Fact Check: About the Claim Alanis Morissette Said the 'Music Industry Is Run by Elite Pedophiles'

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Claim:

Alanis Morissette said the music industry is run by "elite pedophiles," adding, "They're all child rapists."

Rating:

Misattributed (About this rating?)

Context:

The quote was based on Morissette's authentic comments about sexual abuse she allegedly experienced as a teenager in the entertainment industry. Reflecting on her experiences working with adults as a teen, she has said, "They're all pedophiles. It's all statutory rape."

For more than a year, social media posts have claimed Canadian singer Alanis Morissette once said the "music industry is run by elite p*********," and that all industry leaders were "child rapists."

For instance, in June 2024, a post on X claimed, "Alanis Morissette admits music industry is run by elite p*********."

The claim first appeared in a September 2021 article published by The People's Voice — an offshoot of Newspunch and a long-time, well-known producer of misinformation. The article is titled, "Alanis Morissette Admits Music Industry Is Run by Elite P*********: 'They're ALL Child Rapists.'"

The article cited a 2021 HBO documentary, "Jagged," as its source for the quotes, claiming Morissette said in the film, "the entertainment industry is run by elite p********* who routinely rape and abuse children."

"Jagged" is a genuine documentary, featuring past and recent clips of the singer discussing her experiences in the Canadian entertainment industry. But Morissette did not say those things in the film, nor is there any evidence of her making the statements publicly elsewhere.

In "Jagged," she talked about feeling victimized, a lack of professional boundaries and allegedly experiencing statutory rape as a teenager. Morissette did not name her alleged abusers nor state in which specific segment of the entertainment industries they worked. (Before doing music as a teen, she acted in theater and television.)

And, at one point in the documentary, while discussing her experiences working with adults as a teen, Morissette said, "They're all p*********. It's all statutory rape." Based on her statements before and after that statement, she was reflecting on her own experiences as a 15-year-old working in the Canadian entertainment industry and referencing a specific group of people. Here's a transcription of the quote (emphasis ours):

There's a lot of shame around having any kind of victimization of any kind and it took me years in therapy to even admit that there had been any kind of victimization on my part. I would always say, you know, "I was consenting, I wasn't —" you know, and then I'd be reminded like, "Hey, you were 15. You're not consenting at 15." Now I'm like, "Oh, yeah, they're all p*********. It's all statutory rape." I did tell a few people. And they, you know — it kind of fell on deaf ears a little bit. It would usually be a stand-up, walk-out-of-the-room moment. So, you know, a lot of people say, "Why did that woman wait 30 years [to report sexual assault]?" I'm like, f*** off they didn't wait 30 years. No one was listening or their livelihood was threatened or their family was threatened. So yeah, the whole why-do-women-wait thing? Women don't wait. Our culture doesn't listen.

In other words, while she said "they're all p*********" in reference to some adults she worked with as a teenager, she did not make the sweeping claim about the entire music industry being "run" by "elite p*********." She also did not claim, "They're all child rapists," as asserted by The People's Voice.

Snopes reached out to Morissette's team to respond to the social media claims and to elaborate further on what was discussed in "Jagged," but they did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Before the documentary's release, Morissette issued a statement distancing herself from it. She said the film's portrayal of her experiences diverged from her intended narrative and contained implications and facts she deemed inaccurate. She did not say which part or parts of the film, specifically, were problematic in her view.

In sum, while Morissette indeed once said "they're all p*********" in reference to people with whom she worked, there's no evidence of her making sweeping claims about the music industry's leaders, nor saying the phrases "music industry is run by elite p*********" and "they're all child rapists." Therefore, we rate this claim as "Misattributed."

Snopes previously addressed the unproven allegation that Morissette's hit song "You Oughta Know" is about actor Dave Coulier from TV's "Full House."

Sources:

Adl-Tabatabai, Sean. "Alanis Morissette Admits Music Industry Is Run by Elite Pedophiles: 'They're ALL Child Rapists.'" The People's Voice, 13 Sept. 2021, https://thepeoplesvoice.tv/alanis-morissette-admits-music-industry-is-run-by-elite-pedophiles-theyre-all-child-rapists/.

"Alanis Morissette | Music Artist, Actress, Composer." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001551/. Accessed 25 June 2024.

Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. "Alanis Morissette Says She Was Victim of Multiple Statutory Rapes as a Teenager." The Guardian, 13 Sept. 2021. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/13/alanis-morissette-says-she-was-victim-of-multiple-statutory-rapes-as-a-teenager.

Bellemare, Steven. "Age of Consent for Sexual Activity in Canada." Paediatrics & Child Health, vol. 13, no. 6, July 2008, p. 475. PubMed Central, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2532909/.

Edwardes, Charlotte. Alanis Morissette Interview: 'Female Rage Gets Such a Bad Rap, but It's Part of Being Human.' 25 June 2024, https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/alanis-morissette-interview-female-rage-gets-such-a-bad-rap-but-its-part-of-being-human-x30sfwtzz.

Government of Canada, Department of Justice. Age of Consent to Sexual Activity. 20050705, https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/clp/faq.html#:~:text=Canada's%20age%20of%20consent,legally%20agree%20to%20sexual%20activity.

HBO. Jagged | Official Trailer | HBO. 2021. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWtvC5a5TB0.

Jagged. Directed by Alison Klayman, HBO Documentary Films, 2021.

Galuppo, Mia. "Alanis Morissette Criticizes HBO's 'Jagged' Doc: 'This Was Not the Story I Agreed to Tell.'" The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Sept. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alanis-morissette-hbo-doc-jagged-1235013554/.

"Alanis Morissette Reportedly Makes Statutory Rape Allegations in New Documentary: 'They're All Pedophiles.'" Yahoo News, 10 Sept. 2021, https://www.yahoo.com/news/alanis-morissette-reportedly-makes-statutory-183942456.html.

Haring, Bruce. "Alanis Morissette Claims She Was Raped By Multiple Men In New HBO Documentary, Washington Post Reports." Deadline, 12 Sept. 2021, https://deadline.com/2021/09/alanis-morissette-claims-rape-hbo-documentary-washington-post-1234831706/.

Squires, Bethy. "Alanis Morissette Speaks on Experiencing Statutory Rape in New Doc." Vulture, 12 Sept. 2021, https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/alanis-morissette-speaks-on-her-experience-of-statutory-rape.html.