If you live on the internet like I do, you’ve probably been privy to the whole “Jonah Hill is a narcissist” (misogynist/ sociopath/ insecure fuck) debacle. I’ve read enough about it to form an opinion but this is not about that. If you’re not sure how to feel about it because you are conflicted both about Hill’s “boundaries” and his ex Sarah Brady’s motives to reveal the damaging texts a year after their breakup, I encourage you to read this House Inhabit piece, which was probably my favourite thinkpiece so far and written by people who seem to actually know all of those strangers and have a lot more information than what we’re being fed by various gossip screamers.
I went to Brady’s Instagram account to see the Stories where she posted the texts and today, I went back to immerse myself again in the story that is absolutely none of my or your business but that’s what the internet does; it makes it our business so I’m not going to apologize for being curious. Somewhere on the stories, Brady posted two more explainers about her choice of timeline, specifically voicemails talking about why she decided to wait a year to reveal the texts from Hill — the texts that, in short, told Brady that her posting photos “in a bathing suit” and being friends with “women who are in unstable places” violated his boundaries and made him not want to be with her (but he was happy to support her work as a friend).
In the voicemails, Brady revealed that she had waited with the reveal until after Hill’s pregnant current girlfriend gave birth to their baby so that the girlfriend wouldn’t be stressed during the pregnancy and so that “her friends would make an effort to protect her.” Brady went on to say she did it so that “she [Hill’s current girlfriend] could have the information and make an informed decision of how she wanted to care for herself and her baby.”
What decision?
You see, this revealer of truth, this survivor of “emotional abuse” of a “narcissist” and a “misogynist” (her words), is very publicly trying to manipulate another woman into making some kind of a statement about the man who is her partner and who she’s probably building the life with (if the baby is any indication). Brady could’ve just left it at he-was-bad-now-I’m-healing but no, she is trying to involve another woman under the guise of… helping her?
We have no idea what sort of a boyfriend Hill is to this new woman, if he’s perhaps acting less insecure (or “narcissistic”) around her, or if maybe their idea of a romantic relationship aligns perfectly with their more conservative values, if they are perhaps just happy. Or if he is still confused about what “boundaries” are and they’re terribly unhappy, who knows. We don’t know. But now that the voice mail is out there in public, we know that something needs to be done to protect this poor woman because Brady called it, Brady who is a hero for sharing her story and who’s an authority on Jonah Hill and what boundaries aren’t even when someone calls them so.
But what happens if this other woman, Hill’s current partner, dares to refuse this protection and what if she doesn’t leave him, and doesn’t take her baby with her —doesn’t “care for herself and her baby” — and doesn’t run away from this horrible, disgusting abuser? What does this say about this woman? Won’t her inaction say to the world that that she doesn’t care for herself and her baby? That she’s perhaps okay with endangering herself and her baby by staying with Hill?!
Anyway. If that isn’t the most insidious public shaming of another woman, I don’t know what is.
Great piece and I also love House Inhabit and yet oddly detest that I am so invested in these strangers, too