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How Cheer Season 2 Handles the Jerry Harris Child Porn Allegations

When the Netflix documentary collection Cheer was launched in early 2020, its viral success made a follow-up season inevitable. The present, following an elite cheerleading group at Navarro School in Texas, grew to become a right away hit. However within the yr after the present premiered, a disturbing scandal introduced into query whether or not it will and even may proceed. In September 2020, Jerry Harris, the fan-favorite Navarro cheerleader identified for his exuberant positivity, was arrested on federal fees of manufacturing of kid pornography and, later, sexual exploitation. Viewers felt betrayed, as did Harris’ teammates and coaches. Season 2 of Cheer addresses all of this, in addition to private accounts from two teen boys whose civil lawsuit towards Harris had led to the preliminary felony fees towards him. He pleaded not responsible to the felony fees in December 2020.

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The primary couple of minutes of Cheer Season 2 start with Monica Aldama, head cheerleading coach at Navarro School, reflecting on how robust the previous yr has been, adopted by information footage about Harris’ alleged crimes. However after this introduction, the collection rolls again the clock to January 2020, only a few weeks after the present premiered and some months earlier than the pandemic hit the U.S. It’s a golden period for the group, as a number of cheerleaders at the moment are bonafide stars, taking images, signing autographs and making Cameo movies on the aspect for additional money. Harris is without doubt one of the greatest stars amongst them, and the filmmakers don’t draw back from displaying simply how a lot his fame grew, with clips of Harris on The Ellen DeGeneres Present, onstage with Oprah and interviewing celebrities on the Oscars purple carpet.

Other than the preliminary introduction, Cheer doesn’t straight deal with the allegations towards Harris for the primary 4 episodes of the season. As a substitute, it strikes chronologically via the Navarro cheer group working towards the NCA Nationwide Cheerleading Championship till their season is abruptly canceled when COVID-19 hits. Episode 5, titled “Jerry,” is devoted to the fees towards Harris, the response from his teammates and coaches, and a firsthand account from the 2 teenaged boys who first accused Harris. (Harris’ legal professionals denied requests to be interviewed on digicam, and haven’t but made any assertion about Cheer Season 2.)

Learn Extra: Cheer Exhibits Aggressive Cheerleading Is Virtually as Harmful as Soccer. So Why Isn’t It Formally Thought of a Sport?

Balancing victims’ tales with teammates’ reactions

Jerry Harris
Jim Spellman/Getty PicturesJerry Harris discusses ‘Cheer’ at Construct Studio on Jan. 29, 2020 in New York Metropolis

“Jerry” strikes a stability between centering the tales of the victims of Harris’ alleged sexual harassment and documenting the heartbreak of people that have not too long ago discovered that their good friend or beloved one is charged with a criminal offense. A number of of his teammates from Navarro reply to studying about Harris; Gabi Butler describes breaking down into sobs, and says that whereas she doesn’t condone his alleged actions, she nonetheless views him as household and desires to be there for him. La’Darius Marshall, who was particularly shut with Harris, is visibly offended in regards to the scenario, particularly, he says, as a result of Marshall endured sexual abuse as a baby (which he mentioned in Season 1).

Twin brothers Charlie and Sam (who’re nonetheless minors and whose final identify isn’t given) are interviewed at size in “Jerry.” They have been the primary victims to accuse Harris of sending sexually specific textual content and social media messages, in addition to asking one in every of them for oral intercourse. In a later interview with the FBI, Harris admitted to soliciting and receiving little one pornography from 10 to fifteen minors, based on prosecutors. When he was 13, Charlie alleges in Cheer, Harris started messaging him on Instagram; Charlie and his twin brother Sam have been concerned in cheerleading and knew of Harris attributable to his movie star throughout the cheer neighborhood. The documentary doesn’t present any new particulars about Harris’ case, however does give extra perception into the emotional difficulties described by his accusers.

The twins say on the present that Harris additionally started messaging Charlie and he requested them for bare images and movies. Their mother describes discovering Harris’ messages within the archives of her son’s Snapchat account (some examples are additionally supplied within the USA As we speak article that broke the story). Charlie additionally describes Harris cornering him in a toilet at a cheer competitors and begging him to have intercourse. Charlie says he ran out of the toilet in disgust.

Learn extra: The 21 Finest Documentaries to Stream Proper Now

A painful response from the cheer neighborhood

All through Cheer, there’s an amazing sense that these cheerleaders love and care about one another deeply, if for no different purpose than the period of time they spend with one another and the extent of belief wanted to flip into every others’ arms. However Sam and Charlie describe feeling ostracized from the cheer neighborhood after coming ahead with their allegations. Different cheerleaders, they are saying, have been mad at them as a result of everybody beloved Jerry Harris.

“After me and Sam spoke out, just about all sense of neighborhood was ripped away from me and Sam,” says Charlie within the documentary. “It was simply horrible.”

Different folks concerned with Harris’ case seem within the episode, together with Sarah Klein, an lawyer for the twins. She is the earliest identified sufferer of abuse by former US Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. There’s additionally background data from USA As we speak journalists Marisa Kwiatkowski and Tricia L. Nadolny, who broke the story about Harris and performed an extended investigation into sexual misconduct throughout the cheer world.

Harris stays in custody on the Metropolitan Correctional Middle in Chicago, the place he has been since September 2020 as he awaits trial. If convicted, he faces a minimal sentence of 15 years.

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