Lily Allen feels "all alone" in the music industry.
The 33-year-old singer claims the #MeToo movement which has been sweeping through Hollywood – which was sparked in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse scandal – won’t affect the pop business because "no one looks after" the artists and everyone relies on themselves.
In an interview with New Statesman magazine, she said: "It’s probably because we’re all in long-term contracts, like, 15 years. There isn’t an HR place to go to because everyone’s self-employed. You can’t go to the record company, nobody there’s looking after you. Management’s not looking after you, you’re all on your own."
The mother-of-two – who has daughters Ethel, six, and Marnie, five, with ex-husband Sam Cooper- also claims the "culture" of the music world is different to that of glamorous film stars who are taking action against people in the industry abusing their power, because musicians want to "loosen up and drink" and alcohol is "blamed" for abusive behavior as a result instead of the people perpetuating it.
She said: "And also, I think, the whole culture of music is, whether we like it or not, geared around alcohol and drugs. From the making of music in the studio – people want to loosen up and drink, to get themselves into the writing space – to when it comes to playing live, what makes it tick is the booze. People feel like they can get away with certain things because there is lots of alcohol around, and alcohol can be blamed, rather than individuals."
And the ‘Not Fair’ hit maker thinks women feel as if they can’t speak up if they experienced sexual assault whilst under the influence of alcohol because they will be blamed for the incident.
She continued: "On both sides. I think women feel, ‘Oh, I can’t absolve myself of responsibility because I drank.’"
Lily Allen says the MeToo movement won’t reach music industry
