Supporting Casey Anthony as an influencer is an insult to the women who truly have been mistreated by the justice system
In a country where there is no shortage of women who have been victimized by the justice system through wrongful convictions, biased trials, or judgment of their character, I can’t comprehend why TikTok users are choosing to put their support and energy behind Casey Anthony of all people.
After years of silence, Anthony abruptly resurfaced on TikTok, announcing she was pursuing a social media career as a “legal advocate.” She urged users to follow and subscribe to her Substack, which costs $10 a month. In a TikTok video, Anthony claimed she was advocating for herself, her daughter, the LGBTQ+ community, and women. She appears to be testing the waters to see if she’s far enough removed from her murder trial to have a social media presence. In 2008, Anthony was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. When Caylee was first reported missing by Anthony’s mother, Cindy Anthony, Anthony admitted she hadn’t seen Caylee for thirty days and thought she might have been kidnapped, but never reported it to the police.
While Anthony was acquitted of the first-degree murder charge, she spent four years in prison on multiple charges of providing false information to law enforcement. She was found to have told the police numerous lies about her daughter’s whereabouts, including completely fabricating a story about hiring a nanny and speaking to Caylee after she went missing. Many Americans suspect she only evaded a murder conviction because the prosecution couldn’t prove it. Even if she is innocent of murder, she’s still very much guilty of not only failing to care about her daughter’s whereabouts for 30 days but impeding search efforts with her lies. Now, she wants to be a legal advocate.
Casey Anthony controversially joins TikTok
Predictably, Anthony’s arrival on TikTok was met with a wave of indignation and vitriol. Hundreds of creators made posts in Caylee’s honor and commented on Anthony’s post, telling her to get off the platform. However, what many were likely not expecting was for Anthony’s supporters to come forward. Anthony has managed to rack up over 60,000 followers on TikTok in a few days and 2,800 paid subscribers to her substack. On top of following and giving money to Anthony, several people have gone out of their way to leave comments and create videos claiming she was innocent, owed an apology, and that it’s not a big deal for her to monetize her story on TikTok and Substack.
It almost feels futile to argue with these people. You either see the problem, or you don’t. It doesn’t matter that she was found innocent because she was also found guilty. She was found guilty of nearly incriminating an innocent woman by making up a story about hiring Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez as a nanny and knowingly falsely accusing her of kidnapping Caylee. She was found guilty of lying to police, of not wanting to find justice for a baby, her baby, who was murdered. Anthony cannot be both an advocate for women and a person who knowingly tried to convict an innocent woman. She cannot be both an advocate for her daughter and someone who didn’t think her daughter mattered enough to report missing for 30 days or pursue justice for her.
Women have been historically mistreated by the justice system, but that’s not the case here
I have to admit, for a moment, I almost wanted to support Anthony simply because we need female influencers who have been through the justice system. The justice system is rife with mistreatment of women, and these stories just don’t get told or paid attention to.
We have stories like Amanda Knox and Rosa Jimenez, who spent years in prison on wrongful convictions. We haven’t even learned from these stories yet. Brenda Andrews is still on death row today, years after prosecutors used slut-shaming to convince the jury to sentence her to death. Karen Read is facing another trial even though investigators butchered evidence and were so misogynistic and biased towards her that it’s incomprehensible how she can receive a fair trial. Amber Heard’s trial and convictions were allowed to stand despite her ex-husband’s fans compromising the case by attacking witnesses and threatening to murder anyone who supported her. Kevin Franke was just given a docuseries to rehab his image after he abandoned his kids for a year, even as countless women have been charged for their partner’s abuse of a child due to failure to protect.
There are all these stories, and not nearly enough outrage and concern. People aren’t going out of their way to comment in defense or make videos vouching for these women who really have been hurt by the justice system, wrongfully judged, and owed an apology. These women aren’t poised to potentially earn hundreds of thousands of dollars from their Substack and join TikTok’s creator fund. We need women victims of the justice system to become legal advocates, but Anthony is not that person, and she doesn’t have to be that person. Stories of true mistreatment and misjudgment are not hard to find. Instead of spending time and energy defending the controversial Anthony, be a real advocate and highlight the stories of women who need to be heard. These stories have the potential to change the fate of future women in the justice system, while Anthony’s story only has the potential to hurt female suspects and give them a bad look.
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