The stories of sexual misconduct that keep pouring out of the worlds of politics and the arts right now — and the serious attention these accounts are getting — clearly suggest a time of great transition. The culture is changing rapidly, and the power structures that were in place for decades are crumbling.

Many people believe we are moving toward a better future. Others, meanwhile, want to halt change and move us backward into a time where hypocrites and abusers still comfortably clung to power — and where abuse victims were silenced, shamed and kept in their place.

One of those “advocates of the past” is the musician Morrissey, a man who somehow managed to defend both alleged pedophile Kevin Spacey and alleged rapist Harvey Weinstein in the same interview. As if that weren’t odd enough, he also went after the victims who now feel empowered and emboldened enough to speak out.

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The British singer claimed in an interview with German press outlet Der Spiegel that the alleged victims of Spacey and Weinstein “played along” originally — but were now likely only disappointed that their careers hadn’t gone further.

“Afterward, they feel embarrassed, or they do not like it,” he said of the abuse people allegedly suffered. “And then they turn it around and say: I was attacked, I was surprised, I was dragged into the room.”

Morrissey specifically called the allegations against Spacey “ridiculous.”

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“As far as I know, he was in a bedroom with a 14-year-old. Kevin Spacey was 26, boy 14. One wonders where the boy’s parents were,” the singer said. “One wonders if the boy did not know what would happen. I do not know about you, but in my youth I have never been in situations like this. Never. I was always aware of what could happen. When you are in somebody’s bedroom, you have to be aware of where that can lead to. That’s why it does not sound very credible to me. It seems to me that Spacey has been attacked unnecessarily.”

“People know exactly what’s going on,” Morrissey also said of Weinstein. “And they play along … but if everything went well, and if it had given them a great career, they would not talk about it.”

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He added, “I hate rape. I hate attacks. I hate sexual situations that are forced on someone. But in many cases one looks at the circumstances and thinks that the person who is considered a victim is merely disappointed.”

The interview with Morrissey began spreading when it was posted to a fan site and then picked up by outlets such as The A.V. Club and the New York Post.

Considering the interview is with a foreign outlet, there is a chance the singer could be misquoted or that his comments were taken out of context. That has certainly happened before.

However, if this is really how the entertainer feels, then he’s a dinosaur — and belongs in a shameful past that Hollywood and the world will forever be trying to live down.

(photo credit, homepage image: Kevin Spacey Arriving at the Royal Albert Hall, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Richardc39 / Morrissey, CC BY 2.0, by Man Alive!; photo credit, article image: Morrissey at SXSW, CC BY-SA 2.0Jupshaw Upshaw)