It’s time to stop the ‘other woman’ culture that blames the girl every time a male celebrity is caught cheating.
Cheating scandals are the bread and butter of celebrity news. We’ve had Cardi B and Offset, Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson, Beyonce and Jay-Z, all the way back to Hugh Grant cheating on Elizabeth Hurley with a sex worker.
In a twist that didn’t shock anyone, Tristan Thompson was caught yet again after kissing the Kardashian’s longtime family friend Jordyn Woods. He cheated on his partner, and yet doesn’t seem to be shouldering any of the responsibility.
I am sick and tired of seeing Jordyn Woods face all over the news and nothing about him. Yes, she shouldn’t have kissed him, but how about we place some of the blame on him? He, for at least the second time, has been caught cheating on the mother of his child. The first time, days before she gave birth. The second, with a close family friend.
The toxic culture of blaming ‘the other woman’ every time a male celebrity cheat has got to end. Men are too often allowed to skirt under the radar while the entire world hates the woman, blaming them for ‘stealing their man’ and ‘destroying a family’. The simple fact is that you cannot steal a man who doesn’t already want to leave.
If it hadn’t been Jordyn, it would have been someone else.
Despite this cheating scandal being the news of the moment, you barely hear Tristan Thompson’s name. He is being allowed to fly under the radar while a woman 6 years younger than him takes the heat for them both.
She’s made it clear herself that she has internalized the deeply held cultural belief that cheating is always the woman’s fault.
In her interview with Jada Pinkett-Smith, she says “I don’t think he’s wrong, because I allowed myself in that position.” The myth that women somehow ‘steal away’ good, loving, loyal men is so perpetuated in our culture that she blames herself for the actions of a man who said he was going to change. The entire Kardashian family claims Jordyn is lying about her version of events, but take a second and think about why they should believe Thompson over her. He’s a proven cheater and repeat offender, and she’s a longtime family friend. Who would you believe?
Yes, Jordyn Woods isn’t entirely innocent, but she was not the one who cheated on her partner. She was not the one who, for a second time, betrayed the trust of their partner and child. She has lost her home, her business, her friends, while Tristan Thompson remains comfortable in his family life with little consequence or damage to his reputation.
Khloe Kardashian herself tweeted at Jordyn, saying “YOU are the reason my family broke up!”
Why are you lying @jordynwoods ?? If you’re going to try and save yourself by going public, INSTEAD OF CALLING ME PRIVATELY TO APOLOGIZE FIRST, at least be HONEST about your story. BTW, You ARE the reason my family broke up!
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) March 1, 2019
At the end of the day, this simply isn’t true. As I said earlier, you cannot steal a man who doesn’t want to leave, and you cannot keep a man who doesn’t want to be kept. Jordyn lost everything for making a mistake. Tristan Thompson lost nothing for knowingly and actively betraying his family multiple times.
The coverage of the scandal has been solely focused on Jordyn: What she did, what she lost, how the family are punishing her. I see no concern for Khloe, nobody questioning why she’s staying with a man who has cheated on her multiple times. I see no contempt for the family who have expelled a girl who made a mistake while defending the man who has made that ‘mistake’ multiple times now.
It’s about time we stop blaming women for the misdeeds of men.
By Katie Ansell