S4 E18 - How is Cassie Ventura like George Floyd?

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.

Transcript

The Tenth Man: 0:00

What happens when a woman shoots her husband? The media asks"What drove her to it"? But when a man hits his girlfriend, they don't ask. They condemn. Double standards. Selective outrage. Today on the 10th man. Woman kills husband-Gets five years. Cassie Ventura Assaulted. Man Kills Wife, Sentenced to Life. Today we're talking about violence, but not just any violence. Domestic violence and more specifically how the media decides whose violence to explain and who's to condemn. We're going to expose the double standard, the one no one else talks about. The one where a woman who kills her husband gets a dozen news articles about her emotional trauma, but a man who hits his girlfriend gets a thousand headlines screaming"Monster". Let's be clear. Violence is wrong. But so is ignoring the facts that lead up to it. When a man attacks a woman, the story is simple. Villain victim, case closed. But when a woman commits violence, suddenly it's complicated. She's described as a mother, a survivor, someone who just snapped after years of pain. Journalists dig for motives, for trauma, for justifications. Same act, different coverage, different consequences. And this isn't just a media trend, it shows up in the justice system too. A study from the University of Michigan Law School found that men receive 63% longer sentences than women for the exact same crimes, even after controlling for offense type and criminal history. Women are also twice as likely to avoid jail time altogether. So yes, our institutions reflect the same bias we see in the press. A man who lashes out is a"monster", a woman who stabs her husband. She's just troubled. Let's examine how the media handles cases involving female perpetrators of domestic violence. Ellen Gilland, age 76, shot her terminally ill husband in a Florida hospital. She called it a mercy killing. She received one year of prison. The media focused on her grief, not the homicide. Wendy Bowers shot her husband to death. In May, 2025 she was sentenced to six months in jail and probation for manslaughter. The media coverage was minimal. There was little public outcry. Melody Johnson an Arizona woman attempted to poison her husband by pouring bleach into his coffee on two occasions. Despite being caught on camera and initially charged with attempted murder, she received three years of probation in 2024, after a plea deal. Compare these cases to similar acts committed by men. Do the headlines mention their heartbreak, their stress, their fear? No. They go straight to killer. That brings us to Sean Diddy Combs and Cassie Ventura. Yes, the footage of Diddy attacking Cassie in the hallway is disturbing, and yes, there are serious allegations. But what happened before that moment in the hallway? Where's the reporting on Cassie'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 videos of her. She said, you're lying about my effing life. I want to kill you, cut you up and put you in the effing dirt. That's not passive victimhood. That's aggression. And it wasn't just Diddy. Testimony from Kid Cudi reveals Cassie was romantically involved with both men without either one knowing. She misled them, played them against each other. When Cudi tried to walk away, his car blew up in his driveway, and eventually Cassie did leave Diddy for another man. Then she sued and walked away with a$20 million settlement. The media calls it justice. If the roles were reversed, what would they call it? Extortion? Revenge? Abuse? And here's a quiet question for those 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 were rolling and the money was on the table? She had options. She had choices. She had power. If we're going to celebrate female 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 acts and still get sympathy. Take George Floyd, who's now being celebrated. The media turned him into a martyr, but in 2007, he held a loaded gun to a pregnant woman's stomach during a home invasion. That didn't stop the idolization. No one asked what his victims went through. No one made that part of the story. Then there's Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the illegal immigrant who sparked outrage after being deported. He was a convicted domestic abuser. He pleaded guilty under the Biden administration and he was deported under Trump, and still the press painted him as a victim, not the woman he abused, not the system he exploited. Him. So let's get this straight. Some men who beat women get a halo if they're politically useful. Others who may have been provoked, deceived, or manipulated are burned at the stake. That's not equality. That's narrative control. Now, flip the roles. Imagine a man was the one lying to two women. Playing them against each other. Caught on tape, threatening to kill someone. Now imagine the woman in that relationship lashed out just once, and then the man sued her. Would the media call him a survivor? Would they say she was the real aggressor? Of course not. They'd mock him. They'd say he was weak, that he got what was coming to him. Because when a woman lashes out, the media rushes to ask why. But when a man does, they don't ask. They judge. None of this excuses Diddy's violence. If he's guilty, he should face justice, period. But justice means looking at the full story. Not just the frame that flatters the politically favored narrative. Because when a woman manipulates, threatens, cheats, lies, or escalates a conflict, that's not a footnote. That's part of the picture. And if we keep erasing that part, we're not just failing men, we're failing the truth. If you want real equality, start with real accountability. Don't settle for half the story. Demand the whole thing.