Hello, Princeton. I am Christopher Mintz-Plasse. You may recognize me from such films as “Kick-Ass,” “Superbad,” and “12 Years a Slave.” I love my work and generally have a healthy sense of self-esteem, but one thing I do not like is when you take my picture and use it for your sexual-assault-awareness videos.
For example, there is one video, called SHARE, where a nice African American lady is saying, “people think most rapists look like this,” and then she points to a picture of me, “but now we know they can also look like this,” and she points to a collage of different people who are not me.
I do not know why the SHARE organization thinks I look like a rapist. I have never harassed, assaulted, or abused a woman in my life. I think rape is wrong and would never deliberately dress like a rapist or wear a hat that I think rapists would wear.
So I do not know why, in another SHARE video, they have a handsome Asian man point to my high school yearbook picture and say, “Sexual assault is preventable when identified.” It is frankly hurtful, and also not accurate because I do not go around raping people (because I am not a rapist).
Look, I appreciate what these organizations do. I am 100% on board with making people aware of what is or isn’t consent as well as de-stigmatizing victims of sexual assault. I think it’s great. And I would love to contribute in any way I can, just preferably not by starring unwillingly in all your videos as the rapist person.
Just last week I discovered a 60-minute SHARE podcast episode where two women are discussing sexual assault on college campuses, except there is no video to go along with their voices, only a still picture of my face for an hour (at the 30 minute mark the face goes away, but then after five seconds of blackness it cuts to a different picture of me at my Bar Mitzvah).
If what I have asked is too much, I understand. I am all about compromise. Maybe next time in the video when they say “people think most rapists look like this, but now we know they can also look like this,” have me be one of the rapists that “can also look like this” instead of the guy who “most people think rapists look like.” In fact, I would very much prefer to be one of the four or five hypothetical rapists that “can also look like this.” If you could make just that one little tweak I’d appreciate it.
Thank you for your consideration,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
-KZ ’20
