Even so, Hill’s impact was profound: the month after
her testimony, Congress passed a law extending the rights
of sexual-harassment victims. And the following year, the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received a
50% increase in sexual-harassment complaints than it had
the year before. Hill continued her career as an author,
commentator and professor, focusing on equality.
Her story was drawn back into the debate in 2018,
when Christine Blasey Ford accused Supreme Court nom-
inee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they
were teens. Like Thomas, Kavanaugh denied it and was
confirmed, stirring up the same lasting questions about
gender and power. But as more women come forward and
push for change, Hill’s courageous voice resounds.
1992
Sinead O’Connor
Prescient messenger
On Oct. 3, 1992, Sinead O’Connor
turned her Saturday Night Live
performance into a fierce political
statement. Eyes ablaze, voice quaking
with rage, O’Connor ripped apart a
photograph of Pope John Paul II, after
replacing a lyric from Bob Marley’s
“War” with the words child abuse. A
few weeks later, she revealed that as
a teen she had suffered abuse at the
hands of the Catholic Church. She
was still widely condemned—and her
career took a significant blow. In 2010,
O’Connor offered an explanation: “I
wanted to force a conversation where
there was a need for one; that is part of
being an artist.”
Today, entertainers often speak
out about their personal experiences;
back then, it was less common. As an
Irishwoman, O’Connor was aware of the
danger of criticizing a powerful entity
like the church. She took that risk in
order to publicly demand justice for
children who were sexually abused by
members of the clergy. Nine years after
her performance, Pope John Paul II
acknowledged and apologized for the
church’s long history of sexual abuse. In
recent years, O’Connor has been vocal
about her mental- health struggles, once
again laying herself bare for the world.
She remains an example of the power
of provoking necessary, if unpopular,
conversations—and the courage it takes
to do so. —Olivia WildeWilde is a director and actorHILL IS SWORN
IN BEFORE
TESTIFYING
IN FRONT OF
THE SENATE
JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE
IN 1991AUNG SAN SUU KYI: AUSTRAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; HILL: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; O’CONNOR: YVONNE HEMSEY—GETTY IMAGES^79