After months of sexual misconduct stories pouring out of Hollywood at a dizzying pace, a new website has made it easier for viewers to keep track of which movies and TV shows have affiliations with abusers.
Rotten Apples, a play on Rotten Tomatoes, is a new database that allows users to search by title to find out which films or television shows are connected to individuals accused of sexual harassment (or worse). The site offers a simple search bar, where users enter the title of whichever show or movie they’re about to watch, and see if it has a “rotten” or “fresh” rating. Rotten titles are affiliated with an alleged harasser, fresh titles aren’t.
On Rotten Apples, an “individual” is defined as a cast member, screenwriter, executive producer, or director. If no one on the cast or crew has outstanding allegations, the results will say that the project “has no known affiliation to anyone with allegations of sexual misconduct against them.” If the results are rotten, Rotten Apples lists which people’s conduct has come into question, and links users to an article about the allegations for more information.
Some movies, like Good Will Hunting, come back top-to-bottom rotten—all the way from writer Ben Affleck to executive producer Harvey Weinstein.
Others, like Avatar, remain 100 percent fresh so far despite their enormous casts and crews:
The database really earns its stripes, though, when it reminds you of supporting cast or people you may not picture when you’re thinking of a movie. In other words, “Oh that’s right, Kevin Costner is in Hidden Figures.”
And TV shows—with their seasons full of credit info and endless IMDb pages—are part of the mix, too.
Tal Wagman, an associate creative director at the Los Angeles advertising company Zambezi, and one of the four creators of the website told the New York Times that his team is not trying to make any money off of Rotten Apples. They designed it as “an easy way to single out those individuals” with allegations against them as the list continues to grow. Zambezi is not affiliated with this “passion project,” but is supportive of the cause.
