Original subtitles

(sirens wailing in the distance)

(exhales)

(panting)

(woman): Brenda?

(knocking)

It's time.

You okay? - Yeah.

We don't want to keep this judge waiting.

- And what if we... just get outta here?

Went all Thelma and Louise on their asses.

I get that you're scared,

but save the jokes for when you're back on stage, okay?

(crowd laughing)

- Only men name things after themselves.

There are no woman junior's. There are no woman the second.

Men have to do it. It's like a compulsion for us.

Hi, I'm Zeke Thompson and meet my lovely son, Zeke Thompson Jr.

(crowd laughing)

Ladies and gentlemen, that's all I got.

You're terrific.

- Zeke Thompson.

- Thank you.

- In case you didn't know, I'm Joyce Golden, the owner of this dump.

He started on this stage

and now he's playing packed arenas around the country.

Alright, go have a drink. We'll be back in a few.

- I don't know why you don't just ask Zeke yourself.

I hear he's throwing an afterparty at his new place.

- Yeah. You can show him your new material.

- Will you guys come with me?

- No way.

- Yeah, uh, I wasn't suggesting that we go.

- C'mon. Bren, we haven't heard from Zeke since he blew up.

And seeing all the things that he has that I don't

will send me off the deep end. - Uh-huh.

- We can stay for 15 minutes, max.

- Not me. (Brenda scoffs)

- What's up, boys. - What's up, Fletch?

- You again. Oh, hello. Missed you.

- Oh! Tease...

- Now see, if I grabbed a woman's ass like that...

Come to this party with me and you can grab my ass all you want.

- Okay. - Go. I dare ya.

- I can confirm it's a great ass.

- No, you missed your chance.

I was on NyQuil the entire college tour, he didn't even try.

Didn't even try.

- True. True. - Insulting.

Please, Chadwick?

Please, please. - Uh-uh. No way.

- Please. Fifteen minutes.

- I said no, bish.

(loud music)

- Talk about a come up.

- Yeah, now I gotta go home and kill myself.

What?

It's still warm.

I hate him.

Hey, hey, check it out. - What?

- Chris Rock, ten o'clock. - Where?

There he is. There's Zeke.

Zeke! - Zeke!

- Zeke!

What are you doing here?

(laughing) Come here.

You gotta meet my friends. Oh, my God.

Ahhh!

- My guy. - Hey.

You guys have to meet my Scott.

This is the Scott that I have.

He manages me and like... half the people in this room.

Scott, these are my friends. I came up with these people.

(Brenda): Yeah.

- Oh, you guys remember writing jokes, listen at Tupac all night?

- Eating Bottom Ramen. - Ha ha!

- Those were the days, man.

- Those are still the days for us, bro.

- So...

- Hey, will you snap us really quick?

- Yes. Photo.

Family photo. Come here.

- So stupid.

- Oh, that's terrible.

- Are you gonna post it?

Could you tag me?

- Yo, so whatever happened to grumpy ass Aaron?

- Oh, you know, Aaron.

Brenda wants to talk to you about something.

I was just gonna ask you something if you had a second?

(Scott): We need to say hi to Sarah.

- Uh, can you guys just hang out for a little bit?

- Yes. Yes. - Okay, drink up!

There's so many drinks and they need to be drunk, so please.

- I'm sorry. I owe you. - Yup.

- Please, he's blind and he gets nervous when I'm gone.

- I have to call the cops. - Don't call the cops.

I'm on my way.

My dog's barking like a maniac again so I gotta go.

Bren.

- Fine.

- Just one second.

Uh, excuse me.

Excuse me.

Where do you guys think you're goin'?

- Gotta skate, bro.

- Bren, didn't you wanna talk to me?

- Yeah, you're busy. It's fine.

- No, Scott is like prancing me around like a little show pony.

I am all yours now.

- I could just take the train. - My driver will take you home.

- Okay, alright. - Driver.

Hey, if it couldn't be me, I'm glad it's you.

- God, I love you. - I know.

Love ya. See ya.

- Um, I, I wanted to show you my new material

that I've been working on.

Um, I sent a link to your manager but I don't think he...

- You have the link?

- Yeah, but it's too loud in here.

- It's quiet upstairs.

- You can't leave your own party!

- I can do whatever I want.

C'mon.

- I grew up in foster care, I don't mean to brag.

Um... and because of that,

everyone always wants to know if I want to meet my dad and I don't.

I... at all,

but I what I do want to know on some level that he would want me

so what I wanna do is find out his name,

find him on a dating app, match with him,

DM him a naked photo of myself,

and be like, Do you wanna be my daddy?

And he's gonna be like "Yeah".

And I'm gonna be like, "Good, 'cause you are".

And then... and then I will ghost him...

- You know what? That's pretty good.

- ...because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

- Damn, this is really good. - Thank you.

- Yeah, Bren, when did you write this?

Ages... like, I've been working on this for a while.

I was just thinking like, what if like I...

what if I went on tour with you?

What?

Is that why you showed up tonight?

You show up tonight so you could pitch yourself to me?

- Shut up. No, I just...

you know I, I,

I know it took me a second to, like, figure out my thing,

but if I just had a, like, a shot, you know,

I would kill it.

- Okay.

- Okay, what?

- Okay. You can host.

- Are you serious?

- Yeah, you can host and then, after a couple of cities, you can feature?

- Oh my God, really?

- Yeah, you're talented.

You're great, you're funny. - Thank you.

Oh my... can I... I have to go tell Chad.

Excuse me?

I think we should go back to your fancy party.

- I'm so tired of talking.

- I know, I, listen... I actually don't want to.

I don't want to.

- Why not? Why not?

- You know what? Hey, hey, hey. No.

- It's not like we haven't done this before.

Like, you remember the last time, it was super freaky.

- Ow! - Yeah, you remember last time?

Just relax. - Argh!

Just, just... (groaning)

Relax. (panting)

(Brenda groaning)

- I just want this to be over.

What if we just...

take the plea offer?

- They only offered the plea because they want you to go away.

I know it's hard...

...but this all started because Zeke Thompson raped you.

(theme music)

(beeping)

(water pouring)

(gulps loudly)

(trembling breath)

(panting, sniffling)

(panting)

- All I'm just sayin' is,

Black Twitter could be a little more inclusive, right?

(crowd laughing) - Hey, look who's too smancy to return my calls!

I have to hear it from 10 other people that you're hosting Zeke Thompson's tour.

- Joyce, uh...

Zeke... he, uh...

he, um...

had sex with me and I didn't want to.

- Are you saying he... - Yeah.

- But how? I mean, there must've been a million people around.

- Oh, my God...

- Joyce! He raped me!

Joyce.

- I heard you, I'm just trying to...

- To what?! - To process!

- I called you for help and you're just not gonna.

Oh my God, forget it. - Brenda, wait.

You and your damn temper,

will you just listen?

I believe you and I want to help you.

You want me to tell you the truth or pull from the MeToo handbook?

- Truth.

- Okay, here it is.

You've been working your ass off for years

and you finally hit pay dirt.

This is the big time, Brenda.

- How can I possible work with him after this?

- Can you imagine how many times I had to lie down

and take it from some dirt bag I was workin' with?

You just wiped the stink off and got on with your life.

- It makes me wanna kill God.

- If He existed.

Oh, Brenda, what are we talkin' here?

One, maybe two minutes of hell

in exchange for the opportunity of a lifetime?

Be smart, honey.

I care about you.

Nobody is gonna tell you the truth like me.

I care about ya and I believe in you.

That's why I stuck with you all these years.

- I know.

- I want you to go to bed

and call me in the morning.

Brenda, promise,

you won't do anything without calling me first, okay?

- Okay.

- Okay. Bye.

(nervous breathing)

(horn tooting, sirens wailing)

(phone buzzing)

(muffled soundscape)

(trembling breath)

(phone keys clicking)

(line ringing)

- Hello, New Hope Center, Queens. Can I help you?

- I've been assaulted and I need to know what to do.

- This is my hand, okay?

I'm inserting the speculum.

- Almost there, Ms. Kramer, hang in there.

(sniffling and sobbing)

(door opening)

- I called Joyce.

She told me to let it go.

Take the tour.

- Joyce is about Joyce.

- Zeke's her golden goose.

- That bitch is savage.

You know I heard she, uh... reached out to Cosby.

Too soon?

- Do you think that he lured them in

with his Fat Albert impression?

(laughing)

(weird voice): Hey, hey, hey, gimme that boo...

(laughing)

You're gonna get through this, you hear me? - I know. I know.

- You're a damn warrior.

- Chad?

- Hey, your coffee's just horrible.

- So is my life. - Ha-ha!

- What?

- Here.

You reported it yesterday.

- At least they didn't print my name.

- No, but...

your name's out there.

- Lying... lying whore?

Ain't no one gonna beat that busted...

- I hit it. Okay, my boy hit it, the neighborhood dog.

She's thirsty. (laughs)

She's thirsty. - Okay. Those are ...

Hey, hey. Look at me. Look at me. Those are just trolls.

(phone buzzing)

Don't answer it.

- What do I do? - I have no idea

but I'm here, okay? Okay?

(buzzing, phone clacking on the table)

- I'm calling the cops.

- Bren, please, don't hang up, okay?

Just hear me out.

Listen, um...

if you go through with this,

you will ruin both of our lives.

Bren, um, look, I'm sorry, okay?

I'm sorry if I misread some signals.

- Misread the signals?

What about any of that made you think I wanted to have sex?

- What are you, what are you talking about?

Brenda, we have had sex on your floor, twice, and it was rough.

That's how we liked it.

- I said I didn't want to. - Why didn't you fight back?

- I did.

- Why didn't you just leave? - I tried. You held me down.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Relax.

- You think 'cause you're famous now,

you can just treat people like this?

I'm a person.

Zeke, I'm...

I may be crap but I am a person.

- You're gonna go through with this? Is that what you're saying?

- You're just gonna do it again.

- Great.

Say whatever you want, Bren,

everybody knows you're crazy.

(phone beeping)

(Brenda sighs)

- Ms. Kramer.

I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I'm ADA Lavigne.

I'll be in charge of your case. - Thank you.

- We're just in here.

Okay, just a few more questions about that night.

- Can I leave out the part where I was raped? (chuckles)

It was a joke.

- Right.

So in your statement, you mention that you entered the room willingly.

Why?

- Zeke was about to go on the road, um, for a tour,

and I wanted to pitch myself to open for him.

- It's not out of the ordinary to 'pitch yourself' in a bedroom?

- Well, it was just really loud in there and I...

I had the link on my phone and I just,

I didn't want to play it in front of everyone

so we just, like, went in... like, a room.

- Was Zeke sober?

- Didn't have my breathalyzer on me.

- What about you?

- What about me? - Were you sober?

- Sober enough to know I was...

being raped.

- You should commend yourself.

Most victims of sexual assaults never even report it.

- I can't let him ruin someone else's life.

Are there more questions or...

- Uh, no, I think we're good for now.

- Thank you. - Okay.

Uh, just one more thing actually.

Um...

you waited a day to report this, why?

- Because...

this is a nightmare.

- Is there something else I should know?

- Anything about your relationship with Mr. Thompson?

- No.

- Are you sure? - Yeah.

- Please tell the court in what context you met the defendant.

- I was the ADA in charge of investigating Ms. Kramer's alleged rape.

- And as your investigation progressed,

did Brenda Kramer's behavior change?

- She got angrier, obsessive and disturbed.

- Can we refrain from pathologizing my client?

- Jury will disregard Mr. Lavigne's last statement.

- Mr. Lavigne, it's too early in the morning for this.

- I'll rephrase, Your Honor.

Mr. Lavigne, how would you describe Ms. Kramer's state of mind?

- She was upset, understandably.

- Be calm.

- Calm. Ten years.

Fired me over text. Be calm?

- Hold, hold up, Brenda. Hold up.

- What do you mean hold up? I'm just gonna talk to her.

- She doesn't wanna talk to you. - Oh, my God.

- Tell her to get her shriveled ass out here before I make a scene.

- Oh, okay. That's calm?

- What are you doing? - Y'all trying to get me fired.

- Chad, you got a set in 15. And you don't work here anymore.

- I thought you cared about me.

- I told you to call me before you did anything.

- So you could talk me out of it?

- I am done trying, Brenda.

You had a chance and you blew it.

- You only fired me 'cause Zeke is your meal ticket.

I fired you because you can't get out of your own way.

You'd never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Look, just take this check

and get out of my club before I call the cops.

- Oh, my God.

You know I can't get a job anywhere.

Where am I gonna go? No one's gonna hire me.

- Brenda, it's over.

I'm done.

One minute or you lose your spot.

- I'm quitting. - Don't be stupid.

- We can form a buddy act, we could take it on the road.

- Go. Get on stage.

Go. - I'll come by after.

- I saw that.

She's wrong. - Oh...

That's show business.

- How disappointing because I came to see you.

- You look familiar. Do I know you?

- RDG's Cape, from online.

- Oh, my God.

RBG's Cape. You know, you are funny.

- Thanks, that's a high compliment coming from you.

I'm Tess.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

- Well, I'm sorry I'm not going on tonight.

- And I am no longer supporting this establishment.

There's a Thai restaurant a few blocks down.

I'm buying.

- I'm starving. (chuckles)

- And they always make the woman out to be the crazy one.

Do you remember that movie, uh, Fatal Attraction? - Yes!

- When Glenn Close's character, really successful, independent,

goes crazy after sleeping with a guy one time?!

Loses her mind. (laughing)

- Um!

And I personally feel like Michael Douglas sucked at sex.

Oh, Chadwick!

- Whoa. Okay, you're jolly.

- Tess, this is my best friend, his name's Chad.

- Chad, nice to meet you. I'm Tess. - Nice to meet ya.

- Have a seat.

I'll get you some wine.

How'd it go tonight? - Yeah, it was uh, dead.

So Tess, uh, what do you do?

- I'm an associate at a law firm.

Contracts. Boring stuff.

(loud clanging) Are you okay?

(Brenda groans)

- Oh... lemme...

- Okay, let's uh, let's get you to bed.

- No. - Yeah. Come on.

- You're okay. Okay.

- You know, just... - Get to bed.

- You know what? I'll hold onto this for you.

Okay? - Okay, you can have it.

You are just so soft.

- I'll clean up.

- She passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It's gonna take her some time, Chad.

- I'm sorry.

You been here like five minutes,

how do you know what she needs?

- Did you know that one in three women are subjected to sexual violence?

It's a club no one wants to belong to,

but it has the largest membership.

It's gonna be rough for her for a while.

So like I said, give her some time.

I grew up in foster care, I don't mean to brag.

Um, and because of that,

everyone always wants to know if I want to meet my dad and I don't.

I, at all,

but what I do want to know on some level that he would want me

so what I wanna do is find out his name,

find him on a dating app, match with him,

DM him a naked photo of myself,

and be like, Do you wanna be my daddy?

And he's gonna be like, "Yeah".

And I'm gonna be like "Good, 'cause you are."

And then... and then, I will ghost him

because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

(sighs)

- Ms. Kramer's sense of humor,

would you describe her comedy as reflecting her off-stage personality?

- Oh yeah. Definitely.

- Would you go so far as to describe her behavior as promiscuous?

- Well, if sleeping with everyone at the club is promiscuous, then yeah.

(chuckles)

- So just to confirm,

you told Brenda Kramer she could open for you before the alleged rape?

- Yeah. Mm-hmm. - So there was no quid pro quo,

no coercion of sexual favors in exchange for a job offer.

- Absolutely not.

- Do you know why she would invent a story that she knew

would cost her the biggest professional opportunity of her career?

- Brenda is the poster-child for self-sabotage,

she always has been.

- Alright, let's get back to that night.

Um, so she played you her material, you hired her...

- We were laughing, you know, we're having a good time

and uh, then we started kissing,

and you know, one thing leads to another.

- And no part of you ever thought that Brenda Kramer did not want to have sex?

- We both wanted it.

I mean, it's not like we hadn't done it before.

- You're saying that prior to that night,

you and Ms. Kramer...? - Had sex?

Yeah. Twice.

- Can you repeat the question?

- Do you have any knowledge of previous sexual relations

between Brenda Kramer and Zeke Thompson?

(sighs)

You can answer the question here or in court.

- Yes, they had sex before.

- And who told you?

Brenda.

- So do you know why Lavigne wants to see you?

- He probably has more questions.

Thanks for the clothes.

I don't even want to know how much they cost.

- I wouldn't tell you anyway.

- I never had a real like, female friend.

The girls in my business will cut ya!

(phone buzzing)

- You okay? - Yeah.

I just always think it's him.

And I just hate being scared.

Embarrassing. - I know what you mean.

- You never told me about what happened to you which is...

no pressure, of course.

- Sophomore year,

I was on my way back to the dorm and he raped me on the grass.

Just out in the open. How brazen is that?

He was captain of the rugby team

and our parents traveled in the same circle.

So they got together and worked it out.

You know... and his parents were very embarrassed.

The thing is...

I wouldn't have reported it anyway.

I'm not brave, like you.

- You annihilate people online.

- That's different.

- Don't you ever...

think about him raping other women?

- Of course. But I was just a kid.

- You have to stop letting him get away with it at some point.

(knocking on door)

- Open up, bish!

Hey, uh... - Hi.

Okay, you two need to stop acting like bitches and just be civil.

- He's the one who has the problem.

- Ah, no, I just don't like you.

Can I talk to you privately, please? - Sorry.

- That woman is... - Don't start.

Hey, hey, I saw the heads in the ashtray.

Of the photos of you and Zeke from the wall.

- We were just playing around and if you came here to bitch about Tess...

- No, um, the prosecutor called me in.

- He said he would... talk to people.

- Yeah well, uh, he asked if you and Zeke had sex before.

- What did you say?

- Before I recommend whether to bring your case to trial,

I have to weigh the likelihood of a conviction.

- Right.

- Based on witness interviews, on the fact that you had consensual sex with Mr. Thompson

prior to the allegation, which you withheld from me.

- So sorry, I just... what are you implying exactly?

- I'm not bringing charges.

- Uh, is this because he's famous, or...?

- No. You would be eviscerated on the stand. - Mm-hmm.

- Between the provocations on social media,

the drinking and the promiscuity.

- Got it.

There it is.

I'm a drunk and I'm a slut

so I deserved it.

- Okay, look. - Cool.

- If you're interested,

I can refer you to a mental health professional.

- You know what? I'm actually good.

Um... (clattering)

I sincerely...

hope that you go to hell, sir.

- Now is not a good time for you to be here.

- Brenda, I am so, so sorry.

C'mon, c'mon.

Can you stop being mad at me and just let me... be here for you?

- Be here. Be here for me

like the way you were here for me with that douchebag DA?

Zeke's performing at Goldie's tonight,

kicking off his tour before moving up to arenas

where he will help himself to a buffet of female fans.

- Look, the DA screwed up big time, okay.

But... but... um, it's over now

and... and maybe you have a chance to move on.

- What a ridiculous little man you are.

- And you're a pathetic... - Don't.

- Lonely ... - Okay.

- Seriously?

- Okay Chad, just, just go, just go. - Me?

She's... don't you see that she's messing with your head, Brenda?

- I'd like to report an intruder.

He's not leaving and he's getting violent.

Oh, you're gonna pull that, huh? Are you co-signing this behavior?

- He's leaving, hang up.

Hang up.

Please just go. I...

Sorry. - I'm out.

- He doesn't understand. He can't.

I saw what you posted on the rapist's Instagram.

The only way you'll understand the burning shame of what you did to me

is if someone pours gasoline on you and lights a match.

- That was the wine talking.

- In vino veritas.

- In wine, truth, Brenda.

- The only way you'll understand

the burning shame of what you did to me

is if someone pours gasoline on you

and lights a match.

Do you know who wrote that, Ms. Richards?

- Brenda posted it

the night before Zeke Thompson performed at Goldie's.

- And you attended this performance in person.

(crowd cheering)

- Yeah!

Y'all can't kill me!!

Ah-ha!

Woohoo!

Alright, thank you for the love. Thank you everyone.

Uh, I don't want to start heavy

but the last two weeks have been a little rough.

I was accused of doing something that I did not do.

- He did do it and they let him go.

No one did anything about it.

- Except for you.

- Hey, break a leg.

I'm never gonna forget your loyalty.

- Hey, I got it, man. No worries.

- Zeke Thompson. - Yeah.

Jesus. God!

What is wrong with you... Aaah!

Zeke!

Somebody call the cops. (Zeke shouting in pain)

- I had to stop him before he hurt other women.

- Rape is a heinous crime, I'm not denying that.

But we have a legal system, imperfect as it is.

- The legal system did nothing!

- Brenda Kramer may not have

explicitly instructed you to light Zeke Thompson on fire,

but she planted the idea in your head

and encouraged you, however indirectly, to act on it.

The fact is, you wouldn't have done what you did

if Brenda Kramer hadn't posted on social media.

- I did it for you, Bren.

(door opens)

- Rapist! - You should leave.

- They should have killed you.

- Order. Order.

(gavel banging) I'll have order.

I'll have order or you'll be removed from the court.

- I'm a comedian.

We say things. We say crazy things.

We say things that make people laugh and shock people.

Immature and childish maybe,

but it's... we're not, our intent is never to cause violence.

There's...

what happened to Zeke was not my intent.

- It wasn't?

Violence wasn't your intent.

- No.

- Look at him.

- You did this.

- Your Honor! - Counsellor.

- Pick up. Pick up. (line ringing)

- Who is this and how did you get my number?

- It's me.

- I know you probably never wanna talk to me again

but I just wanted to let you know

that I've been, um... (sniffling)

going back to meetings.

And if there is anyone

that I need to make amends with, it... it's you.

Um, I don't assume you're following my legal situation.

And um...

today the verdict comes in

and I know this is a lot to ask,

especially with...

how badly I treated you,

but I was just wondering if there is any way that you can come up here?

I just don't wanna stand up there alone, you know.

Uh...

you were a good friend to me.

(soft music)

- Has the jury reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- Will the defendant please rise?

- To the count of the indictment, aggravated mayhem,

how does the jury find?

- Not guilty, Your Honor. - Oh, God.

- The jury is dismissed and we thank you for your service.

- Thank you for everything. - The court is adjourned.

- Take care of yourself. - All rise.

- Bren, aren't you relieved?

- Not really.

Zeke...

I did not mean for this to happen.

- Yeah, well, it did.

- I did not know that Tess was unstable.

I had no idea.

I couldn't... I missed the signs and she was there for me.

- Apologize.

You raped her!

- Move, please. - Tess should've killed you!

- Oh my God, please let him go. Please.

I know you're mad

but hurting them is not the answer.

- What are we supposed to do?

- I don't know.

- Let's go home.