Arnold Schwarzenegger had a child with an employee ten years ago

Arnold SchwarzeneggerI really hoped after the end of his time as The Governator I’d never have to pay attention to Arnold Schwarzenegger again. But not only is he still involved in politics and trying to create more pop culture garbage by restarting his film career, now we get word of some of the details of his split with Maria Shriver. Apparently Schwarzenegger had a child with a family employee ten years ago. And he reportedly kept it from his wife until recently.

As Amanda Marcotte points out, this fits well into Schwarzenegger’s bio, since pretty much everything about his sexism is just too disgustingly absurd:

Oh, did I mention that he’s married to a member of the Kennedy clan, Maria Shriver? And that she’s a prominent feminist activist? And that she used her credibility as a liberal feminist Democrat to cover for him when he admitted to decades of sexual harassment during the 2003 campaign, when he was also exposed for participating in the 70s in what, by his description, sounds suspiciously like a gang rape? And that while his wife was out there working on behalf of women, Schwarzenegger was taking the time to rail against the evils of single motherhood? You know, just to make sure that no future would-be defenders of his bad behaviour could claim, “At least he’s not a hypocrite.”

If you presented it as a novel or a film script, you’d get it bounced back with a note that said, “Try to make it believable.”

Thankfully the Los Angeles Times, which broke this story, is keeping the identity of family employee, who just recently stopped working for Schwarzenegger and Shriver, and her child private. Of course, that doesn’t mean the media’s treating them with much respect. There’s already headlines like this one, from E!: “Arnold Schwarzenegger Admits Fathering Illegitimate Child.” Illegitimate? Seriously? Is this the middle ages? Are we talking about heirs to a throne or something? Way to be jerks to every child of a single mother ever.

I wish I thought this would hurt the next phase of Schwarzenegger’s film career. But he’s been a known sexist for ages – hell, there’s old footage of him harassing and molesting women in a Rio tourism video that much of the internets finds hilarious. This is just the latest asshole move to come to light by a guy who’s gotten away with being an asshole his entire career.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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