"You said that there was an international investigation done by the American press association. What came out of it?"
A male host asked Dustin as he looked at him with interest. They were currently sitting on his podcast 'Celebrity Affairs'.
It was one of the biggest podcasts in America and the man who hosted it was a former Hollywood reporter.
Like Dustin had promised, he had started giving out interviews to big media houses. A lot of podcasts like this one were also interested, so they quickly arranged an impromptu interview with Dustin.
After all, the internet was the easiest and fastest medium to spread things.
Everyone was surprised by how fast things were going.
"Nothing came out of it actually. They didn't reveal any information on what they found in the investigation and just wanted me to sign an NDA. I doubt they ever were conducting it seriously and not just in name."
"I also heard that you stopped getting any audition offers after filing a complaint to the press association. Do you think the association is that powerful?"
The host asked, delving more into Dustin's story. The cameraman and other members in the crew for the podcasts also listened with interest and curiosity.
It was a live podcast and there were already 450k people that had tuned in. The public interest in this whole scandal was sky high.
"I believe they are that powerful. It sounds strange as common people mostly don't hear of them." Dustin said, trying to pick each word carefully. "But when you stop getting the calls for auditions, you need to think what mistake you did. Moreover, even a few auditions that I have cleared were cancelled out of nowhere. Directors and producers suddenly didn't want to work with me and I have never really faced something like that before."
When Dustin said that, the comments on the live feed were numerous and all of them were in his favour. Anyone could see that he had suffered his lot just by his face.
He looked like he wasn't eating much and there was a pain in his voice as he talked about the events that had happened with him.
[I created Babylon: I have been watching movies since the 70s and I have seen people with hit movies suddenly disappearing from the scene like they were never there. It was clear back then that they have offended the wrong people and it looks like this is still happening. At least we have a medium to talk about it now.]
[My parents say I was a mistake: Man, I really hope the press association goes to the gutter after this. They really tried to destroy a man's career.]
[Who's your Buddha: I remember liking Dustin in [Never Before]. His role was short and sweet but I always got a nice vibe from him. Hollywood is really shit.]
[Ben Deflect: I don't know what would have happened if Aiden hadn't made up a scene. You really need homies like that in your life. I'm always going to buy the tickets to his movies now no matter how bad they are.]
'You are saying it like Aiden only does bad movies?'
Wade read the comment and muttered. He was currently watching the live stream of the podcast in his car.
It was at that moment Aiden knocked on the window.
"Let's go. My talk with June is over."
He said and entered the car. Wade ended the live stream and looked at him, wondering how the talk had gone.
"So, did she agree?"
"Yeah, she will start to talk about her ex husband and his activities."
"Must have been tough to make her talk. You were there for almost an hour."
Wade started the car and he shook his head.
"No, she was ready to talk about him from the start. She was just telling me about the activities her husband used to do and why she left him."
Aiden muttered in a sombre tone and Wade got curious. There must have been a lot to talk about.
"So, any details that would help us?"
He thought about it for a second before answering.
"Even if she talks a little from what she had told me, it will make a large impact. That man is a monster and I'm now sure that a lot of people are going to speak against him. A lot."
From what June had told Aiden, it seemed like Philips was really a double faced bastard of the highest order. Going against such a man was scary due to how powerful he was.
But knowing that he had done so many things that could be used against him, Aiden had found himself becoming more and more confident.
'I just wish it's all worth it in the end.'
He thought, looking outside the window.
***
A few hours later, what he had planned had come to fruition.
Aiden met a lot of people who were once wronged by Philips and even people who were blacklisted because of some other member from the association.
"I hadn't done anything wrong. It was an after party after the Golden Globes ceremony and that bastard asked to go home with me. I rejected it but the next day, the movie I was the female lead threw me out. Back then, the press association was really like a tyrant."
"I was also groped once but I never spoke out against it even though it always stayed on my mind. I guess I was scared back then but not anymore. If you can speak out, I definitely will."
"My case was different. I just didn't want to do anything with him but he used to stalk me. Once, I talked against him, scolded him and my offers dried out. A few producers were his close friends, so I guess it was coming even though I just wanted to ignore the association."
Aiden heard all those stories. A few people were even blacklisted just because they have spoken out against something.
One case was such where a guy had lost a movie because he hadn't invested in one of the press association's members' companies.
It sounded really petty and it was just that. Too much power has corrupted a lot of people.
Aiden tried hard to convince all those people to speak out. Telling them that they have been silenced for a long time already.
A few people agreed and a few people needed to be persuaded. And a few others just rejected it.
But all that was okay.
With the help of Katherine and Ava, Aiden had a part of the media in his hand and he used it well. Several articles soon came up against the press association.
<Former actress accused Philips Fraser of sexually molesting her. She said, "He told me that if I don't sleep with him, my career is over. I guess he was right but I was never able to speak up until now.">
<A male model said that the press association had always been corrupted and he had to suffer because of that. His events were cancelled alongside his modelling contracts for going against them.>
<An old actor said that he was not chosen to be nominated for a Golden Globe because Philips Fraser had an argument with him. It had brought down a lot of questions about the legitimacy of arguably the world's second biggest award show.>
<With the barrage of new accusations against majorly Philips Fraser and other members of the press association, another new name had come out and this time, it is Philips Fraser's ex wife who had given an interview, revealing shocking details about her ex husband and their divorce.>
<The American press association had been silent despite so many accusations against them. It was rumoured that they were going to reject whatever accusations Aiden Silvereye put on them during the Golden Globes award ceremony but it seemed like with all new accusations, they would need to take a new decision.>
With all this news in just three days after the Golden Globes ceremony, one thing was clear that the press association wasn't going to get rid of all this mess.
Aiden was sure that a lot of people, especially Philips would be cursing him at the moment but it was just karma that they were in such a situation.
The accusations and interviews with the people who have accused the association were going to keep running in the media for at least a month.
With all this, some lawsuits were sure to come their way. Dustin himself was going to file one of the accusations now that he has gotten the strength and platform to fight it out.
With all that, Aiden's job was over.
He only had to watch the circus that he had set on fire. He was also sure that the association won't be able to blacklist him now even if they tried.
After all, he had already given too much to deal with for the time being.
