Hidden-Camera Actress Who Was the Subject of Catcalls Is a Sexual-Assault Survivor

By Katie Toth Tue., Oct. 28 2014 at 6:28 PM

Don't. Read. The comments.

As if you needed a reminder.

Filmmaker Rob Bliss and actress Shoshana Roberts teamed up with a well-known anti-street-harassment advocacy group called Hollaback to make a video of the daily sexual harassment so many women know about in New York City.

"We got an email from [Bliss] and he said his girlfriend got street-harassed all the time," said Hollaback executive director Emily May. "He thought, 'If they understood what it felt like, they wouldn't do it anymore.' "

And so the two-minute video, which has been spreading through the internet like a wildfire, tracks Roberts as she walks through Manhattan, putting together all the so-called "best" (worst) footage of guys trying to get her attention.

"It was a documentary," May said. "We didn't set anyone up. We didn't have to, unfortunately."

And as if trolls really, really wanted to prove that this video was necessary, some of the YouTube comments Roberts got were cruel.

Not cruel as in, "You're a poo face." More like cruel as in:

ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! GUYS WOULD LITERALLY MURDER BABY GOATS JUST TO GET A 20TH OF THE EXPERIENCE SHE GOT IN 10 HOURS!!! All I see is a women who doesn't acknowledge compliments from people and thinks being called beautiful is harassment. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!!! THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE THINGS WERE COMPLIMENTS AND SHE JUST BITCH FACES THEM. That one guy who followed her was definitely creepy. However being complimented just by walking down the street is something most guys would kill for. Female privilege.

Hollaback also tells the Voice that some commenters have threatened Roberts with rape, but the threats had since been taken down from YouTube.

A headshot from Roberts's professional website

How ironic. Roberts, an actress by day, got involved with the video after seeing a Craigslist ad on a friend's Facebook page. She says she chose to do the video because she's a survivor of multiple sexual assaults in middle school, high school, and college.

"My experiences have been many," she says. Roberts doesn't want to go into much detail. But she remembers times when she used the word "no, and used it strongly" -- and found her words ignored. "I've filed police reports on some. With others, I never mentioned anything to anybody."

For Roberts, there's a parallel between the catcalls she gets on the street and the assault she's faced in her past. "It happens whether I'm in moccasins or high heels," she says. "It can happen to anyone." She's got a first-degree black belt in tae kwon do, but when it comes to harassment, she's got no advice for women who want to feel safe on the street.

"I am still trying to figure that out myself," she says. "I don't know what to do, that's the thing."

So she picked out a high-necked T-shirt and jeans -- "because it's not what you wear!" -- and started walking. (And continued walking, for 10 hours, which the resultant video pares down into that abovementioned, er, "best of.")

Judging by the nearly 300,000 views so far, Roberts isn't alone: Rachel Maddow described it as "easily the most recurrent video" in her feed today. Young women took to Twitter to express a daily familiarity with the subject matter. Others sent Roberts cuddly animals to express their solidarity and drown out the negative comments.

May, of Hollaback, says that the anti-street-harassment group saw a different kind of support, too: They got about 20 donations today -- mostly small, and most of them from men.

"I think men are fed up with this too," she says. "It really ruins it for the nice guys. We all want to live in a world where you can say, 'Good morning, how are you'...without worrying this is going to escalate."

But...this is the internet. And for all the cute bunnies and cash that it can raise, there's always someone out there who wants to offer up some serious vitriol:

It would take a "Shoshana" to make a useless ass video like that.
— Sam F. (@Sammyveli) October 28, 2014

Serious question tho RT @_artistone_: Why couldn't you just smile and say hello back, Miss Lady? @ShoshanaBinya
— The Spacey (@KrownRoyaleNY) October 28, 2014

RT @SheLoveTheG: At the end of the day, feminists are still women....which means that they don't know what the fuck they want
— Thomas (@TMill2) October 28, 2014

Repulsive RT @OptimalViewing: A woman stopped me in the street the other day to tell me she loved my beard......I mean....
— Thomas (@TMill2) October 28, 2014

We'll just let some dude named Abe Whaley drop the mic on this one...

So Twitter is really going to prove the point of the video @ShoshanaBinya was in that quickly? https://t.co/Yuacaoo4mk
— Abe Whaley (@abeC) October 28, 2014

...Yeah.

Send news tips to ktoth@villagevoice.com
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joe_dee

I thought white men were the scourge of feminists everywhere, but oddly enough all these guys are black, and hispanic.

We'll be waiting for your apology.

joe_dee

The privilege of being female...

Majority of men would kill for that kind of attention from the opposite sex, and to this princess it's some major fucking imposition.

So sick of women these days, and their bullshit feminist propaganda.

Silopana Jones

Wants to be left alone..then post all her junk on the net.

Sahara Henry

is this guy serious?

cashback4u2

There is a point where attitudes concerning what is appropriate and what isn't changes however before that change completely takes over there is confusion about what one can and cannot do in that society. It is obvious that some of the comments made to her may have been harassment and the guys walking next to her was pure provocation and probably would have resulted in a physical altercation if they tried doing that with a guy. There may have been others however that were just greeting her on the street and saying hello. I also cant believe that these comments made by men in the city never works on some women as it would be asinine to continue doing it over and over again with no resulting success. We as a society have come to a point were meeting and acting appropriately with someone of the opposite sex is being harder and harder to define and being a gentleman is all but gone. But as I stated before if this kind of behavior works with some women then I don't think men in general will stop it.

RWJBoon

@kat_toth "You're a poo face!"

b00nes

@kat_toth really astonishing vid even for someone like me who lived in NYC for years link with ethics in VG reporting unclear unless /s?

JasJay

Men who think it's harmless should think about how putting up with all these little "compliments" disrupts a woman's daily activities because all these guys think only they came up with such a "clever" idea...

A woman's attention should be on her job, family, friends etc not on every communicatively-challenged weirdo that happens to cross her path in the streets craving for female attention.

So don't say "just smile and say thank you" as if it cost nothing: even front desk clerks, receptionists and celebrities get paid for smiling and saying "thank you" to strangers all the time. We have no interest in being Stepford Smilers.

april_rose

@ECM_LP pretty sure one of the men whose tweet was posted follows me. Gotta go report him as spam now \U0001f485

studiesincrap

@nicklucchesi @kat_toth The Toth Take

Carrie

The only men who sexually harass me are black. Men of other ethnicities never sexually harass me.

Joe Kazmierski

Stop. Ten hours and there's a few minutes of footage. It's a black guy thing. They are harmless. Criminals are silent. Non story. It's a black thing, you gots to understand.

thaNorthStar

@kat_toth @ShoshanaBinya @iHollaback people wishing u a good day is polite. Grabbing ass is harrassment

Aaron Whistletips Gibson

I had a guy just about climb on top of my Wife once while we walked down a busy street. I was ready to whoop His ass but the Wife said forget it. Curvy women are really a target.

Frank Licursi

I hate to admit it but a lot of guys are fucking garbage. I understand why my wife prefers to go out in sweatpants, sneakers and a baseball cap. I recall that one time years ago she went out with her mom and sister and actually dressed up in a short dress and high heels. I remember that day cuz it was a rare occasion she went out looking that hot without me being there....basically guys were practically rubbing their balls on her leg while she was pumping gas. It's just sickening why guys have to be so lecherous. Never understood why? Can't get a phone number or a date if she thinks you're a piece of shit.