Grace Van Dien, The Dark Side of Hollywood

I am a fan of Stranger Things. Grace Van Dien is a guest star in the show’s fourth season. So when I saw her face trending, I quickly recognized her. Grace is twenty-six years old American actress, and she is a gamer on Twitch. Her name on Twitch is BlueFille, with over 250,00 plus followers.

Grace states that in the last couple of projects, producers have requested sex from her. So she is pausing acting for her mental health. In Grace’s own words:

“He [Producer] hired a girl he was sleeping with, and then he had her ask me to have a threesome with them. So, that’s my boss. I didn’t, and I cried. And I was so upset. People are like, how is streaming better for your mental health? That’s how. I get to stay inside my home and play video games, and I don’t have my boss asking me to have sex with him. That’s how [streaming live] is better for my mental health.”

Grace is visibly distraught in the video I posted in the credits section. About two months ago, I saw Alasi Morisette trending. She is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. According to the Washington Post, Alanis collaborated on a new documentary. In the film, Alanis confesses the following:

“It took me years in therapy to even admit there had been any kind of victimization on my part,” she says. “I would always say I was consenting, and then I’d be reminded like, ‘Hey, you were 15; you’re not consenting at 15.’ Now I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re all pedophiles. It’s all statutory rape.”

Grace had to opportunity as an adult to say no, and walk away with her morals and pride intact. I am proud of her for walking away from fame. Grace claims that she has her own projects and hopes that someone will fund them because she won’t ask her actors to sleep with her. She laughs nervously at that last remark.

Alanis didn’t have much of choice. Teenagers are impressionable and easily manipulated. It wasn’t until she was older that she realized several men had taken advantage of her. Alanis also says that it took her years of therapy to recover from trauma and that no adult cared to protect the then-young teenager. She adds, “Me not telling specific information about my experience as a teenager was almost solely around wanting to protect — protect my parents, protect my brothers, protect future partners.”

This isn’t the first time we hear about sexual advances or pedophilia in Hollywood or the Music industry. Even men have discussed rape and sexual assault—for example, actors like Corey Feldman, Brendan Fraser, and Terry Crews. While many focus on idolizing their celebs and desiring the glam life, meaning the fame and the money, do they stop to think that life isn’t as glamorous as it seems? Have you noticed how many suffer from deep depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and drugs? Maybe there’s a reason for it.

How many actors and actresses actually do sacrifice their morals and ethics? How many have to sell their soul in exchange for fame and money, but the fine print comes at a cost? Maybe those “has-beens” or the “one-hit-wonders” did read the fine print, and they walked away proudly, knowing that they would never sacrifice their honor, pride, and morals over money and fame. On the latter, of course, I am speculating. But the more these stories come out, you never know.

One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that.”
Joseph Campbell