Why The Lack Of Sympathy For Melissa George Is Disgusting And Dangerous!

Aussie actress Melissa George appeared on television over the weekend where she spoke openly about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex- partner in Paris. It was a hard interview to watch and one which clearly showed a distraught mum in desperate need of help and guidance. She is currently living in Paris with her kids and due to court orders she is unable to leave the country with her two young boys.

Ordinarily a story like this would invoke feelings of sympathy toward the victim- and let’s not forget that’s exactly what Melissa is- a victim of domestic violence. But something disgusting happened following the airing of the interview.

Viewers took to social media like moths to a flame and spewed so much hatred and disrespect towards a woman who was hurt and vulnerable that personally it made me embarrassed to call myself an Aussie.

Here’s just a little a little snippet:

“People say Men should treat women better … I say a Lady should be more careful who she spends her time with …”. “maybe he just had enough of your rot too … he’s human. we all have a snapping point..” “Who was taking ice? Him or her?” “You can’t believe a word she says … Why didn’t they interview her ex?”

Perhaps the reason Australia has turned against Melissa is because she did the same to us several years ago. In 2012 when a morning show host asked her about her Home And Away character Angel, she snapped. Apparently she’s had enough of being typecast as a soapie actress and let the Australian media know she wasn’t happy with the constant reminders.

“I love this city [Sydney] so much. And I want to come home a lot but the stress that this has created in me is not worthy of my health. I think it will be the last time I visit and work here for a while, to be honest, because I just get too upset coming home.

I don’t need credibility from my country anymore, I just need them all to be quiet. If they have nothing intelligent to say, please don’t speak to me anymore.

I’d rather be having a croissant in Paris or walking my French bulldog in New York City. I’m not going to be a good Aussie anymore. I’m going to speak out. I’ve just had it. It’s disgusting. I’ve never spoken out about it because I have to be the loyal good Aussie who goes away and comes home but I’m really hard-working and people have to respect me for what I’ve done,” she said.

And there you have it. Some people just can’t seem to move past the fact she rejected us- so to pay her back – they too are doing the same. Except it’s much more dangerous for anyone to lay blame on Melissa George for what happened to her in Paris and it’s absolutely sickening to read comments that suggests she perhaps bought it on herself.

“If you bag out Australia then you are not entitled to any empathy ever again in your entire life.” “Oh now she is sorry, how convenient.” “She was too good for Australia when all was going well with her … just deal with this yourself sweetheart. The rest of us are not interested” “Silly girl …”

Wow! Just wow! The scary thing isn’t even these comments- it’s the fact these comments were liked by so many members of the community. People out there who can’t look at Melissa George and see the victim that she is. What message does this send women who are in abusive relationships and are struggling to get out. They can’t leave because they have kids. They can’t leave because he promised it would be the last time. They can’t leave because they’re broke and have no-where to go. They can’t leave because deep down they believe it’s their fault- that they should just stick around and try and fix things. Then those same women jump online and see the disgusting way Melissa George has been treated. So now they feel like they definitely deserve to be hit, to be yelled at or to have their kids taken away from them.

I don’t care if Melissa George said she never wants to return to Australia ever again. I don’t even give a shit if she comes across all up herself and acts like she’s better than all of us. What I do care about is my fellow sister who has let herself fall in love with a monster who looked perfectly normal when they first met. A man, sorry not a man- a piece of shit, that can somehow justify in his own head that leaving bruises on a woman’s face is okay. I don’t care is Melissa provoked him, or shoved him or just snapped and lost her cool. I care that we are somehow judging her behaviour instead of questioning his.

When are we going to stop victim blaming and shaming. It is NEVER a woman’s fault when she gets hit or raped. I don’t care how you want to rationalise it in your head but it’s just not! And to start blaming someone like Melissa George for the violence she suffered at the hands of her partner is just plain dangerous- because then what hope do all of us have?