S4 E18 - How is Cassie Ventura like George Floyd?

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Double Standards in Domestic Violence: Unmasking Media Bias

 In this episode of The 10th Man, we dive into the media's selective outrage and double standards in cases of domestic violence. Why do women who commit violence get framed differently than men? We explore the biases in news coverage and the justice system, revealing how narratives are manipulated based on gender. Real cases, including those of Ellen Gilland, Wendy Bowers, and Melody Johnson, highlight these disparities. Compare the lack of media scrutiny for female perpetrators to the intense judgment faced by men like Sean 'Diddy' Combs. 

And what's up with Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

If you stand for equality, this episode calls for accountability and the demand for the full story.

 

00:00 Introduction: Double Standards in Domestic Violence

00:31 Media Bias in Domestic Violence Cases

02:12 Case Studies: Female Perpetrators

03:20 Case Studies: Male Perpetrators

04:43 The Role of Media in Shaping Narratives

07:19 Conclusion: Call for Real Accountability

Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.

Episode Transcript

The Tenth Man (00:00):
What happens when a woman shoots her husband?
The media asks"What drove her toit"?
But when a man hits hisgirlfriend, they don't ask.
They condemn.
Double standards.
Selective outrage.
Today on the 10th man.

(00:22):
Woman kills husband-Gets fiveyears.
Cassie Ventura Assaulted.
Man Kills Wife, Sentenced toLife.
Today we're talking aboutviolence, but not just any
violence.
Domestic violence and morespecifically how the media
decides whose violence toexplain and who's to condemn.

(00:44):
We're going to expose the doublestandard, the one no one else
talks about.
The one where a woman who killsher husband gets a dozen news
articles about her emotionaltrauma, but a man who hits his
girlfriend gets a thousandheadlines screaming"Monster".
Let's be clear.
Violence is wrong.

(01:04):
But so is ignoring the factsthat lead up to it.
When a man attacks a woman, thestory is simple.
Villain victim, case closed.
But when a woman commitsviolence, suddenly it's
complicated.
She's described as a mother, asurvivor, someone who just
snapped after years of pain.

(01:24):
Journalists dig for motives, fortrauma, for justifications.
Same act, different coverage,different consequences.
And this isn't just a mediatrend, it shows up in the
justice system too.
A study from the University ofMichigan Law School found that
men receive 63% longer sentencesthan women for the exact same

(01:46):
crimes, even after controllingfor offense type and criminal
history.
Women are also twice as likelyto avoid jail time altogether.
So yes, our institutions reflectthe same bias we see in the
press.
A man who lashes out is a"monster", a woman who stabs her

(02:07):
husband.
She's just troubled.
Let's examine how the mediahandles cases involving female
perpetrators of domesticviolence.
Ellen Gilland, age 76, shot herterminally ill husband in a
Florida hospital.
She called it a mercy killing.
She received one year of prison.

(02:29):
The media focused on her grief,not the homicide.
Wendy Bowers shot her husband todeath.
In May, 2025 she was sentencedto six months in jail and
probation for manslaughter.
The media coverage was minimal.
There was little public outcry.
Melody Johnson an Arizona womanattempted to poison her husband

(02:52):
by pouring bleach into hiscoffee on two occasions.
Despite being caught on cameraand initially charged with
attempted murder, she receivedthree years of probation in
2024, after a plea deal.
Compare these cases to similaracts committed by men.
Do the headlines mention theirheartbreak, their stress, their

(03:14):
fear?
No.
They go straight to killer.
That brings us to Sean DiddyCombs and Cassie Ventura.
Yes, the footage of Diddyattacking Cassie in the hallway
is disturbing, and yes, thereare serious allegations.
But what happened before thatmoment in the hallway?

(03:37):
Where's the reporting onCassie's own violent behavior?
And we're not speculating.
We have evidence.
A 2014 recording of Cassie,threatening to kill a man who
claimed to have explicit videosof her.
She said, you're lying about myeffing life.
I want to kill you, cut you upand put you in the effing dirt.

(04:01):
That's not passive victimhood.
That's aggression.
And it wasn't just Diddy.
Testimony from Kid Cudi revealsCassie was romantically involved
with both men without either oneknowing.
She misled them, played themagainst each other.
When Cudi tried to walk away,his car blew up in his driveway,

(04:22):
and eventually Cassie did leaveDiddy for another man.
Then she sued and walked awaywith a$20 million settlement.
The media calls it justice.
If the roles were reversed, whatwould they call it?
Extortion?
Revenge?
Abuse?

(04:43):
And here's a quiet question forthose who insist on equality.
If Cassie is the brave woman,she's now celebrated as, why
didn't she fight back then?
Why no resistance in the moment?
Why wait until the cameras wererolling and the money was on the
table?
She had options.

(05:04):
She had choices.
She had power.
If we're going to celebratefemale strength, then let's also
expect a little female strength.
Otherwise, it's not equality.
And then there's the flip side.
Some men commit horrific actsand still get sympathy.
Take George Floyd, who's nowbeing celebrated.

(05:27):
The media turned him into amartyr, but in 2007, he held a
loaded gun to a pregnant woman'sstomach during a home invasion.
That didn't stop theidolization.
No one asked what his victimswent through.
No one made that part of thestory.
Then there's Kilmar AbregoGarcia, the illegal immigrant

(05:51):
who sparked outrage after beingdeported.
He was a convicted domesticabuser.
He pleaded guilty under theBiden administration and he was
deported under Trump, and stillthe press painted him as a
victim, not the woman he abused,not the system he exploited.
Him.

(06:12):
So let's get this straight.
Some men who beat women get ahalo if they're politically
useful.
Others who may have beenprovoked, deceived, or
manipulated are burned at thestake.
That's not equality.
That's narrative control.

(06:33):
Now, flip the roles.
Imagine a man was the one lyingto two women.
Playing them against each other.
Caught on tape, threatening tokill someone.
Now imagine the woman in thatrelationship lashed out just
once, and then the man sued her.

(06:57):
Would the media call him asurvivor?
Would they say she was the realaggressor?
Of course not.
They'd mock him.
They'd say he was weak, that hegot what was coming to him.
Because when a woman lashes out,the media rushes to ask why.
But when a man does, they don'task.

(07:17):
They judge.
None of this excuses Diddy'sviolence.
If he's guilty, he should facejustice, period.
But justice means looking at thefull story.
Not just the frame that flattersthe politically favored
narrative.
Because when a womanmanipulates, threatens, cheats,

(07:38):
lies, or escalates a conflict,that's not a footnote.
That's part of the picture.
And if we keep erasing thatpart, we're not just failing
men, we're failing the truth.
If you want real equality, startwith real accountability.

(08:00):
Don't settle for half the story.
Demand the whole thing.