In the realm of entertainment, one of the things that gain a lot of popularity are public figures who step into the light about their romantic relationships. Whether they’re famous couples who met on a film set or through their shared passions, their love becomes a topic that their respective fanbases become attached to. While there are instances where fans can be a bit nitpicky over the partner that their idol chooses, they’re quite supportive of the pairing most of the time.
However, what happens when a relationship inevitably ends, either amicably or messily? Fans, the media, and even people who just happen to see the news on their timelines would dig deep into what caused it. They’d look through their Instagram profiles and recent activities, trying their best to figure out what happened and who was to blame. But more often than not, people tend to point their fingers towards the woman.
For instance, the gaming community was in an uproar over the reported breakup of popular streamers Kyedae Shymko and Tyson “Tenz” Ngo. After being together for over six years and doing almost everything with each other, the pair decided to call it quits once they realized that they needed to grow as individuals. Kyedae went as far as assuring the public that it was a mutual breakup and that there wasn’t any cheating or resentment involved.
However, there had been various reactions from their respective fanbases. While some expressed their sadness and disappointment since the pair had been engaged back in 2022 and Tenz had loyally stayed by Kyedae’s side while she was battling cancer, there were others who took it to the next level. Rumors began to spread that Kyedae had actually been cheating on Tenz with voice actor John Choi. People also began to paint her in a bad light by saying she was ungrateful for the efforts that TenZ had made for her while she was going through chemotherapy, with others also spreading the false narrative that he had donated bone marrow to her.
Another instance of people putting the blame on women for a failed relationship was the issue between singers Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Joshua Bassett. Back in 2021, Olivia had released her hit song “Drivers License,” which many fans have determined was about her breakup with Joshua, who had been her co-star in the Disney+ show, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Since the song mentioned a “blonde girl,” many immediately believed that this was Sabrina, considering how she was dating Joshua at the time.
This ignited a plethora of hate towards Sabrina, with many accusing her of being a “homewrecker” and going as far as sending her death threats. She eventually released a song in response to the whole drama called “Because I Liked A Boy,” where she talked about how the hate towards her came just as she broke up with Joshua already. Strangely enough, some fans soon began turning on Olivia, criticizing how she didn’t speak up to defend Sabrina when she was receiving so much hate.
This issue, along with that of Kyedae and TenZ, is unfortunately not a situation limited to the generation that has been fully exposed to the internet. These instances of women being vilified for the end of relationships has been around even before social media platforms were a thing. Tabloids and magazines have usually covered these topics, with many women ending up being painted in a bad light for failing to hold a relationship together or being the cause of one ending.
An article from Queen’s University Journal pointed out that despite being famous, female celebrities still receive more hate than their male counterparts, even if it doesn’t necessarily make sense. The fact that this idea is still rampant today is disheartening, especially if one starts to dissect the criticisms thrown towards women. Misogyny makes it so that a woman can only be wrong and that the narrative will favor men more often than not.
Fortunately, many people have been recognizing these patterns of pitting women against women and vilifying a woman for a relationship that needed to end. There have been many who speak up against backwards narratives of how women should bear the responsibility for the success of their relationships. While there is still a lot to be done to fight off ideas that have long been ingrained in society, the fact that the unnecessary hate towards women are being addressed just goes to show that we’re finally getting somewhere. We just have to keep vying for the day where women don’t have to take all the blame anymore.
Sources:
- Women Are Always To Blame! – https://www.patrickwanis.com/women-are-always-to-blame/#:~:text=Now%2C%20let’s%20talk%20about%20the,women%20are%20always%20to%20blame!%E2%80%9D
- TenZ responds after viral posts accuse Kyedae of cheating, clarifies John Choi trip and calls rumors harmful (Buzzfeed) – https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/messy-celeb-divorces-and-breakups
- TenZ responds after viral posts accuse Kyedae of cheating, clarifies John Choi trip and calls rumors harmful (MSN) – https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/tenz-responds-after-viral-posts-accuse-kyedae-of-cheating-clarifies-john-choi-trip-and-calls-rumors-harmful/ar-AA1W5hzs?apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1
- What Went Wrong? TenZ and Kyedae Announce Breakup After Long-Term Relationship (Sunday Guardian) – https://sundayguardianlive.com/entertainment-news/what-went-wrong-tenz-and-kyedae-announce-breakup-after-long-term-relationship-169175/
- Fame doesn’t save women from misogyny (Queen’s University Journal) – https://www.queensjournal.ca/fame-doesnt-save-women-from-misogyny/
Bio:
Ever since she was nine, Abigail Adriatico has always known she’d be a writer. Decades later, her love for the craft has led to a degree in Communication from the University of Santo Tomas, and hundreds of written pieces kept in old notebooks, literary folios, news publications, and even geeky websites you’ve probably never heard of. With a bulky bag filled with sentimental trinkets and a mind buzzing with a plethora of random ideas, you’ll most likely find her in the corner of the room, writing her heart out on her notes app or on the first piece of paper she can grab—unless she finds you first. Then you’ll probably figure out why some people call her “a bee.”
