During my undergrad, I recall one professor asking how many students in our class knew the steps required for a bill to be passed in the House of Commons. In a room of approximately one hundred students (many of whom were Political Science majors), only several raised their hands. The professor then asked how many students could name at least of the Kardashian sisters. Nearly every student in the room raised their hand.

It has now been more than a decade since I sat in that stuffy lecture hall at the University of Alberta, but the story has stayed with me. (So much so, in fact, that years later I would opt to write my PhD dissertation on the connections between popular culture and politics – but that is a story for another day.) In the criminal law context, I imagine, a similar example may be to ask how many first-year law students know of the connections between the Kardashian family and OJ Simpson versus how many could explain the Criminal Code nuances differentiating first- and second-degree murder charges. I suspect the responses would closely mirror those given in my undergraduate political science course. My point here is simple: not only is popular culture intimately connected to our society’s politico-legal power structures, but popular culture may actually serve as the vessel through which many people come to learn about these power structures and how they operate.

When a celebrity is accused of a crime, be it a straightforward ‘DUI’ or something more severe, its commission instantly garners massive media attention. Indeed, memes of celebrity mugshots and arrest stories often circulate on social media platforms for days and weeks (if not years) following an arrest. Popstar Justin Timberlake’s recent ‘world tour’ comment to a police officer during his arrest for driving under the influence, for example, became the subject of numerous jokes and parodies on Instagram, X, and TikTok. While some (more cynical) commentators may celebrate such public ridicule and media attention as a means of ‘knocking celebrities down a peg’ or view it as evidence that celebrities are ‘just like us,’ there is educational potential here.

In November 2023, singer Cassie Ventura launched a suit against her former romantic partner Sean “Diddy” Combs. At the time, Combs’ defence lawyer claimed that the suit was “riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’  reputation and seeking a payday.” A number of high profile celebrities, too, rushed to Combs’ defence. Online commentators also accused Ms. Ventura of lying and greed, criticizing her decision to file the suit years after their romantic relationship had ended. Despite the controversy, the lawsuit was settled outside of court a mere one day after it was filed, for an undisclosed amount. Several months later, in May 2024, a surveillance video from 2016 surfaced and quickly spread online. The disturbing footage shows Mr. Combs engaging in various forms of physical violence against Ms. Ventura, including pushing her, kicking her, and dragging her across the floor by her hair. The video appeared to corroborate the accusations made in Ms. Ventura’s earlier suit.

Ms. Ventura’s case against Sean Combs and the subsequent video leak force us to confront several hard truths about our society’s view of women. Indeed, according to the United Nations, one in three women globally have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both. Despite these alarming statistics, Ms. Ventura was cast as a greedy liar for choosing to speak out against her abuser. Instead of choosing to support and believe a woman courageous enough to come forward and reveal that she experienced more than a decade of serious abuse, she was blamed for the violence she endured, with faceless online commentators speculating that she must have liked it and that the violence could not really have been that bad because she waited years to file her lawsuit. It took the release of grotesque video footage for Ms. Ventura’s claims against Mr. Combs to be believed on a wide scale. What this case reveals, therefore, is that when actually confronted with the reality of the profound scale on which our society fails women, many among us still prefer to retreat into the familiar and comforting arms of misogyny rather than engage in the necessary and difficult conversations required to overcome it.

While Ms. Ventura’s experiences were horrific and traumatizing, her and Mr. Combs’ status as celebrities have added fuel to the ongoing conversations about violence against women. Many articles detailing her experiences include the contact information for rape/sexual abuse hotlines; video reports encourage viewers to come forward and seek help if they (or someone they know) is experiencing violence; and law enforcement agencies (including the LA District Attorney) have taken to social media to explain the legal consequences of the video and how the statute of limitations bars them from taking action. It is through this sort of informal sharing and dissemination that many ordinary people may be able to acquire basic knowledge of not only how tragically common violence against women is, but how law enforcement’s capacity to prevent and punish it can be limited.