Hollywood is piling more emotion on the scales.
Social-media darling Alyssa Milano, whom many remember as being Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s special guest at the Ford/Kavanaugh hearing last week, offered a bizarre perspective on the prevalence of sexual abuse in the United States during an MSNBC interview on Oct. 3. The actress told co-hosts Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle that “sexual assault has become institutionalized in America” and that President Trump was using a “cult-like force” to subdue his followers into accepting his rhetoric.
The rhetoric at issue for Milano included Trump’s Oct. 3 rally speech in which he questioned the accuracy of Dr. Christine Ford’s sexual abuse allegation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Ruhle went full-on pundit for a moment and asked the actress what Trump’s “all-out assault” on Ford meant to her. Milano responded that Trump was “mocking” Ford by his tone of voice, saying “tone is everything right now” before condemning Republicans for supporting him. Trump calling for a thorough investigation into Ford’s claims apparently wasn’t good enough for Milano.
Later, Velshi also turned on his pundit switch and probed Milano about Trump’s Oct. 2 “a very scary time for young men in America” quote, which he considered “almost the opposite” of the government standing up for women. Velshi and Milano agreed that the two to eight percent false rape accusation figure vindicated their disdain for the president’s worries, but Milano quickly got off track: “Women and young people have had it hard for generations and generations...and if that means that men have a hard time right now, then I’m sorry, this is the way the pendulum has to shift for us to have equality and security.”
Whoa. Not only did Milano admit the president could be right, but she actually said men “having a hard time” would be good and justified. So what does either person mean by “hard time?” It’s not clear, but hearing at least one famous person defend due process would be nice.
