PBS is stepping in the waters of the #MeToo movement, going long form with the upcoming five-part series “MeToo What’s Next?” However, don’t expect anything careful and dry from the public broadcaster. Activist and author Zainab Salbi is already stirring the pot, as news arrives today that the former film blogger Devin Faraci (Birth Movies Death) has been interviewed for the series.
In the fall of 2016, Faraci stepped down from his role as editor-in-chief of Birth Movies Death in the wake of sexual assault and misconduct allegations. He was once again the center of controversy when it was revealed he had been quietly working for Alamo Drafthouse, doing copywriting. Faraci’s involvement with Alamo Drafthouse was a shock and surprise to many, and the revelation led to respected Fantastic Fest programmer, Todd Brown to resign from his role in protest. Faraci later resigned from his position at Alamo Drafthouse.
Now, Faraci is back in the spotlight thanks to his conversation with Salbi, which you can see excerpts of in the THR link below. The former writer reveals that after the allegations hit, “I was suicidal. I thought I was the worst person who ever lived. I was a total asshole to so many people. And I saw that as a sign of strength, dominance.”
His accuser, Caroline (who declined to share her last name), was also interviewed on camera and said, “He’s the person who should feel embarrassed about this and I’m the person who has held on to that embarrassment and shame for so long.”
Needless to say, Faraci’s re-emergence has sparked a lot of heated debate online, particularly within the Film Twitter community. There is also the question of why Salbi felt it necessary to give Faraci a platform, but she says her goal with the series was to spark “uncomfortable conversations.” For the moment, she has not revealed the other guests that will be participating in the series, but it’s probably safe to say that there were will be more charged moments to come.
“MeToo What’s Next?” kicks off tonight on PBS.