Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Celebrity Rhetoric and Sexual Misconduct Cases: Discursive Self-Cleaving

Celebrity Rhetoric and Sexual Misconduct Cases: Discursive Self-Cleaving

McDonnell, Andrea

Paperback

Series: Routledge Focus on Communication Studies

General ReferenceCriminology

ISBN10: 1032461136
ISBN13: 9781032461137
Publisher: Routledge
Published: Sep 29 2025
Pages: 96
Weight: 0.30
Height: 0.23 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English

This book considers the rhetorical strategies used by celebrities and their surrogates and attorneys when faced with claims of sexual misconduct.

During the past five years, a series of public figures has claimed that their celebrity persona is distinct from their real self as a way of eluding allegations of sexual misconduct in the courthouse and in the court of public opinion. This book examines three case studies in which such claims were employed, namely Terry Bollea/Hulk Hogan, President Donald Trump/Reality Show Host Donald Trump, and R. Kelly/Robert Kelly, to assess the mediated and legal communicative strategies used and their potential implications. Using a technique which the author calls discursive self-cleaving, these stars strategically craft statements on social media, in the press, and in the courtroom to create a discourse that works to shift blame away from their behavior. The book also traces the relationship between these discursive approaches and the politics of sexual violence and domestic abuse during the early months of the #MeToo movement and beyond.

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