Stranger Things Actor Says She's Streaming On Twitch More Due To Industry Sexual Harassment
Grace Van Dien is a streamer and an actress. You probably know her best as Chrissy Cunningham on Stranger Things, but she’s also starred in movies like What Comes Around and V For Vengeance. Two days ago, she told her Twitch viewers that she “turned down acting projects and decided to stream more” because she has experienced sexual harassment in the film industry.
While any videos and clips of the aforementioned stream has been made “unavailable” on her Twitch account, you can watch a clip of her stream here.
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“The fact of the matter is, the last few projects I worked on…I didn’t have the best experiences with some of the people I had to work for,” she said. “With streaming, I get to choose who I hang out with, who I talk to.”
As longtime Kotaku readers know, Twitch can still be a dangerous platform for female streamers. Women are vulnerable to harassment, stalking, and doxxing. But content creators on the video platform aren’t required to have a boss. While speaking about her decision to step away from acting projects, Van Dien contrasted her relatively positive streaming experiences with having an unscrupulous manager on set.
“One of the last movies I did, one of the producers asked me to…he hired a girl who he was sleeping with and had her ask me to have a threesome with them,” she said. “So that’s my boss. And I didn’t. I cried, and I was so upset.” Van Dien didn’t specify which movie it was, but she has recently starred in The Fix, Aaah! Roach!, What Comes Around, and V For Vengeance.
Kotaku reached out to Van Dien’s agency, but could not get a comment by the time of publication.
Yesterday, Van Dien tweeted that her “work priorities are changing” and that she was “waiting for the right project” and “the right people to work with.” She’s starred in a Netflix production that’s been viewed over a billion hours. I’d say that she has options.
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