This video is fake. It's part of Deep Reckonings — a series of explicitly-marked deepfake videos that imagine morally courageous versions of Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Zuckerberg, and other public figures. Here, an imaginary Kavanaugh wrestles with the way he responded to the sexual allegations against him. Also featured are the flickering faces of other high-profile men who've been credibly accused of sexual misconduct — Joe Biden, Louis C.K., and Bill O'Reilly.
The next step for Deep Reckonings is to make it real. Which means we need a way to get to Kavanaugh. Fellow Federalist Society member Nick Rosenkranz is active on Twitter and, as a Broadway producer, has a love of theatrics. To encourage Kavanaugh to give this speech in his own words, tweet at Rosenkranz: Hey @profnqr, make this real with @stephlepp: www.deepreckonings.com/kavanaugh #deepreckonings
The next step for Deep Reckonings is to make it real. Which means we need a way to get to Kavanaugh. Fellow Federalist Society member Nick Rosenkranz is active on Twitter and, as a Broadway producer, has a love of theatrics. To encourage Kavanaugh to give this speech in his own words, tweet at Rosenkranz: Hey @profnqr, make this real with @stephlepp: www.deepreckonings.com/kavanaugh #deepreckonings
CREDITS
Brought to you by |
Infinite Lunchbox |
Written, directed, and produced by |
Stephanie Lepp |
Generous support |
Mozilla & Topic |
Special thanks |
Drew Westen, Schuyler Brown, Ryan Nakade, Jenn Beard, Brett Gaylor, Paul Johnson, and Kevin Zawacki |
TRANSCRIPT
Thank you Mr. President, thank you Justice Kennedy. It is the highest honor to serve on The Supreme Court of the United States. And as a serving member for almost two years now, it's time to set the record straight.
Did I ever knowingly sexually assault anyone? Absolutely not, not in high school, not ever. Did I ever do anything that I didn't think was sexual assault, but might be sexual assault in the way we rightly understand it today? Well, that's a different question.
The truth is, as I've reflected since the hearings, I don't know if I ever committed what today would be considered sexual assault.
But what I do know is: it's possible....that I committed....sexual assault. I do know that Christine Blasey-Ford has endured a tremendous amount of pain over the course of her life. And I know that I responded to her allegations with defensiveness, partisanship, and a disregard for the public good — which only exacerbated her pain, along with that of my family, and that of our country. And for that, I take responsibility, and I apologize.
What I also know is: I missed an opportunity for leadership. I missed an opportunity to secure my place on the Supreme Court in a way that advanced the cause for women — a cause I support. I missed an opportunity to keep the Supreme Court above partisan politics — which may be an impossible ideal, but one I aspire to. I missed that opportunity. So I’d like to take that opportunity now…...and say:
The way women are treated in this country is changing, and thank God. Historically, women like Christine Blasey-Ford and Deborah Ramirez didn't have recourse in cases of sexual abuse — especially when the alleged perpetrator was a man of power. Today, powerful perpetrators are being exposed, tried, and imprisoned.
And some men are getting caught in the crossfire of change. Some men are getting caught treating women in ways that were once considered "normal" (which never made them right), but are now socially inappropriate, if not illegal. It may seem unfair to the man being held accountable to standards he didn't grow up with, but as they say: evolution is beautiful, but it's not pretty.
So to the men of this country — to the men leading this country: whatever we might think about my confirmation process, there's a bigger process of social progress that I want us to celebrate and support. The ability of women with credible allegations against powerful men to come forward and be heard is something I want us to celebrate and support. The #MeToo movement in conjunction due process is something I want us to celebrate and support. Evolution is beautiful, but it's not pretty.
#MeToo isn't just a reckoning with sexual abuse of power — it's a reckoning with how we deal with sexual abuse of power. For the high-profile men who are credibly accused, it's a reckoning with how we are or in most cases are not using our positions of power to take responsibility and leadership. And for the #MeToo movement, it's a reckoning with whether you make room for accused men to do that.
Now, I didn't write these words. I've never said them, and I don't necessarily agree with all of them. But I agree with enough of them, and am committed enough to taking leadership on the cause for women, that I pledge to give this speech in my own words. Please make enough room for me to do that.
Did I ever knowingly sexually assault anyone? Absolutely not, not in high school, not ever. Did I ever do anything that I didn't think was sexual assault, but might be sexual assault in the way we rightly understand it today? Well, that's a different question.
The truth is, as I've reflected since the hearings, I don't know if I ever committed what today would be considered sexual assault.
But what I do know is: it's possible....that I committed....sexual assault. I do know that Christine Blasey-Ford has endured a tremendous amount of pain over the course of her life. And I know that I responded to her allegations with defensiveness, partisanship, and a disregard for the public good — which only exacerbated her pain, along with that of my family, and that of our country. And for that, I take responsibility, and I apologize.
What I also know is: I missed an opportunity for leadership. I missed an opportunity to secure my place on the Supreme Court in a way that advanced the cause for women — a cause I support. I missed an opportunity to keep the Supreme Court above partisan politics — which may be an impossible ideal, but one I aspire to. I missed that opportunity. So I’d like to take that opportunity now…...and say:
The way women are treated in this country is changing, and thank God. Historically, women like Christine Blasey-Ford and Deborah Ramirez didn't have recourse in cases of sexual abuse — especially when the alleged perpetrator was a man of power. Today, powerful perpetrators are being exposed, tried, and imprisoned.
And some men are getting caught in the crossfire of change. Some men are getting caught treating women in ways that were once considered "normal" (which never made them right), but are now socially inappropriate, if not illegal. It may seem unfair to the man being held accountable to standards he didn't grow up with, but as they say: evolution is beautiful, but it's not pretty.
So to the men of this country — to the men leading this country: whatever we might think about my confirmation process, there's a bigger process of social progress that I want us to celebrate and support. The ability of women with credible allegations against powerful men to come forward and be heard is something I want us to celebrate and support. The #MeToo movement in conjunction due process is something I want us to celebrate and support. Evolution is beautiful, but it's not pretty.
#MeToo isn't just a reckoning with sexual abuse of power — it's a reckoning with how we deal with sexual abuse of power. For the high-profile men who are credibly accused, it's a reckoning with how we are or in most cases are not using our positions of power to take responsibility and leadership. And for the #MeToo movement, it's a reckoning with whether you make room for accused men to do that.
Now, I didn't write these words. I've never said them, and I don't necessarily agree with all of them. But I agree with enough of them, and am committed enough to taking leadership on the cause for women, that I pledge to give this speech in my own words. Please make enough room for me to do that.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.