#MeToo Initially Brought Men Down, Now It's Just Bringing Down Women

Elle

a day ago

A phrase was birthed during the revival of the #MeToo movement in 2017: believe women. It was meant as a redress to the systemic issues that had enabled a stable of powerful men to abuse, harass and assault women for years while they were intimidated into silence. The statement was not just a directive, but a philosophy; after years of being doubted, belittled and ignored, women's voices could finally be heard. What a moment to behold! Except just a matter of years after the resurgence of the #MeToo movement, and the threads of justice that bound it together appear to be coming undone. Yesterday, music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted on the three most serious charges against him following a high-profile trial that included testimony from several women who made serious allegations against the star. The verdict has resurfaced a sense for female victims that the world is moving on, and leaving them behind.
After eight weeks of trial and testimony from 34 witnesses, including several former female partners of Combs, yesterday, in a Manhattan court, a jury comprising eight men and four women, found Combs guilty of transportation for prostitution of ex-girlfriends Cassie Ventura and Jane, and not guilty on the more serious charges of racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. Supporters of Combs' view the verdict as a vindication, while many advocates for victims of abuse have expressed concern that such outcomes may impact the willingness of survivors to come forward.
During the trial, the defence challenged aspects of Ventura's testimony, highlighting inconsistencies in dates and pointing to a civil settlement she reached with Combs, which her legal team disputes was related to financial hardship. They suggested that Ventura revised the date of the incident from September 2018 to August 2018 in her statements over the years. They suggested that she had been experiencing financial hardship before filing her civil lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, which resulted a $20million (£15million) settlement just 24 hours after it was filed (claims Ventura clearly refuted).
'The first conclusion I'm going to ask you to reach,' Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo told the jury as part of his four hour-long closing statement last week, 'is that this case is badly, badly exaggerated.' Agnifilo argued that Ventura was no victim. His suggestion was that now that Combs was in jail and Ventura had settled a civil lawsuit against Combs for physical abuse and sexual coercion for millions of dollars, she couldn't possibly be a victim. 'If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it's hard not to pick Cassie,' he said.
The complexities of settlements and the public perception of motives and compensation creates a dichotomy for those seeking to be heard while also balancing justice, public opinion and ensuring that survivors' voices are heard. After all, with the defence of financial redress readily available against people in positions of power, how can you ever truly empower a survivor to speak up and trust that their voice will be heard?
It's not only Combs's alleged victims whose testimonies haven't been believed or have had their motives questioned of late; in 2024, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 sex crimes conviction. A matter of weeks after a Manhattan jury found him liable for sexual assault in September 2024, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. The muscularity of power imbalances that the MeToo movement sought to redress are more apparent than ever. Those with resources and means are still able to inoculate themselves in ways that others aren't. Played out in the court of public opinion, these men appear to be exalted. The crowd outside the courthouse when Combs' verdict was announced danced and celebrated yesterday to the soundtrack of 'Diddy Free', a song released during closing arguments by one of Combs's sons, King Combs, and Ye, formerly Kanye West, who briefly came to support Combs in court during the trial. The same level of support has been shown for other powerful men accused of heinous crimes against women, too. In the noise, women's voices appear to get lost.
When Ventura, who testified while eight-and-a-half months pregnant, had concluded her testimony, her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, issued a statement on behalf of his client. 'I hope that my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors, and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from abuse and fear,' he said on behalf of Ventura. 'For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember. And the more I can remember, the more I will never forget.'
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Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years' worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.