The documentary uses the impeachment scandal as a hook, but it’s not mentioned after the first few minutes. But while Lewinsky executive produced the documentary and narrates large swaths of it, viewers hoping to hear her reflect on her scandal or on how she rebuilt her reputation afterward will be disappointed. The film examines the ways social media has warped our sense of justice, asking why online mobs form, what drives them and what the fallout is for the victims they target.įascination with Lewinsky’s scandal is still high - in fact, it’s having something of a renaissance, thanks to the miniseries “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” starring Beanie Feldstein. That’s why Lewinsky seems as if she would be the perfect guide to take viewers through the minefield of internet trolling and cancel culture. “I was patient zero of having a reputation completely destroyed worldwide because of the internet,” she says in the introduction to her new documentary, “15 Minutes of Shame.” The Senate Judiciary Committee apparently gave Judge Jackson more importance to decorum than to dignity.Monica Lewinsky knows a little something about public shame. We also noted that aside from Senator Cory Booker, Democrats have failed to protect their President’s nominee. We understood that the only way forward for Judge Jackson was to remain calm, stoic, impervious. We know what it’s like to withstand scrutiny without intervention.
Judge Jackson was applauded in many circles for her composure and composure.įor many black women, it was a painful sight because we know what it is like to experience this kind of scrutiny, questioning, and disrespect in personal and professional settings. During Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the eminent jurist endured all manner of insults, racism and misogyny from Republican senators asking ridiculous questions that were truly opportunities for grandstanding.
We also witnessed an example last week of a woman being forced to wear incredibly thick skin when she was largely helpless. And what gets lost in the rhetoric is that, as disappointing as the incident was, it was also a rare moment when a black woman was publicly defended. Unfortunately, the incident has become a kind of Rorschach test on which people project their backgrounds, opinions and affinities. Rock’s attempt to keep his blood -cold right after being the target of violence. Pinkett Smith’s exhaustion from being the butt of humor, Mr. I try to save room for all those layers – Mrs. Smith might not have been able to accept that joke, at his wife’s expense, given the diapers of context and the public and private stories leading into this evening. Rock’s joke was by no means the same as domestic violence, but I can see how Mr. In his memoirs, “Will “, the actor writes about the guilt he felt because as a child he couldn’t protect his mother from his father’s abuse. Smith most likely saw his wife’s pain, and it’s possible he himself experienced a moment of frailty, thin skin. Rock and the world Monday night via Instagram. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launched an investigation into the incident on Monday afternoon, and Mr. Smith could have made so many better choices that didn’t involve getting his hands on another person in front of the whole world. Violence is always wrong and solves very little. Even if later, long after these public humiliations, their treatment is reconsidered and condemned, the miserable acts of public contrition are too little, too late. Famous women such as Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, Janet Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Meghan Markle have been pushed to the limit by such scrutiny and the unreasonable expectation that they thicken their skin in derision, disrespect, insults and jokes. Ms Pinkett Smith has spoken openly about her struggles with hair loss – which is difficult for everyone, but particularly difficult in the sexist and image-conscious world of American celebrity, where women, in particular, endure an endless litany of comments about their appearance, clothing choices, relationships, and anything else people can find to distinguish. He reportedly said he was unaware of her alopecia, but he probably at least knew the joke would sting, since he produced the documentary “Good Hair,” about black women and their often strained relationships with their hair. Ms Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a hair loss condition that disproportionately affects black women.