In an interview with the Sunday Times, Elijah Wood spoke out about pedophilia in the movie industry, saying Hollywood was in the grips os a scandal similar to Jimmy Savile.
(For those of you non-English bros, Jimmy Savile is basically the British Jerry Sandusky, an English DJ and television personality who allegedly abused dozen of children.)
From The Telegraph:
The 35-year-old former child actor said paedophiles had been protected by powerful figures in the movie business and that abuse was probably still taking place.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Wood said he had been protected from abuse as he was growing up, but that other child actors had been regularly “preyed upon” at parties by industry figures.
“You all grew up with Savile – Jesus, it must have been devastating,” he said.
Here’s Wood’s own words.
“There are a lot of vipers in this industry, people who only have their own interests in mind.
“There is a darkness in the underbelly – if you can imagine it, it’s probably happened.”
Wood said he was kept safe when he was a child by having his mother around, but wanted to speak out because there are many who didn’t and don’t have the same protection.
‘People with parasitic interests will see you as their prey. What upsets me about these situations is that the victims can’t speak as loudly as the people in power.’
Of course, things like this have long been speculated, but it’s notable that someone famous is finally speaking openly about it.