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The answer to that question is obvious. So-called liberal democratic societies in the West are no longer liberal or democratic in any meaningful sense – and the elites that rule them are fundamentally opposed to liberal democratic values.
The #MeToo movement is only one of various ideologies adhered to by these elites – others include identity politics, so-called transgender rights, and catastrophic climate change – all of which share its fierce anti-liberal and anti-democratic animus.
Brand continues to deny the allegations made against him, as best he can – given that many of the allegations lack specificity, and all have been made anonymously.
Unlike some #MeToo targets who capitulate and offering abject apologies for their alleged transgressions, in the pathetic hope of preserving what is left of their careers, Brand seems determined to fight the #MeToo campaign that has engulfed him.
At the end of the day, however, the best that Brand can hope for is to successfully defend himself in any criminal proceedings that may be brought against him – but even if he does so, his reputation and career will remain in tatters.
This was dramatically confirmed in Australia last week when a prominent international Sri Lankan cricketer, Dunuska Gunathilaka, was acquitted of a charge of rape in a Sydney court – after having been the target of a classic #MeToo campaign.
Late last year, at the end of the Sri Lankan cricket team’s tour, Gunathilaka was charged by police with rape as he was about to board a plane and return home to Sri Lanka.
The fact that he had been charged was leaked to journalists, and lurid front-page stories appeared in the media detailing the alleged rape. Gunathilaka’s cricket contract was immediately cancelled, and he was forced to remain in Australia until his trial concluded last week, some ten months later.
As a result of the widespread salacious publicity given to the matter, Gunathilaka’s trial took place before a judge alone – he having, in effect, been denied the right to a jury trial.
At the trial the actual facts surrounding the alleged rape emerged. The complainant and the cricketer met each other on the dating site Tinder, met for a drink and dinner and then travelled by ferry back to the complainant’s house. Surveillance cameras captured these events and the trial judge, Judge Sarah Huggett, found that “the mood captured by these videos seemed relaxed, happy and playful.”
After a drink in her lounge room, the complainant invited the cricketer into her bedroom. They then had sex. The cricketer then returned to his hotel.
A few days later the complainant went to the police, and Gunathilaka was charged with rape. At trial the complainant accepted that sex between her and the cricketer had been consensual.
Extraordinarily, it emerged that her claim to have been raped was based solely upon an allegation that the cricketer had removed the condom he was wearing during intercourse, without telling her. This is termed “stealthing” and, under the applicable legislation, if proved to have occurred, constitutes rape.
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Judge Huggett found that Gunathilaka had not, in fact, removed his condom and that he could not have done so – thereby believing the cricketer’s account of what had occurred, and disbelieving the evidence of the complainant. This finding was hardly surprising, given that the complainant had admitted under cross-examination that she had not actually seen the cricketer remove the condom.
The judge went on to find that “some of the complainant’s evidence had the appearance of being motivated by a desire to paint the accused in an unfavourable light” – surely something of an understatement in the circumstances.
More disturbingly, the evidence disclosed that when the complainant first spoke to police she made no complaint about the cricketer removing the condom at all, and that the police had later destroyed their notes of this meeting. This caused the trial judge to say that “aspects of the handling of her complaint were far from satisfactory and, to be frank, very concerning.”
In my opinion, Gunathilaka should never have been charged with rape at all. In fact, the entire prosecution of the cricketer was nothing less than a legal travesty – brought about by the powerful and corrupting influence of the #MeToo movement.
Notwithstanding that Gunathilaka’s reputation and career have been irretrievably damaged by the campaign waged against him, he was fortunate to have been acquitted by a principled judge and escaped a lengthy prison sentence.
Whether Russell Brand will be as fortunate as the Sri Lankan cricketer remains to be seen.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
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