Portuguese footballer and 5 time Balon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of rape by an American woman, Kathryn Mayorga. The alleged offence occurred in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009, shortly before his then world record transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid. It is further alleged that Ronaldo’s legal team facilitated a pay off to Mayorga, in return for her silence. The footballer vehemently denies the allegation.
German magazine Der Spiegel first reported the story in 2016, stating that leaked documents they had seen showed that Cristiano Ronaldo, acting under the pseudonym ‘Topher’ had paid damages of around $350,000 to an at-the-time unnamed victim of rape. A year later, Kathryn Mayorga, 34, broke her silence to confirm that she is the alleged victim named in the documents. In the interview, she describes her alleged ordeal and the subsequent emotional torture and regret at signing a Non Disclosure Agreement and goes on to express her desire to pursue the matter in a civil court.
Two of Ronaldo’s closest commercial partners, Nike and EA Sports have released statements stating their awareness of the matter and discomfort but as of yet no one has broken ties. The former company is rumoured to have recently signed a near £1 billion deal with the footballer and the latter publishes the hugely popular FIFA game series of which 10 million copies were sold last year, many of which to children. There can be no mistaking that this matter pertains to an extremely influential global figure, one who has millions of young fans who look up to him, dream of being him and often imitate his behaviours. In terms of a role model for boys and young men, you might struggle to find another with this sort of profile.
In early October, US police in the state of Nevada reopened the investigation into Cristiano Ronaldo and thus, due to the ongoing legal process, we shall not be commenting on the details of the case. Rather, in this instance, we intend to cast a light on the abhorrent and toxic behaviour of his supporters on social media, in the aftermath of the allegation. Due to the content of the posts, we have elected not to reproduce them on this platform.
Characterised by violently misogynistic language and aggressive rhetoric toward both the alleged victim and others speaking out on her behalf and against abuse in general, these largely anonymous accounts appear to take the allegations as an attack on masculinity. Ironically, their behaviour does more to reinforce the assertion that the internet can be a toxic environment for women and vulnerable people than disprove it. Moreover, it actually displays precisely why many victims are afraid of speaking out.
Calling themselves ‘’men’s rights activists (MRAs)”, these individuals seek to drown out the victims of abuse many of whom have been emboldened to tell their stories by the #MeToo phenomenon. They argue that women who allege sexual abuse against rich and powerful men do so for financial gain or “for attention”, a quite ludicrous idea considering the poisonous nature of the discourse awaiting anyone brave enough to speak out. In this instance, there seems to be an outright disbelief that someone as handsome and famous as Cristiano Ronaldo could find himself accused of rape (NB: this site makes no comment regarding guilt and reaffirms that Ronaldo vehemently denies the allegations against him). This is, of course, a fundamental misunderstanding of the context which surrounds crimes like rape and is further evidence of the ignorance which accompanies the topic. Clearly a lack of education is an aggravating factor in the sorts of behaviours exhibited by online trolls and in this case, tackling that is of paramount importance.
It seems striking in scenarios such as this that in a culture of idolatry, there is a distinct lack of ability to disassociate the idol from the behaviour of the idol. The fans of a superstar like Cristiano Ronaldo, or Johnny Depp (also previously accused of abuse) appear to find it impossible to condemn their actions and in the specific instance of the Portuguese footballer, his fans seem uniquely drawn to outright sycophancy. Indeed, part of the player’s mystique and image over the years has tended to demand such levels of adoration. The introduction of anonymised social media accounts in the context of serious criminal allegations has proven to be a toxic combination.
Whilst this kind of online activity can easily be dismissed as just another form of trolling, it’s hard to see that this kind of behaviour isn’t directly contributory to the fears which inhibit victims of abuse from coming forward. The manner in which these anonymous accounts hunt in packs, shouting down critics of their idols appears analogous to the actions of far-right political movements who’ve chosen social media as their battleground. Worryingly, these social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook seem even less able to tackle online misogyny and rape apologia than they are at banning Nazis. And they’re famously unable at doing that.
There is no denying that there has been an enormous change in the landscape on social media in the last few years yet there is a fear that has only served to entrench the perception that men are under attack and creating a doubling down effect on their online behaviour. The misguided sense of oppression coupled with centuries of reinforced privilege has undoubtedly had a toxifying influence on online discourse and ultimately no one is winning. The victims of abuse, not least men and boys who have survived abuse (yes, they do exist) deserve better than this cesspit of vile behaviour.
Sadly, there is no magic formula to end online abuse. The social media companies have much greater responsibility than they are currently taking, to ban offenders and make online spaces, safe spaces, for everyone. And men, guilty of this sort of pathetic behaviour or not, have a responsibility to call it out, in social groups and online and make it clear to their friends and colleagues that misogyny has no place in any society.
Just Stop It.
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