In the hit series "Gossip Girl," everyone loves billionaire bad boy, Chuck Bass. He’s the typical charming playboy with a loving soul behind a rough exterior.
But there is one side of Chuck Bass everyone seems to forget.
In the first season, Jenny encounters him at a party. Like any other young girl her age, she wants nothing more than to fit in. Luck seemed to be in her favor when this older, popular guy that all of the other girls want chooses her out of every other girl at the party to talk to. He invites her to the rooftop to talk.
Chuck seizes the opportunity to try and force himself on her. She says no and he continues to push himself on her. Luckily, Jenny had contacted his brother, Dan, beforehand and he showed up just in time. What would have happened if Dan was never contacted? To make matters worse, it seems as if this was not Chuck’s first time taking advantage of a young girl. Jenny spoke to Blair after the incident, looking for reassurance that Chuck won’t tell anyone. Blair responded with, “Don’t worry, Chuck likes to brag about his conquests, not his victims.” Jenny was not the first person to fall in his grasps. How many other young girls has Chuck harassed? It is implied that Chuck is a rapist, and no one seems to care. His friends act as if this is normal. Blair seems nonchalant about the entire matter. Gradually, this incident is forgotten by everyone including Dan and Jenny. Dan and Chuck eventually become friends and Jenny loses her virginity to him (willingly).
This scene is intentionally swept under the rug as if it were no big deal. Jenny is almost raped and it’s dismissed after a couple of episodes and never mentioned again. Though Jenny and Chuck are fictional, situations where rapes are dismissed and rapists walk free are not fictional. For instance, Brock Turner was recently charged with sexual assault of an unconscious woman and was only sentenced to six months in prison because the judge felt sorry for Brock and didn’t want to be too hard on him. How low has our justice system fallen when concern for the true victim of a crime is ignored in favor of the perpetrator? Why aren’t rape victims given more thought in society?
