Strength looks different for every survivor. When Cassie took the stand to testify against Diddy, when Halle Bailey sought a restraining order against DDG, when Megan Thee Stallion refused to be silenced—they showed us courage in action while facing relentless victim-blaming.

Why do we ask "Why didn't she leave?" instead of "Why was he violent?" The answer reveals our society's persistent tendency to hold everyone accountable for a man's violence except the man himself. Drawing from personal experience with psychological abuse, I share a frightening moment when an ex threatened suicide to prevent me from ending our relationship. The truth? Until you've been trapped in the fog of manipulation where your own reality becomes questionable, you cannot know what choices you would make.

Those who publicly blame victims aren't just hurting celebrities they'll never meet. They're sending clear messages to the one in four women and one in nine men in their actual lives who have experienced intimate partner violence: "I am not safe to confide in." Our words have consequences beyond our screens.

The contrast becomes even starker when examining cases like Adriana Smith's—a brain-dead pregnant woman in Georgia kept on life support against her family's wishes due to restrictive abortion laws. We're witnessing real-life scenarios that mirror dystopian fiction, where women's bodies become vessels, their autonomy sacrificed on the altar of control.

This episode celebrates women's resilience while acknowledging how exhausting the fight continues to be. For anyone reliving their trauma through these public cases, remember that how you navigated your situation was valid. You survived, and that alone is victory.