Abstract
Over the past decade, a growing roster of famous men, confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct, have cultivated a strategic rhetoric designed to deny wrongdoing. During interviews and court testimony, they discursively split their identity into two or more parts as a means of denying statements made and actions taken in public view, on the record, or otherwise in plain sight. This paper identifies and analyzes the discursive strategies employed in cases of self-cleaving, including studies of Terry Bollea, Johnny Depp, and R. Kelly, considering why this strategy has been successful, despite its reliance on brazen evidentiary denials. Drawing on Susan Faludi’s (1991) theorization of backlash, self-cleaving can be understood as a response to the gains of the #MeToo movement and an effort to wrest back hegemonic access to credibility and believability. Implications for a post-truth news and media culture, and for victims of high-profile perpetrators, are discussed.
Presenters
Andrea Mc DonnellDirector of the Communication Minor, Associate Professor, Communication, Providence College, Rhode Island, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Rhetoric, Gender, Post-Truth, Misogyny, Celebrity, Media Theory, News
