Last week saw a scandal that made Hollywood as we know it stand still. As the walls came crumbling down around Harvey Weinstein, the trumpets did not blow. Despite at least 30 women coming out in the past weeks accusing Weinstein of sexual harassment, Hollywood seemed frozen. Mobs didn’t assemble calling for his head. The sirens didn’t blare. It was all quiet on the western front.

As the details of Weinstein’s illicit sexual activities came to light, there was an unusual silence by Hollywood liberals. A cult-like group of elites who normally has no qualms voicing their objections to everything under the sun, and the same group of people who had a catastrophic meltdown when Donald Trump made lewd comments about groping women in a leaked Access Hollywood recording.

The outrage over this incident was utterly deafening. The response to the Weinstein scandal was hesitant and perplexingly defensive at best.

The slow response by liberal Hollywood and their allies shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Hollywood is notorious for condemning everyone’s morals but their own. There is a word that perfectly describes people who publicly throw rocks from glass houses: hypocrites.

It took Hillary Clinton five days to condemn her friend Weinstein’s actions, even though she is supposedly the ultimate champion of women’s rights. Lindsay Lohan even went as far as to publicly defend Weinstein on Instagram. Actress Lena Dunham took the opportunity to make light of the situation, which is odd because she also claims to be a champion of women everywhere. Dunham is a massive hypocrite who admittedly sexually abused her little sister, so it might be time for her to shut up and take a back seat on these issues.

Despite what some might think, the people of Hollywood are mere mortals. They are human beings who don’t practice what they preach. No matter how much they preach to us common folk about morality, the truth is they are not in any way superior moral beings.

We love our celebrities and we enjoy their work, but at some point we have to stop letting them act as though they dictate right from wrong.

The real tragedy of the Weinstein scandal is the obvious attempt to cover up his predilections by the people surrounding him.

It is now becoming clear the people surrounding him knew about his behavior, said nothing and potentially facilitated it even further. It appears mega-stars like Matt Damon, Russell Crowe and others possibly took measures to protect Weinstein over the years. If true, this is beyond deplorable and potentially tarnishes the reputations of men who might have only desired to help their friend. Regardless, by doing nothing these people didn’t just protect their friend — they enabled him.

This is eerily reminiscent of the way the Roman Catholic Church infamously covered up sexual abuse for decades to protect their priests. It was only when public outcry became too great did they hesitantly start to address the issue. The Weinstein scandal embodies the same type of hypocrisy seen in the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse cover up.

While all of Weinstein’s actions were severely heinous, they seem indicative of a man who has some form of illness when it comes to his sexual proclivities. This is not an excuse for his actions in any way, but it is understandable why they went on for many years. He knew he had the protection of his friends, reputation and money. Sick or not, there was no reason for him to stop if he believed he would never get caught.

In the days after the scandal, Weinstein sent a desperate email to his colleagues asking for their help and protection. This plea by Weinstein shows how complicit people must have been over the years with him. He clearly expected something from the people around him, and it must have been a shock to see all his friends turn their eyes away.  

It is time for us to silence Hollywood liberals who believe they are the moral arbiters of our generation, especially when they are such blatant hypocrites who only criticize non-members of their group. We can enjoy their work and support what they stand for, only if they prove themselves worthy. Their celebrity status doesn’t entitle them to some morality only they can achieve.

Jacob Maranto is 21-year-old mass communication senior from Plaquemine, Louisiana.