The Weaponization of Victimhood, with Lilie Chouliaraki
On the 27th of September 2018, Christine Blasey Ford, a Professor at Palo Alto University, appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to testify against Brett Kavanaugh, who was at the time a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, for sexually assaulting her at a high school party they both attended thirty-six years earlier. Not long after, Kavanaugh submitted a letter to the Committee calling her testimony nothing but a “smear” and affirming that he would “not be intimidated into withdrawing from the process”.
The interesting thing about this case is that both sides claim to be the victim: Mrs. Ford claims she is a victim of sexual assault, while Mr. Kavanaugh claims he is a victim of a defamatory smear campaign. But are these claims to victimhood equally valid? And how can we adjudicate between the two to determine who the real victim is?
Hamza King sits down with Lilie Chouliaraki to discuss the weaponization of victimhood. Lilie is a Professor of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and author of Wronged: The Weaponization of Victimhood (2024).
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