With the advent of the #R2MeToo Movement a few years ago, sexual harassment in the Star Wars World has come to the forefront of many fans’ minds. After all, we hold our heroes to high standards, even ones who live in a galaxy far, far away. Distance, whether less than twelve parsecs or otherwise, does not a right make.
Anyway. Today we’ll look at one of several real life fictional examples of sexual harassment in the Star Wars movies. I expect this will be come a trilogy of blog posts. Maybe three trilogies.
First up, the very first onscreen romance in the original trilogy: Luke Skywalker and his sister, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Takeaways for employment law nerds: don’t do it.
And that’s all we need to say about that.
Was Anakin Skywalker Engaging in Sexual Harassment of Padme Amidala?
Next, Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Recall that Anakin, an apprentice employee with the quasi-governmental entity called the Jedi Order was assigned as a protection detail to politically-elected Senator Amidala after an assassination attempt. Anakin’s direct supervisor was Obi-Wan Kenobi, a member of the Jedi Order, which is the military enforcement arm (get it? wait, don’t leave!) for a galactic religious organization, from a certain point of view. Kenobi was well aware that Anakin harbored romantic feelings for Amidala, yet despite this wrinkle and potential for conflicts of interest, Kenobi nonetheless allowed Anakin to continue in that role.
Almost immediately, Anakin makes inappropriate comments to Amidala about her appearance. A male making comments about a female’s appearance can run afoul of Episode VII of the Civil Rights Act if it becomes severe or pervasive, sufficient to create a hostile work environment. Amidala, for her part, does not appear offended at this stage. Yet Anakin escalates, including a moment where he enters Amidala’s quarters and stares at her until she has to ask him to stop because it makes her feel uncomfortable.
It makes me uncomfortable, too.
It makes us all uncomfortable.
Kind of like sand makes us all uncomfortable.
Was Padme’s Employer Liable for the Actions of Anakin Skywalker, an Employee of a Third Party?
So at this point, we have a third-party employee sexually harassing a client he’s been assigned to protect. But she’s not his co-worker. When Amidala files her Charge of Discrimination for violations of the sexual harassment laws, can she maintain a claim against her employer (the Republic Senate) even though the harasser works for a third-party entity (the Jedi Order)? The answer is yes, the Senate could be liable for the actions by a non-employee, if the company was aware of the harassment (or knowledge of the harassment can be imputed to the company) and failed to take actions to stop it.
Kenobi, as a supervisor/manager, was aware of Anakin’s one-way romantic feelings and also directly witnessed Anakin’s first instance of sexual harassment of Padme Amidala when he talked about how beautiful Padme had become. Nonetheless, Kenobi allowed Anakin to continue in that role, a serious lapse in judgment. But is it enough to establish liability against the Senate? Neither the Jedi Order or the Galactic Senate was aware of the other conduct, including the uncomfortable stares that Anakin directed Amidala’s way. I would say that Amidala would need to report the additional misconduct by Anakin in order to establish liability with one or both of the employers. The single instance of sexual harassment at their opening meeting doesn’t meet the requirement of a sexually hostile work environment, and the employer did not appear to have knowledge of the further acts of harassment by the Padawan learner.
Further, Amidala later condoned the harassment by falling in love with her tormentor and eventual abusive, murderous husband. Anakin continued his campaign of uncomfortable behavior that some might characterize as wooing attempts, and it eventually worked, as Amidala married him in secret. Even if a claim existed for sexual harassment, then it’s unlikely that she would move forward against him or his employer at that point. However, if Anakin’s eventually assault of Padme through a Force Choke in Episode III was in retaliation for her initial rejection of his overtures, then she may have a new retaliation claim to consider, if only she had the will to live or bring a lawsuit
But I probably wouldn’t take her claim. I’ve–I’ve just got a bad feeling about this case.
