Today, to do actual or alleged wrong is to risk facing a “shame storm.” It’s really of no particular matter whether it’s Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s wicked record of alleged sexual assault or a random young woman going viral for wearing a Chinese-style dress to her prom. The Twitter mob will pounce regardless, and as the shame storm foments, those caught in its path can only hope the news cycle will pull its wrath elsewhere.
Whether the wrongdoing is real or merely alleged, what remains unclear is how one ought to respond. When outrage is based on allegations alone, is an indignation like that expressed by now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh warranted? When wrongdoing is evident, like in the case of actor-turned-alleged-sexual-predator Kevin Spacey, is an attempt at a comeback possible?
It’s hard to say. But a few of the elite parents implicated in the recent college admissions scandal seem to have gotten it right.
In March, the absurd college admissions scam was dragged into the light. At the heart of it were parents turned perpetrators: mostly CEOs and Hollywood elites, including American darlings Felicity Huffman from “Desperate Housewives” and Lori Loughlin from “Full House.” These parents paid William Singer, the founder of the Edge College & Career Network, a college prep business known as “The Key,” serious cash for falsified and fraudulent standardized test scores, as well as fake photos and records that transformed their average high school children into star athletes. This network of fraud was so expansive that it has become the Justice Department’s largest college admissions prosecution to date.
On April 8, alleged misconduct became actual misconduct for actress Felicity Huffman, 12 other parents, and one coach, all of whom will plead guilty. Huffman, by far the most famous of the defrauders, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The penalty of mainstream ridicule aside, prosecutors are planning to ask for jail time for all defendants. Put differently, having already borne brutal guilty verdicts in the court of public opinion, these parents might also have to atone behind bars for their wrongdoing.
In the face of public awe at the oh-so-rare possibility of celebrity jail time, several of the parents who pleaded guilty have fully acknowledged their sins, withholding even an ask for forgiveness. In particular, Huffman’s response provides a powerful example of what public atonement for wrongdoing can look like when an offender issues an unequivocal acknowledgment of wrongdoing. In her statement, Huffman wrote:
More important than this unreserved apology is what follows: an acknowledgment of the pain Huffman caused all parties involved, including her daughter (who Huffman says was unaware of the scam) and “the students who work hard every day to get into college.”
At the heart of Huffman’s statement, and the reason it might give us hope as a model for others similarly situated, is that she recognizes that her “misguided and profoundly wrong” actions “betrayed” both her daughter and the public.
Huffman’s unreserved acknowledgment of the pain she caused her daughter and others and, more importantly, her willingness to take whatever charges are handed to her show that Huffman is not just virtue signaling for the public but that she’s submitting to public opinion and the judgment of the law. Whereas most public figures apologize only to deflect guilt and save face, Huffman’s admission of wrongdoing is an example of genuine atonement in a world where online judgment can be more devastating than legal outcomes.
It’s unlikely that the shame storms defining our current cultural and political moment will cease in the years to come. Until then, prominent figures accused and prosecuted for wrongdoing must make genuine, public-facing acts of atonement. Huffman, even though her conduct could change and her case remains to be settled, presents a response appropriate to our moment. Those found guilty of misconduct and in the path of a shame storm would be wise to follow her lead.
Jacob Bruggeman is a Young Voices contributor and a Joanna Jackson Goldman Scholar at Miami University, where he studies history and political science. Next year he will begin an master of philosophy in economic and social history at Cambridge University.
