Debra Messing's #MeToo scene in 'Will & Grace' is all too real

Stephen Proctor

On Thursday, Will & Grace tackled the #MeToo movement and the issue of sexual assault. It started when Grace (Debra Messing) and her dad, Martin (Robert Klein), stopped at a café on the way to visit her mother’s grave, and Grace had to tell Martin to stop hitting on the waitress. The conversation snowballed into Grace telling her father that his best friend, Harry, had sexually assaulted her when she was 15 years old.

It’s no surprise that Will & Grace addressed the matter. Messing has said that #MeToo helped her realize how many times she had been sexually harassed in her life. The show took on sexual assault from every angle — ranging from excuses people make to victim blaming to why some victims don’t come forward.

When Grace began telling Martin that she thought Harry was creepy, he replied, “He was a flirty guy,” followed by, “That was a different time.” “That’s not an excuse,” Grace responded. “What, just because it was different time it wasn’t bad? No, all that meant was that people got away with it.”

Martin also said something that has became all too familiar recently, when Christine Blasey Ford accused now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school. “It was a long time ago — maybe you’re misremembering,” Martin said. “No, no! I remember,” a furious Grace replied. “I remember everything that happened to me that day!”

Finally, when Martin asked Grace why she didn’t tell him, she expressed the same fear that so many women have when they are harassed or assaulted. “How could I?” Grace said. “What if you didn’t believe me? What if nobody believed me?”

A lot of fans connected with Grace’s story. One person tweeted, “This episode of Will & Grace is painfully on point for me in so very many ways.” While another said, “Thank you Debra Messing for the latest Will & Grace showing that uncomfortable conversations need to happen to promote change.”

Will & Grace airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on NBC. Watch clips and full episodes of Will & Grace for free on Yahoo View.

Watch Murphy Brown show it’s never too late to confront perpetrators of sexual assault:

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