site to do so. And you do with great regularity, as we all know.
You were asked by the owners of this site to refrain from commenting on other writers’ posts because you are not a sane person. And of course, you cannot help yourself because you are not a sane person. So here we are with another train wreck. Good job.
And for the last time, I’m not defending anyone. Finding fault with a process is not a defense of the accused. My post makes it crystal cleat that I do not know what happened in these cases . . . and neither do you.
I see where someone should get fair treatment by an employer or contractor. However, in the case of Ivan Itzkowitz, he needed to be suspended pending a thorough investigation because of the gravity of the accusations. The fucker is accused of rape for crying out loud! Should the guy be fired? I don’t know. However, if after an investigation the accusations of him having raped someone on a porn set is substantiated, he needs to be bounced out of porn! I agree that he should not have been fired in a “kangaroo court” situation but a suspension and a third party investigation is called for.
As for Stills By Alan, I had my suspicions that the accusations were exaggerated or patently false from the beginning. If he really was found to be innocent, Bree Mills (the owner of Gamma) shouldn’t have fired him. I do not agree with the PC police insistence that people be fired on a mere accusation. I am very interested in more information about that one. Suspension with pay is more reasonable until a full investigation is conducted and has come to its conclusion (my understanding is that Alan was a Gamma employee so it cannot be argued that he was an independent contractor, Ivan is probably an independent contractor whose contract had a morals clause in it).
Also its not one or two girls complaining about Ivan the Terrible, its quite a few. They all can’t be flakes stirring up shit.
I tend to think the same, Karma. However, it is possible for him to simply have that many enemies that know and worked in concert with each other to railroad him. I also agree with XXXReporter (how often does that happen) that a full, impartial investigation should have been done before permanently firing Ivan. More than likely he is a serial rapist that deserves to have his dick and nuts cut off and shoved down his throat but Bang Bros should have made sure, calling the police if need be (he could be suspended with pay until the end of his criminal trial with a finding of guilty or his guilty/nolo plea). Hell, the cops need to be involved anyway unless one or more of his alleged victims is telling the truth and can arrange for his torture and execution. Either option is OK with me assuming Ivan is guilty as hell. What I disagree with is a politically motivated firing without the appropriate investigation and data to back it up.
My point is, simply, that if you don’t want your brand associated with someone who is under a cloud of suspicion, then call it that. Dressing up your reasonable business decision as being made per the outcome and result of some “investigation” is retarded.