“Maude” Took on Sexual Assault and the Studio Audience Laughed!

As commentaries about race relations, the economy, immigration, climate change, gun control and other current concerns begin filling 2018 retrospectives in online and print publications, issues surrounding sexual assault are sure to land near the top of the list, from the ongoing exposure of sex monsters in Hollywood to the Kavanaugh hearings and everything in between.  Sexual misconduct of all kinds is especially relevant in the entertainment business, given the depth and breadth of bad behavior that has continued unchecked in that arena for decades, and it is only now moving from fodder for jokes about casting couches to critical conversations sparked by investigative journalist Ronan Farrow and fueled by the #MeToo movement that have led to corrective actions.  Accordingly, expect more stories like those in which the self-absorbed Grace confronted her father about a sexual assault she suffered at age 17 by his friend Harry on Will & Grace and the tough-as-nails Murphy shamed an esteemed college professor who had menacingly attempted to force himself on her during her student days on Murphy Brown.