Bias and the Business of Show: Employment Discrimination in the 'Entertainment' Industry
13 Pages Posted: 20 Jan 2020
Date Written: October 1, 2016
Abstract
The primary service of show business is entertainment. Comment in the public interest — when there is any — is secondary at best. The entertainment industry is a business organized for profit that can be an important medium for the communication of ideas, but it is not such incarnate. The marketplace drives project greenlighting, but presumed client preference by industry gatekeepers does not legally justify subsequent discriminatory employment practices. For the courts to permit otherwise is to nullify equal opportunity for thousands of workers who deserve the protection of our judiciary, real people who need and want to work in the profession of their choosing.
Keywords: entertainment, acting, actor, actress, film, television, stage, theater, theatre, Hollywood, directing, producing, director, producer, casting, industry, equal employment opportunity, BFOQ, workers' rights, show business, biz
JEL Classification: J14, J15, J71, J83, K22, K31, Z11, Z22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation