If you ever work in the film industry or have worked in the film industry, maybe you've run into this type of person but they are thoroughly disturbing. There is a type of person in the film industry that has been the source of a significant amount of trauma in my life that basically believes that actors, directors, people “above the line”are above the law. They will literally commit federal crimes for them in the hope that they one day get in their good graces enough to get some kind of promotion.
What does “above the line” mean? It's a film industry term describing people whose jobs are basically first listed on the call sheets for each production, and there is a line drawn that basically implies you're someone important. Think actors, producers, directors, writers are iffy because even though they wrote the entire show, no one respects them. (They're their own bubble in the film industry but they're just as toxic as every other department)
And the very nature of the film industry is such that you made the choice to pursue your passion, and therefore it is often perceived that you should be shamed if you ever defend yourself from an attacker that is probably your co-worker in some capacity. You should be shamed if you ever express dissatisfaction in the petty, toxic politics of your show's production office. And if you ever report assault, abuse, workplace toxicity, or just general dissatisfaction with the way the film industry works, your career is basically ruined.
The film industry is trapped in the early 2010s grindset that literally thinks working 60-80 hour weeks is acceptable in any capacity. People will then proceed to defend their 60 hour work week because sometimes their bosses let them go home on Fridays when the film industry used to celebrate working “fraturdays.” A fraturday is when you come to work between 6 and 8AM Friday and go home around 6AM on a Saturday, sometimes later. The idea was basically “isn't it cool how hard we work?”
An essential part of why this industry is the way that it is is because there are a lot of very privileged individuals that have no concept of money, no concept of work, that have somewhat wealthy parents that fund their “struggle” so that they can chase their dreams of becoming the next great director. They are nepotism babies whose parents have worked themselves to death their entire lives and literally have no concept of an 8 hour day. Literally, I have met multiple people who had no idea that the standard workday is an 8 hour day let alone the fact that many people find the 8 hour day oppressive.
And they will make every excuse for the way the industry operates. That sometimes hair and makeup takes 8 hours alone, requiring actors to sit in the makeup chair for 8 hours just so they can actually act for a few hours before going home. (I don't mean this to undermine their work or craft at all, it's a hard and extremely artistic job but sometimes they do flex how much they work when their work day is very different than most other people) There is no concept of working in shifts, there is no concept of having a social life when they are working or that maybe your coworkers sleeping with each other (at work), being openly racist, being drunk or doing drugs at work with your coworkers, touching coworkers in anyway but in particular in a sexual way, and physically assaulting coworkers might be unacceptable in other industries.
They will make every excuse for each other, especially if the person abusing you or others is of a higher rank, especially if they are “above the line.” That is why there are so many stories of crazy celebrities and execs, why they seem to be able to do all kinds of illegal stuff. They are banking on the corrupt system of celebrity and status that is Hollywood. People want to be them, so they condone workers rights abuses alongside every other crime you can think of. People that are some of the most incompetent people you can imagine, as long as they can kiss up to someone of higher rank, their career is made.