"The Court Watson Story Part Two"

Summary

Stage Combat The Podcast: "The Court Watson Story Part Two" – Detailed Summary

Introduction

In Episode 17 of Season 3 titled "The Court Watson Story Part Two," hosted by Sean Hayden of Haywood Productions, LLC, listeners delve deeper into the harrowing experiences of Court Watson within the theater industry. This episode continues the true-crime style narrative, shedding light on allegations of sexual harassment and assault against William Ivy Long, a prominent figure in Broadway costume design. The episode not only recounts Court’s personal journey but also explores the broader implications of speaking out against systemic abuse in the performing arts.

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Content Warning and Preliminary Information

[00:22] The episode begins with a content warning regarding the sensitive nature of the allegations discussed. It advises listeners to proceed with caution and provides resources for those who may find the topics triggering. Additionally, it notes that both William Ivy Long's attorneys and the Roanoke Island Historical Association have denied the allegations presented by Court Watson.

[00:52] Sean Hayden informs listeners that an official statement from William Ivy Long’s attorney will be provided at the episode's end, ensuring transparency and presenting all sides of the story.

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Background: The Allegations Against William Ivy Long

[01:04 – 02:54] Michael Martin sets the stage by referencing a 2018 BuzzFeed article titled "The Broadway Legend, the College Student and the Harassment that Still Stings Today." The article discusses allegations of sexual misconduct by William Ivy Long during Martin’s tenure as a prop assistant at the Lost Colony theatrical production on Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

Court Watson recounts a pivotal moment in 2018 when he received an unexpected phone call from his former boss at the Roanoke Island Historical Association. This call warned him about the impending BuzzFeed article and implicitly pressured him to remain silent about his own experiences with Long. Court describes the call as "emotional blackmail" (02:29 – 02:54), highlighting the manipulative tactics used to suppress dissent and protect Long’s reputation.

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Parallels Between Michael Martin and Court Watson's Experiences

[03:43 – 05:04] After reading the BuzzFeed article, Court Watson recognizes disturbing similarities between Michael Martin’s allegations and his own experiences with Long. He describes the pattern of "gradual grooming" and the predatory behavior Long exhibited toward young, vulnerable men looking for mentorship (04:20 – 04:17). This realization shatters Court’s belief that he was isolated in his suffering, revealing a broader pattern of abuse within the theater industry.

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The Struggle to Make Their Voices Heard

[05:38 – 07:17] Motivated by the solidarity of the MeToo movement, Court decides to share his story publicly. He attempts to collaborate with BuzzFeed and later with American Theater Magazine, providing corroborative witnesses to strengthen his case. However, these outlets either delay publication or dismiss the validity of his claims, leaving Court feeling "let down" by the media (07:35 – 08:31).

Faced with media indifference, Court takes matters into his own hands by self-publishing an essay on Medium titled "My abuser was exposed, yet he's still one of the most powerful men on Broadway." The anonymous publication gains traction in online discussion groups, prompting further outreach from other survivors and ultimately leading to a significant NPR article in November 2021 (08:43 – 16:30).

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Legal Battles and the Adult Survivors Act

[21:00 – 23:30] In response to persistent denials and attempts to undermine his credibility, Court files a lawsuit titled Court Watson vs. William Ivy Long and the Roanoke Island Historical Association under the New York State Adult Survivors Act of 2022. This law allows victims of sexual offenses to file legal actions even after the statute of limitations has expired. Court views the lawsuit as a means to achieve "closure and accountability" (22:45 – 23:30), seeking not only monetary compensation but also institutional accountability.

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Media and Institutional Responses

[17:22 – 36:32] William Ivy Long’s attorney actively works to discredit Court and Michael Martin by highlighting Court’s "provocative social media posts" and a 2015 email praising Long’s technical mentorship. Court rebukes these attempts, emphasizing the dichotomy between learning professional skills from an abuser and the resultant trauma (17:39 – 21:40).

The attorney also points to the lack of union grievances filed by the accusers and the absence of prior legal actions as indicators of credibility. Court counters these points by explaining the limitations he faced, such as not joining the union until after the occurrences and the power dynamics that made legal recourse daunting (21:17 – 22:38).

Furthermore, the episode scrutinizes claims by Long’s attorney regarding investigations by the American Theater Wing and the producers of Diana the Musical. These investigations reportedly found no credible evidence of misconduct, a point the podcast challenges by seeking external confirmation, which remains unsubstantiated (23:30 – 36:32).

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Impact on Court Watson’s Personal and Professional Life

[28:21 – 30:40] Court describes the profound personal toll of the allegations and subsequent public scrutiny. He recounts the discomfort of re-entering industry spaces, dealing with whispered rumors, and facing strained relationships with former mentors. Despite these challenges, Court remains committed to the theater industry, teaching figure drawing at NYU and performance design at Kane University, and contributing artistically to national tours. His advocacy work with the foundation "Behind the Scenes," which supports backstage professionals' mental health, underscores his dedication to fostering a safer industry environment (28:21 – 30:40).

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Societal Perceptions and the Stigma of Male Victims

[25:19 – 27:42] The conversation shifts to broader societal biases against male victims of sexual assault, particularly within the gay community and performing arts. Court and Michael discuss how cultural stereotypes impede recognition and support for male survivors, exacerbating feelings of shame and isolation. Court emphasizes the importance of agency and truth-telling as acts of empowerment and societal change (25:19 – 27:42).

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Conclusion and Forward Look

[30:14 – 37:48] The episode concludes with reflections on the ongoing impact of Court’s decisions to speak out. He expresses pride in advocating for himself and others, acknowledging the difficulty of maintaining personal relationships within the industry while seeking accountability. The narrative emphasizes the potential for systemic change through individual courage, with Court hoping his actions inspire others to claim their stories.

Sean Hayden teases the season finale featuring actor Bobby Steger’s decision to walk away from his Broadway dreams, promising a continuation of deep, personal narratives that explore the intersection of personal trauma and professional life (37:12 – 37:48).

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Notable Quotes

• Court Watson [02:29]: "I'm mortified by the emotional manipulation of it. I am shocked that it does confirm everything I knew that they knew that there was a fox in the hen house and chose to do nothing about it."

• Court Watson [05:39]: "When you have the gumption to stand up and advocate for yourself, one becomes a lightning rod for other people to share their stories of abuse."

• Court Watson [12:00]: "It's a little bit both. I went through this awful trauma. And so you do too."

• Court Watson [27:42]: "That's why I feel like speaking up and telling the story is so important, because it is an extension of my agency to tell the truth."

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Conclusion

"The Court Watson Story Part Two" serves as a poignant exploration of the challenges faced by survivors of sexual abuse within the theatrical community. Through raw personal testimonies and critical examination of institutional responses, the episode underscores the necessity of transparency, accountability, and solidarity in combating systemic abuse. Court Watson’s journey from victim silence to active advocacy highlights both the personal and collective struggles inherent in addressing such pervasive issues within the arts industry.

Transcript

[Court Watson]

Foreign.

[Sean Hayden]

I'm Sean Hayden and you're listening to episode 17 of season three of Stage Combat, the podcast the Court Watson Story Part 2.

[Narrator]

The Court Watson Story contains content of allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Please proceed with caution if those topics are potentially triggering for you. You can also check the show Notes for resources for help for anyone who has experienced a sexual assault. The attorneys for William Ivy Long and the Roanoke Island Historical association have previously denied the allegations made in this episode by Court Watson.

[Sean Hayden]

Stay tuned at the end of this episode for a statement provided by the attorney for William Ivy Long.

[Michael Martin]

The year is 2018 and Buzzfeed has just published an article about William Ivy Long and the Lost Colony theatrical production on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. The article is called the Broadway Legend, the College Student and the Harassment that Still Stings Today. The Broadway legend identified in the article is Tony Award winning costume designer and former chairman of the American Theater Wing, William Ivy Long. Only the college student is not Court Watson. It's a former Lost Colony employee named Michael Martin. But a few days before the article comes out, Court is contacted by someone at the Lost Colony.

[Court Watson]

And out of the blue I got a phone call one evening and it was my former boss, former Executive Director of the Roanoke Island Historical association, and he told me that it had come to his attention that a potentially very damaging article about Long and about the Lost Colony was about to be released by buzzfeed and it would be very bad if anyone spoke up about the kinds of things that went on down there.

[Michael Martin]

And Court, what is your reaction when you hear this in the phone call?

[Court Watson]

I'm mortified by the emotional manipulation of it. I am shocked that it does confirm everything I knew that they knew that there was a fox in the hen house and chose to do nothing about it.

[Michael Martin]

Did you perceive the call as some sort of veiled threat?

[Court Watson]

A veiled threat? Emotional blackmail? Yeah, 100%.

[Michael Martin]

The Buzzfeed article is published and tells Michael Martin's story of his employment at the Lost Colony as a prop assistant while he was a college student. Martin alleges during that time William Ivy Long inappropriately touched him approximately 10 times. These incidents would range from Long tugging at Martin's underwear band to Long sliding his hand into Martin's pants. Martin recalls occasions when Long would have his left hand inside the back of Martin's pants while Long would simultaneously be using his right hand to gesture and praise Martin's work in front of other crew members. And while this was happening, the crew was unaware of what Long's left hand.

[Sean Hayden]

Was doing Martin claims that once he rebuffed Long's frequent invitations to join him for dinner, Long started treating him differently in the workplace. Long would scold him in front of the crew and at one point even threw props at him. William Ivy Long denied these allegations.

[Michael Martin]

Court, when the article comes out later that week, what is your reaction when you read it?

[Court Watson]

I was staggered to see the parallels between what he survived and what I had survived.

[Michael Martin]

And what were those parallels? Court?

[Court Watson]

The gradual grooming, the repeated attempts at finding young, vulnerable men who were happy to have the attention of someone that they looked up to as a mentor, and how that turned, by degrees into something really toxic and threatening and dangerous and scary. And I was mortified to know that I wasn't the only one. For all those years, I thought it was just me and Court.

[Sean Hayden]

One of the things in the buzzfeed article that jumped out to me was.

[Michael Martin]

The interviewer asked Michael, what did he.

[Sean Hayden]

Think William Ivy Long wanted from him?

[Michael Martin]

And Michael responded, can we say what.

[Sean Hayden]

I hope he wanted? I thought maybe he thought I was.

[Michael Martin]

Smart and really good at production design.

[Sean Hayden]

And set painting and props painting. I thought maybe he was taking a shine to me and was going to mentor me in New York.

[Michael Martin]

And I thought maybe there's more to life than just gross animal instincts that you see the possibility of brilliance and.

[Sean Hayden]

You can foster that.

[Court Watson]

Yeah, that really hits. I remember reading that when the buzzfeed article came out and it really feeling like a punch in the stomach.

[Sean Hayden]

How so?

[Court Watson]

You know these people that you look up to, who you look up to, not only as industry leaders but as potential mentors, and they lift you up, they praise your work and there's some icky motive behind that praise. And perhaps it's not mentorship that they're after with you and that kind of doubt that you have when someone does take a shine to you and praises your work, that's haunted me for the rest of my life, the rest of my career. I question people's motives when they say nice things to me still, because I wonder if they're really complimenting the work and my professional integrity, my design skills, or if they have some ulterior motive there. I do still struggle with app.

[Michael Martin]

So after reading the Buzzfeed article, court makes a decision.

[Court Watson]

When the MeToo movement started, it was about giving survivors the power to stand up and say, this happened to me and it wasn't right and I don't have to stay silent any longer. There is solidarity in numbers. When I realized that somebody else spoke up and was kind of Left dangling in the wind by himself, thinking that he was the only person that this had happened to. I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore. I couldn't let another survivor feel like they were hanging out to dry. My mom used to say to me, you can't go to sleep with dirty dishes in the sink. And I feel like very much I still have dirty dishes in this sink.

[Narrator]

So Court set out to tell his story to the media, starting with buzzfeed.

[Court Watson]

Adam Varry wrote the buzzfeed article and I found his email address. I messaged him, told him my part of the story and that I'd like to speak. And then we had a phone interview.

[Narrator]

But buzzfeed sat on the article for several months and then decided to pass the article on to American Theater magazine and its then editor, Deep Tron.

[Court Watson]

And I then went to the American Theater headquarters and Deep Tron and I had an interview and I talked her through the entire story in a chronological way.

[Narrator]

American Theater magazine passed on the article while passing Court's information over to the New York Times.

[Court Watson]

They sat on the article for several months and relayed to Deep Tron that there simply wasn't enough information to go on and that they would not be pursuing the story, which to me was a letdown because I gave them a list of contemporaneous witnesses who could validate and corroborate parts of my story that they witnessed in real time then. And none of them were contacted by BuzzFeed, American Theater, or the New York Times.

[Michael Martin]

So by 2019, it's becoming clear to you that the theater press is not going to cover what happened to you. And so what do you decide to do?

[Court Watson]

I knew I needed to tell my story myself, so I decided to self publish my own essay.

[Narrator]

On March 20, 2020, Court's self authored article was published in the media outlet Medium. The title, my abuser was exposed, yet he's still one of the most powerful men on Broadway. And Court's article was soon being talked about in some online discussion groups.

[Court Watson]

And so I wrote the piece in first person. I tried to center myself in my own narrative and make it about what I had been through and what I had survived.

[Michael Martin]

So in the article, you don't state Long's name?

[Court Watson]

No.

[Michael Martin]

And then there's a photograph with the two of you, but his face is blurred.

[Court Watson]

Anyone in the know knew exactly who I was talking about.

[Michael Martin]

What played into your decision to not specifically state his name in the article, even though you can deduce from the article whom you're talking About.

[Court Watson]

I was terrified, completely terrified. That's how powerful these people are within our industry. These power brokers in our industry still carry that much power.

[Michael Martin]

And so what is it like for you when you see that article, your self published article, you see it come out? What are you feeling at that time?

[Court Watson]

I guess I was proud of myself for telling the truth, honestly telling my honest truth to the world. The forgive me for being a little emotional.

[Michael Martin]

Who. What's the emotion you're feeling right now?

[Court Watson]

I mean, I feel like I screamed into the void for so long and then to have some sort of acknowledgement that what I was saying was appreciated by people in the business and that they did. Believe me, the thing that happens and. And maybe this is something. I can't put words in your mouth, but maybe you know what this feels like. When you have the gumption to stand up and advocate for yourself, one becomes a lightning rod for other people to share their stories of abuse. I was the first person some of those people told their stories to and there is a sense of community in that. And somewhat conspicuously, some people have not voiced their support. And I know exactly who they are and I know why they haven't voiced their support for their own reasons. I do know what those reasons are.

[Michael Martin]

Yeah, it's interesting. It's a combination of the emotional power of other people that because there is a trauma bonding that happens. But then also with that, you're very aware of the people who stay quiet. Right.

[Court Watson]

And I have to respect their reasons. They have their reasons, they have their motivations.

[Michael Martin]

It's a weird dichotomy to experience, isn't it?

[Court Watson]

And to be told by multiple people. We knew, we've known this for a long time and the sky is blue.

[Michael Martin]

So what court do you think the feeling is for some people that we've always known things are this way and this is just the way things are. Or is there also a feeling of, well, I've had to put up with that kind of behavior, so you have.

[Sean Hayden]

To put up with it as well.

[Michael Martin]

And everyone after me.

[Court Watson]

Yeah, I think there's something to that. It's a little bit both. Hill up ways, barefoot in the snow. I went through this awful trauma. And so you do too. I think people have been trained to think that they have to respect the power structures that are already there and threatened by what could happen if you speak out against any of that power structure. And yet the other part of this is that it feels really hard to have struggled with this shame, with this embarrassment, with the guilt of Having not.

[Michael Martin]

Spoken up sooner, that's something you've struggled with.

[Court Watson]

Yeah, very much. I don't know how many other people were harmed in the same way that I was. And I feel regret about having not spoken up sooner. I've done a lot of work over the years with my therapist to let that guilt go and own that what I did do to protect myself at the time was the right thing to do. And I'm really glad that somebody else kicked the door open first. I don't know that I would have spoken up if somebody else hadn't before I did.

[Narrator]

As Court's article was gaining traction in some of those online discussions, discussion groups, a former employee of the Lost Colony heard about Court's article and reached out to him. And the former employee told Court that the current chairman of the board of the Lost Colony would like to talk to him.

[Court Watson]

And a meeting was scheduled with Kevin Bradley, who was then the chair of the board. We had a phone call, and he asked me what I wanted.

[Michael Martin]

And when he asked you, what do you want? What are you thinking at that moment?

[Sean Hayden]

What did that feel like?

[Court Watson]

I thought that he was asking me how I wanted Riha to handle the situation. And the more I thought about the question, the more I realized. When he asked me, what do you want? He was asking me what I wanted to make the story go away. Not to solve the problem, not to stop the toxic and harmful environment there, but how to make the story go away expediently.

[Michael Martin]

That's how it felt to you?

[Court Watson]

That's how it felt to me. And I told him what I wanted was an independent investigation to talk about my allegations and other people's allegations.

[Michael Martin]

And after that, does Kevin Bradley contact you again to involve you into the investigation?

[Court Watson]

Yes. At that point, he turned over the investigation to Thurington Smith, a law firm in North Carolina. And we had several zoom interviews to walk through the allegations.

[Sean Hayden]

And then what happened?

[Court Watson]

My understanding is that after the investigation, William Ivy Long was no longer working there. Whether that's because he lost trust in the organization or because they offered him a chance to resign without being fired, I'm not entirely clear. The results of the investigation were never shared with me.

[Narrator]

My understanding is the Roanoke investigation results were never made public, and I don't.

[Court Watson]

Believe there was ever any explanation of why he was no longer working there.

[Michael Martin]

How did it make you feel that the Roanoke Island Historical association didn't acknowledge publicly the results of the investigation or acknowledge anything about Mr. Long's behavior that was wrongful?

[Court Watson]

I thought it was cowardly but the.

[Michael Martin]

Roanoke Island Historical association was not the only entity investigating William Ivy Long. The American Theater Wing, that's the organization that hands out the Tonys and that Long was a former chairman of, was also investigating him. However, the results of that investigation were also kept confidential. But one investigation does become public in 2021. Court comes across a writer with National Public Radio, that's NPR, who had written a series of articles about young singers being abused. Court shared his self published article with her and they began to talk. After months of investigation, NPR publishes an article in November of 2021 entitled a prominent Broadway Costume Designer is accused of Sexual Abuse. And the article detailed the allegations by both Cork Watson and Michael Martin against William Ivy Long and the Lost Colony.

[Court Watson]

I was glad to have the story out in a fact checked way instead of it being me telling my story in the first person. It was a valued journalist with great integrity with the fact checking and legal power behind NPR to make sure that what I was saying was true.

[Michael Martin]

Yeah, I think we have to say that this article is quite impressive because they did their own investigation. They were actively contacting witnesses that the two of you had provided to corroborate your stories and were stating within the article where they were able to corroborate things.

[Court Watson]

Yeah, correct.

[Sean Hayden]

So Court, William Ivy Long did use the NPR article as a vehicle to attack the credibility of both you and Michael Martin. And there's quite a few lines of attack in this article. Can we go through these?

[Court Watson]

Not a problem at all.

[Michael Martin]

One of the contentions that stood out to me is that Long's attorneys sought to discredit you by pointing out that you both had what were referred to as provocative social media posts. What's your reaction to that?

[Court Watson]

When I was in graduate school, it became very clear to one of my drawing teachers that I had hang ups engaging with the male body. And I think he rightly surmised that that had something to do with abusive situations, with assault. And he encouraged me to find a way. If you can't deal with this, you're not going to be able to design costumes in an effective way because you need to understand how the body works. And I started going to gay drawing groups which do typically have a nude male model on the form. It's a respectful environment. It's led with consent. My work tends to have a following in gay and queer people's guest homes, their fire island houses, their pool houses. That's where people tend to put my work.

[Michael Martin]

Did you feel like that Mr. Long's attorney was somehow sex Shaming you with this criticism?

[Court Watson]

100%.

[Michael Martin]

How does that feel?

[Court Watson]

Gross. It feels like something from the 19th century. It's so offensive for that to be casually and repulsively dismissed that way.

[Sean Hayden]

Long's attorney also points to some communications from you to bolster Long's case. First, he points out there were three friendly Christmas cards sent from Yu to Long between 2001 to 2003 that apparently Long had saved for over 20 years. So these cards would have been written while you were working at the Lost Colony.

[Court Watson]

You know what one of the things that Long told us to do in professional theater workshops at the Lost Colony? Write handwritten letters to people in the industry. I was trained to handwrite opening night cards, holiday cards with industry connections. I was trained to do that by him.

[Michael Martin]

And I recall us talking earlier about even in those two summers after the assault, you were still very much in this mindset of there was nothing you could do about the situation and that the power dynamic was drastically stacked against you. Was there a feeling like this is just something you still had to do because you still have to work with all of these people? This is the industry that you're going.

[Court Watson]

In, this career that I'm moving to New York City to pursue and work in. Yeah, totally. The only industry professional I knew in New York City who was doing the thing that I wanted to do was this man. And I was really glad when New York University accepted me to their Department of Design for Stage and Film, that I didn't need to hitch my horse to that wagon anymore.

[Sean Hayden]

The other communication is a 2015 email that you sent, not to Mr. Long, but one of Long's former assistants. And in the email, you reference quote just how much I learned and am still learning from him. Meaning Mr. Long.

[Court Watson]

Yep. And that's true, I think, of the design fundamentals that I learned there, and I still use them on a daily, weekly basis.

[Michael Martin]

You learned a lot, technically, from someone who also was your abuser.

[Court Watson]

Mm. And I think that's also not uncommon amongst survivors of abuse.

[Sean Hayden]

So, court.

[Michael Martin]

Also, Mr. Long, through his attorney, tries to discredit you and Michael Martin by pointing out you never invoked the union grievance process against him with regard to your accusations.

[Court Watson]

Yeah, which is wild to me. I didn't join the union until 2006. Four years had passed by between the incidents. And when I joined the union, by the time I joined the union in 2006, the 60 day window that grievances could have been filed under had already passed.

[Sean Hayden]

So filing a grievance with the Union was an impossibility.

[Court Watson]

Yeah. Completely impossible.

[Sean Hayden]

And Mr. Long also tries to discredit you through his attorney by pointing out that at no time prior to 2021, when this article came out, did you file a state or federal judicial action. That's a lawsuit against him. How do you respond to that?

[Court Watson]

If I didn't feel like I had the confidence at the time to look for help from my employer, how would I have had the confidence at the time to look for any kind of legal help? How would I have been able to have even found a lawyer as a college student in my early 20s who would take a case against one of the most powerful men on Broadway?

[Sean Hayden]

So at the time of this article, in 2021, when Mr. Long makes this statement through his attorney about you not filing a lawsuit against him, his attorney has to be aware, as any competent attorney would be, that the statute of limitations, that's the timeline you have to file a lawsuit, has long since expired.

[Court Watson]

Right. But that changed with the passage of the New York State Adult Survivors Act.

[Michael Martin]

In 2022, the state of New York passes the Adult Survivors Act. This law permitted alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations had expired to file legal actions against their abusers for a period of one year. During that one year period, over 2500 victims of abuse would file lawsuits against their abusers, including Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. And One of those 2,500 lawsuits was titled Court Watson vs William Ivy Long and the Roanoke Island Historical Association Court.

[Narrator]

What do you hope to gain from the lawsuit? Obviously, in any lawsuit, we compensate victims with monetary damages, and that's something your attorney has requested, as any lawsuit would. But what else are you hoping to gain?

[Court Watson]

It's consequential in my life, this thing that I've spent 20 years trying to move on from. I feel like this is an opportunity for closure and accountability because even after.

[Sean Hayden]

The internal investigation conducted by the Roanoke Island Historical association, there has been no statement of accountability by your former employer.

[Court Watson]

There has been no statement of accountability in court.

[Michael Martin]

I find myself asking as well whether there's been accountability with the media in the way it has handled this story. Once you filed your lawsuit, which was two years after the NPR article, NPR ran another article reporting the fact that.

[Sean Hayden]

You had filed the lawsuit.

[Narrator]

And from what I can tell from just a Google search, no major theater media outlet has reported on Michael Martin's allegations, that BuzzFeed carried your allegations in Medium, the allegations in the 2021 NPR article about you and Michael Martin, nor the reporting by NPR in 2023 that you had filed a lawsuit against one of the most powerful people on Broadway.

[Court Watson]

Yeah. It's mystifying to me, and it's upsetting. I feel let down by. By the media that covers the American theater industry.

[Narrator]

A few weeks after speaking with Court, I wanted to check in and see how he was doing. But I also had a few thoughts to share with him about how we as a society view stories like His Court.

[Michael Martin]

I want to talk about public perception when it comes to these types of stories. Do you think there is, even to this day, is there a certain prejudice or bias against believing that men can be sexually assaulted? And let's take that one step further, that gay men can be the victim.

[Court Watson]

Of a sexual assault and gay men who work in theater.

[Michael Martin]

Have you encountered that sort of argument?

[Court Watson]

I don't know that people have said that to my face, but I am aware of the perception. And I would go back to quoting Long himself saying, there's no such thing as sexual harassment in the American theater. We're all pimps and whores. There's this assumption that people in the theater have loose morals.

[Michael Martin]

For instance, I wonder if a female presenting person was intoxicated and her director in a show took her up to a bedroom and had sex with her. I think there would be no debate of how appalled people would be and would say that was wrong. But then when we changed the gender, now it's a male.

[Court Watson]

Yeah.

[Michael Martin]

And the man has been drinking.

[Sean Hayden]

Why is it.

[Michael Martin]

It feels like to me that for a good segment of the population, they view that assault differently than if it had been a female.

[Court Watson]

Yeah. I think it makes people feel squishy that a grown man could do that to a young man. I think that makes people really uncomfortable. It's one of the reasons that so many survivors of abuse within the Catholic Church had a hard time coming forward and they had a hard time being believed.

[Michael Martin]

But then I think there is this thing, oh, you're a young man who worked in the theater, therefore, not that you deserved it, but you knew what you were getting into. There's that perception out there that's like.

[Court Watson]

Saying a person wearing a skirt walking by a construction site wants to be catcalled. They're just trying to get where they're going, and they're allowed to wear whatever they want to wear.

[Michael Martin]

Yeah. And it completely takes away that we all have the right to have agency.

[Court Watson]

Correct. And that's why I feel like speaking up and telling the story is so important, because it is an extension of My agency to tell the truth.

[Sean Hayden]

Today, Cort Watson is living life with purpose and sharing what he's learned in his lifetime since those college days working on Roanoke island as an instructor, he teaches figure drawing at NYU and performance design at Kane University. As an advocate, he serves on the board with a foundation called behind the Scenes, which provides mental health services to backstage professionals. And as an artist, his costume designs can be seen on a new musical national tour.

[Michael Martin]

Let me ask you, what is life.

[Sean Hayden]

Like for you today?

[Court Watson]

I feel like post Covid shutdowns, I would walk into industry rooms and feel very uncomfortable. And I wear a hearing aid. So sometimes I pick up shockingly whispered things from a corner of the room, and I would hear people whispering my name and saying, do you know who that is? Do you know what's happened? And maybe that was supportive, but to have something so private and so painful, have to be so public in order to get accountability is really tough. And it was really hard for me to go into those rooms. And maybe it's the fact that I'm still showing up in those rooms that makes that reception change. There are people I look up to, mentors in this business, who looked through me for a year and a half after going public that was really hard to take. And they don't look through me anymore. They acknowledge me now in a way that it took them a while to do that. And part of it is uncharted waters. I mean, I'm not the first person in this sector of this industry who's dealt with this kind of abuse. I'm just one of the first people who's willing to talk about it publicly. And if that creates a pathway for other people to get to a place of closure and accountability and move the needle just a little bit in this industry, that people don't take advantage of their assistance, that they're not abusive, that that behavior is no longer tolerated in this business. If I'm part of that moving of the needle, I'm deeply honored to be part of that.

[Michael Martin]

Well, Court, I think you're onto something, because you could have let this trauma just pack you in.

[Court Watson]

Mm. It nearly did. It very nearly did.

[Michael Martin]

But by still being in the room, you do have the opportunity to create change.

[Court Watson]

This industry means too much to me. It's meant too much for me for more than 30 years of my life to walk away from it. And if you can tell your story and continue working in this industry, maybe that gives other people the courage to tell their stories, too.

[Sean Hayden]

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted. Help is available by contacting the National Sexual assault hotline at 1800-656-HOPE. That's 1-800-656-HOPE. Help is also available by contacting the Suicide in Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day. You can call or text 988. We want to address some statements and lack of Statements for episodes 16 and 17 the Court Watson Story Stage Combat the podcast reached out to both the Roanoke Island Historical association and the American Theatre Wing, asking about their investigations and inquiring if they would like to include a statement in this episode. We did not receive responses. We did, however, receive a lengthy statement from the attorney for William Ivy Long. Mr. Long's attorney states, quote, we assume this podcast will reiterate the same story Watson has been circulating for years. William has consistently denied Watson's claims. The statement accuses Watson of, quote, jumping on the proverbial bandwagon during the MeToo movement. The statement goes on to say, quote, we expect any fair and accurate podcast presentation would include all relevant facts, and we trust you will relay to your audience facts which Watson may not have shared with you. The statement then shares facts that Court Watson did share with us and that we've shared with you in these two episodes. So let's go through these First, Long's attorney cites the failure of buzzfeed, American Theater Magazine, and the New York Times to publish Court Story as somehow supporting Long's credibility. However, Long's attorney did not acknowledge the investigation and article by National Public Radio. Long's attorney cites that neither Michael Martin nor Court Watson filed a claim with their union, which is something we shared with you, as well as the reasons why Long's attorney sent us copies of the friendly Christmas cards apparently retained by Mr. Long since 2003, which we discussed in this episode, as well as the 2015 email from court Watson, in which Court acknowledged how much he had Learned technically from Mr. Long. One item which was not in the podcast was a 2017 solicitation by court's employer at the time, the Virginia Opera, requesting Mr. Long provide the Opera a quote about Court for the Opera's press release for a production Court was working on. Court Watson states this was not his request, and the emails provided to us by Long's attorney are solely from the Virginia Opera and not Court Watson. Long's attorney shared with us a widely published statement from the producers of Diana the Musical, which was issued back in 2020 and announced that Long, who had designed the costumes for the show, would be stepping away from the production. Long's attorney contends that the producers of Diana the Musical investigated the claims of Michael Martin and Court Watson and referred us to the producer's public statement which states the producers were not aware of any sexual misconduct by Long. However, our reading of the statement does not indicate there was any investigation undertaken by by the producers of Diana the Musical, much less into the events of the Lost Colony. We asked Long's attorney for documentation supporting their claim about Diana the Musical, but did not receive any such documentation. We contacted the law firm who represented the producers of Diana the Musical. That firm responded, the producers have no comment. In response to this inquiry, Long's attorney also states that the American Theater Wing investigation did not find any credible allegations regarding Long. As you know, we said in this episode, the results of that investigation were kept confidential. We also asked for documentation from Long's attorney about this claim but did not receive any such documentation. We contacted the attorney who conducted the investigation for for the American Theatre Wing, inquiring whether they found any credible evidence or credible allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Long with regard to the Lost Colony. The American Theatre Wing's attorney replied, stating they found, quote, no evidence and indeed no allegations of misconduct that in any way involved the American Theater Wing. The reply did not specifically address the the Lost Colony. Finally, Long's attorney did direct us to Court Watson's artwork which we discussed in this episode. The attorney sent us copies of 38 images of nude drawings by Court Long's attorney referred to Court's art as, quote, personal exploits and further stated, quote, they may be inconsistent with his attempt to portray himself as a victim of Williams alleged harassment.

[Michael Martin]

Hear more of my conversation with Court Watson at Stage Combat at Patreon. Just follow the link in the show notes. This episode was edited by Alex Griffith. Mixing and sound design were by Justin Gerrish, and it was written and directed by me, Sean Hayden for Heywood Productions llc. I hope today and every day brings you an opportunity to claim your story. Stage Combat, the podcast is is a production of Haywood Productions llc.

[Sean Hayden]

Coming up on the season finale of season three of Stage Combat, the podcast, what if you achieved your Broadway dreams and then decided to just walk away from them? That's what actor Bobby Steger did.

[Michael Martin]

So you actually wrote about this experience at Mothers and Sons in the Wall Street Journal. And you talk about a moment in the article where Very cinematic moment, Bobby. When you're in your dressing room and you're looking at yourself in the mirror and you say you saw a scared little boy who had never learned to love himself.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah, it's funny that it seems cinematic, but it was just very truthful. It was just the bare truth. I just took myself in that day and it was juxtaposed with, you know, I had this huge private dressing room and flowers and the lights around the mirror, the whole thing, the whole fantasy. And those things couldn't distract from the pain that I realized I could not get rid of through all this excess. That's coming up on episode 18, the season finale of Stage, the podcast, season three, walking away from Broadway. The content in this episode is not medical advice. Please consult with a medical professional. The content in this episode is also not legal advice, so please consult with an attorney.