As the jury continues deliberations in the Kyle Rittenhouse case, MSNBC host Joy Reid made a TikTok video comparing the 18-year-old to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for using "male white tears" as a ploy to defend himself from scrutiny and punishment.
Joy Reid compares #KyleRittennhouse to Brett Kavanaugh.
“In America… there’s a thing for white male tears… as soon as they get caught… they bring waterworks” pic.twitter.com/NnkJvHfl4c— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) November 17, 2021
"In America, there's a thing about both white vigilantism and white tears," Reid said. "Particularly male, white tears. Really, white tears in general, because that's what Karens are, right? They can Karen out and then as soon as they get caught, bring waterworks."
Rittenhouse, who is currently on trial for killing two people and injuring another person during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, broke down in tears. While testifying last week, Rittenhouse said that the shooting was done in self-defense as he was approached by a "mob" of protesters. He said victims Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, Anthony Huber, 26, and Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, came toward him with the intention of causing bodily harm.
“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me. I did what I had to do to stop the person who was attacking me,” Rittenhouse said after a brief recess.
Reid also brought up Kavanaugh's 2019 Supreme Court appointment, noting that his tears were heard over the voice of his alleged victim, Christine Blasey Ford, during the Senate hearing.
According to Vox, Ford testified to the Senate that she was attacked and sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh as a teenager, prompting a traumatic fear that followed her into adulthood. Ford's accusation was recorded by her therapist in 2012.
Kavanaugh rebutted Ford's accusations in a fiery statement, in which he also emotionally shed tears at the mention of his parents and children.
“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit,” he said, adding that it was “fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. This is a circus.”
Despite her testimony to the Senate, Kavanaugh was still appointed as a Supreme Court justice and remains one in spite of a separate impeachment attempt led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley.