‘Friends’ star David Schwimmer produces films on sexual harassment

CAIRO – 3 March 2018: Actor David Schwimmer, best known for starring as Ross Geller in “Friends”, has produced six short films dedicated to fighting back against sexual harassment.

Directed by female Israeli director Sigal Avin, the videos are part of a campaign called #ThatsHarassment, which is aimed at shining a light at the various ways sexual harassment can manifest in the workplace, ranging from the obvious to the subtle and serving to put audiences in the shoes of those victimized at work. It is primarily effective at capturing the way the “energy changes in a home for a woman,” Avin told Rolling Stone.

The idea predates the #MeToo movement, dating back to 2016, when Avin herself wished to spread awareness of workplace sexual harassment. The timing couldn’t have been better, with #ThatsHarassment serving to complement the #MeToo movement.

The shorts were first produced for Israeli audiences, and then a new version was made for Americans with Schwimmer and released in April 2017 on Facebook. The wake of the on-going Hollywood sexual harassment crisis, beginning with the outing of disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, compelled Avin to give the shorts a wider release.

Each of the short films are a few minutes in length, but are long enough to capture just how a seemingly ordinary day at work can quickly transform into something horrific. An example of this is in “The Boss”, which Schwimmer playing the titular married character while Zazie Beetz portrays his hapless young secretary; the boss’s advances towards her grow more brutal and uncomfortable as he progressively invades her personal space. As if that wasn’t enough, the very start of the short mentions this is based on a real event.

As uncomfortable as the videos may be, they serve an important purpose of bluntly showing unacceptable behavior and allowing audiences to better empathize with and picture many of the experiences sexual harassment survivors have been sharing.

Schwimmer has actually been active in spreading awareness of sexual harassment since his days as Ross Geller at “Friends”, having participated in PSAs produced by NBC during the 1990s on the dangers of date-raping and drugging drinks in college.

Schwimmer was made aware then that sexual harassment was an issue that men were also involved in and essential in helping to prevent.