Channing Tatum is the latest male Hollywood star to turn his back on The Weinstein Company after the Harvey Weinstein scandal hit by dropping out of his film adaptation of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock which was in development at TWC.
The film would have centered on Leonard Peacock, a high school student who plans to kill his best friend, then himself. The novel passes for a day in the life of Leonard, in which many characters who play an important role in his life stumble in his way. We realise at the end of the novel that his best friend, Asher, sexually abused him a couple of years ago, and then forgot their friendship in exchange of being accepted by the popular kids in school. The picture would have marked Tatum’s directorial debut.
In a statement released on his social media channel’s Tatum stated, “The brave women who had the courage to stand up and speak their truth about Harvey Weinstein are true heroes to us,” read the statement. “They are lifting the heavy bricks to build the equitable world we all deserve to live in.”
“Our lone project in development with TWC — Matthew Quick’s brilliant book, ‘Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock’ — is a story about a boy whose life was torn asunder by sexual abuse,” he said. “While we will no longer develop it or anything else that is the property of TWC, we are reminded of its powerful message of healing in the wake of tragedy. This is a giant opportunity for real positive change that we proudly commit ourselves to. The truth is out — let’s finish what our incredible colleagues started and eliminate abuse from our creative culture once and for all.”
The brave women who had the courage to stand up & speak their truth about Harvey Weinstein are true heroes to us… https://t.co/pdOa4KNhvL
— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) October 18, 2017
The film had been in development since 2014.
