Abstract
Rape cases of celebrities and other influential figures have caught the public eye in recent years. Following the media attention to these cases, people made strong judgments either believing or doubting the victims. Even though some of these men were convicted, they tended to receive little jail time and continued to enjoy people’s sympathy, as in the case of the Hungarian national swimming-coach. We examined whether opinions about the coach’s rape were affected by rape myth acceptance (RMA) and the perception of the perpetrator as a successful person. We conducted two online surveys to reveal this connection at two different points. The case was still somewhat ambiguous at the time of data collection for Study 1 (N = 870) because the perpetrator denied it. However, Study 2 (N = 105) took place after the perpetrator admitted his crime. In line with our predictions, we found that in the uncertain context of Study 1, RMA and the perception of the perpetrator as a successful person predicted whether respondents labeled the incident as rape, and how the perpetrator’s reactions were judged morally. In the certain condition of Study 2, RMA continued to predict moral judgments, but it no longer predicted whether the incident was labeled as rape. These findings showed that in the evaluation of a rape case of a popular and powerful person, perception of the perpetrator’s success can affect the overall evaluation of the case based on the level of RMA. However, such a connection is more pronounced when there are still ambiguities regarding the rape. We therefore suggest that both RMA and the effect of the overall perception of the perpetrator are considered in rape prevention programs, because rape cases rarely appear as certain and unambiguous in the media.
Highlights
Following the revelations of the Harvey Weinstein case and the related public outrage, perpetrators of sexual abuse faced more serious consequences, such as termination of contracts and damage to their public image
Discussion of Study 1 We hypothesized that higher rape myth acceptance (RMA) would predict less severe moral judgment of the case and lower likelihood of labeling the case as rape, and this connection would be mediated by giving importance to the positive perception of the perpetrator as a swimmer and swimming coach
We expected that RMA would continue to predict the moral judgment of the case and this would continue to be mediated by perceiving the perpetrator as a successful swimmer/swimming coach
Summary
Following the revelations of the Harvey Weinstein case and the related public outrage, perpetrators of sexual abuse faced more serious consequences, such as termination of contracts and damage to their public image This has not been and is not always the case when it comes to sexual offense committed by famous people. This is not to say that they were not affected by the consequences of their offense, but against popular belief, rape accusations do not always mean the end of the perpetrator’s career and popularity. We examined why a famous person can get away with rape (regardless of the fact that others may be judged extremely harshly for committing the same crime)
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