Isn’t it strange that thousands of women around the world are now coming out and accusing male celebrities of sexual harassment? Wouldn’t you think that this high number of women speaking out is a little unrealistic?

The term “celebrity” is closely associated with people who are well-known and refers to the fame and public attention given by the media to individuals and group resulting in a status of fame and attention. Celebrity status is often associated with wealth, while fame often provides opportunities to earn revenue. Celebrities who are aware of their high social standing can develop an abundance of arrogance leading them to think they are capable of doing anything that they want without any harm. If you look at male celebrities who have sexually harassed women, they all have this common thread.

At the beginning of October, multiple women came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood producer, of sexual misconduct. Since then, high-profile men in a variety of industries have resigned, been fired or experienced other fallout after accusations that have ranged from inappropriate text messages to rape have come to light. For example, John Lasseter, the head of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, has been accused of sexual harassment, including grabbing, unwanted kissing, and making comments about physical attributes. As a result, Lasseter thought it would be best to step away for a six-month sabbatical after his missteps. Celebrities may think that they matter more than others and if they do something wrong that no one will get hurt. John Lasseter clearly shares this view in common with Charlie Rose, television host, who was accused with sexual harassment of at least eight women with actions including groping and making lewd phone calls. These men also go along with Matt Lauer, Today’s NBC co-host who had a $25 million annual salary, was also accused of sexual abuse.  It has been claimed that Lauer’s office was in a secluded space, and he had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up. This afforded him the assurance of privacy. It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer. What all these men have in common is that they are all wealthy, famous men with high social rankings that have caused them to have too much self confidence.

Thankfully, women have been coming forward about how they feel and have been encouraging other women to tell their story as well. Jessica Leeds, a business woman at a paper company claims that in the early 1980s, she was abused by Donald Trump while sitting next to him on a plane. Leeds claims that he lifted the armrest and began to grope her. She was trying to ignore this but “he was like an octopus…His hands were everywhere.” Leeds got up and left after Trump put her hand up her skirt, but she did not expose her feelings to the public until right before Trump was elected to be our president. Leeds asserts that the person who abused her should have the right to be president.

Rachel Crooks is another woman who also claimed to be abused by Trump. She was said to have been working as a receptionist in the Trump Towers. When going to meet Trump, “we shook hands, but Mr. Trump would not let go,” she said. Instead, he began kissing her cheeks. Then, she said, “[Trump] kissed me directly on the mouth….It didn’t feel like an accident, it felt like a violation. It was so inappropriate. I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.”

In a statement, the Trump campaign said the claims were “fiction,” describing the allegations as a “character assassination.”

Sexual assault, domestic violence and dating violence are serious problems in our country. Crooks was sexually assaulted and did not speak up because our country has not created a safe feeling environment for sexual assault victims. She says that she did not report this because she didn’t want to be looked at differently.

Crooks was raped in 2005 and has not spoken up about this since then. She says that she was later encouraged by her close family and friends and finally thought it was right to come out after others decided to tell their stories. Crooks also states she would like to help reduce the number of sexual assault cases in the United States by talking to other women who have been sexually harassed claiming that it felt right to tell the truth and let go of her long lasting secret. She thought that she would be looked at differently at first and this was one of the main reasons she kept it a secret.

Crooks says she has made herself available to talk to others to encourage them to speak to the public. She has worked to make our country a safer place and has made others feel more comfortable speaking about their experience.

Women like Rachel Crooks debunk this thought that women are only speaking up now as form of “character assassination.”

Having women come out and speak about the injustices against them is encouraging and is the reason more women have spoken up. For this reason, it is not suspicious that all these cases are coming to light at the same time. It is truly revolutionary and in that, creating a whole new world for all women to come out and be comfortable in speaking their voice, for the first time in history.