Anita Hill Said What Everyone's Thinking About Brett Kavanaugh's Testimony
On Thursday, Sept. 27, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to address and deny sexual assault allegations leveled against him by California professor Christine Blasey Ford. Elite Daily reached out to Kavanaugh's team for further comment, but did not receive a reply. During Thursday's hearing, Kavanaugh gave a furious and emotional testimony, practically yelling his words at certain points, which earned him widespread criticism. One of the many people calling out Kavanaugh's testimony is Anita Hill, and Anita Hill's response to Brett Kavanaugh's testimony is saying exactly what's on the minds of many people who watched it go down.
Kavanaugh's off-putting demeanor during his testimony stood in stark contrast to Ford's actions. She, on the other hand, spoke in a calm, measured tone while graphically recalling the details of an alleged assault she claims traumatized her. Hill, who found herself in a similar situation to Ford in 1991 with then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, clearly paid attention to the entire ordeal.
Speaking at a gathering of women technologists on Friday, Sept. 28 in Houston, Texas, Hill said that no female Supreme Court candidate "would ever have the license to express [herself]in that way." According to Business Insider, she noted that during Thursday's hearing, Kavanaugh "was able to express real anger, an aggression, as well as a lot of emotion."
"We still have so far to go in terms of the power that he had and the license that he had ... to cry or to be angry," she added.
Hill's comments closely align with many opinions that popped up on social media throughout Kavanaugh's testimony. Visibly emotional, the judge forcefully denied Ford's claims that he attempted to sexually assault her when the two were high schools students in the 1980s. Elite Daily reached out to representatives of Kavanaugh for further comment, but did not receive a reply. The moment caught a lot of people off guard, with many pointing out how angry he seemed in comparison to Ford's more relaxed demeanor.
"If Dr Ford had acted like this, the Republicans [would be] challenging her emotional stability and sanity," one person declared.
"If Brett Kavanaugh were a woman, they’d be calling this performance 'hysterical.'"
The hearings probably seem like a real case of déjà vu to Hill, too, because she also appeared before the committee in 1991 to testify about sexual harassment allegations she'd made against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Thomas denied the allegations at the time, and a representative for the justice did not return Elite Daily's request for comment.
Like Ford, Hill faced widespread condemnation after going public with her claims. According to The Huffington Post, Republican senators attacked Hill's credibility, and tried to make her seem like a mentally ill person and a spiteful ex-lover. Thomas was ultimately confirmed for a seat on the Supreme Court, and considering Kavanaugh was referred to the full Senate for a final vote on Sept. 28, the cases are indeed eerily similar.
Though there's a real possibility that Kavanaugh could be confirmed to the Supreme Court despite the additional FBI investigation called for by Senator Jeff Flake on Friday, Sept. 28, Hill offered up some enlightening advice to Ford in the meantime, telling her do remain "authentic and do what feels right for you to do."
She added, "Don't do anything that's going to dehumanize you and cause you great pain and trauma." Given how she must relate to Ford, Hill's comments on every aspect of the hearing are welcome insights during this very tense time.
