Twenty-seven years after testifying that Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her, Anita Hill is weighing in on the sexual misconduct claims surrounding current Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying she believes his upcoming Senate hearing is “not going to be fair.”
Hill voiced her concerns in an interview with the Associated Press that was published on Wednesday morning shortly before a third woman publicly accused Kavanuagh of sexual misconduct, including the drugging and “gang rape” of girls while he was in high school. Kavanaugh is set to testify on Thursday on accusations he attempted to sexually assault a woman, Christine Blasey Ford, in high school.
However, Hill doesn’t expect the hearing to be worthwhile. “The reason I think it’s not going to be fair is that it doesn’t give you all the information,” she said. “And I believe it is designed to pit his word against hers, and we know that [he] has all of the power of the presidency behind him. And she doesn’t.”
Hill added, “it’s hard for me to imagine it can be fair,” pointing to the hearing not allowing testimony from potential witnesses and the lack of an FBI investigation. Hill declined to give advice to Ford ahead of her testimony, saying “it’s unprofessional as a lawyer” and “insensitive as a human being” to “mete out personal advice to someone you don’t know.”
And the 62-year-old believes whether Kavanaugh is ultimately appointed to the Supreme Court or not isn’t a referendum on the entire #MeToo movement. “A lot is different now,” Hill said, since her 1991 testimony. “A number of powerful men have been held accountable. I don’t think any one episode is going to define a whole movement.
“Remember, #MeToo is about raising awareness. Just because the Senate’s awareness hasn’t been raised, doesn’t mean that the rest of us haven’t evolved and learned,” she told the AP.
On Tuesday, Bill Cosby became the first celebrity to be convicted for sexual assault since the movement started in late 2017.