Him Too? Cristiano Ronaldo and the News Coverage of a Rape Case Allegation

ABSTRACT

This paper uses critical thematic analysis to explore the news media coverage of a rape allegation case against the football player Cristiano Ronaldo. After providing the context of the case, we examine the literature on how rape cases are represented by the news media. We then proceed to a critical thematic analysis of a purposive sample of Portuguese national newspapers, first identifying ten sub-themes in a total of 140 news stories and opinion columns and then considering the patterns of three critical themes that tended to dismiss the allegations, highlight the seriousness of the allegations and neutralize sexual victimization. Each of these considers prevailing ideologies, news values and journalistic practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Rape allegations
• sexual violence
• news coverage
• thematic analysis
• critical thematic analysis
• celebrities

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Maria João Silveirinha http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0702-3366

Rita Basílio Simões http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6356-6042

Thâmara Santos http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9605-0560

Notes

1 Ana Sá Lopes “Santo Ronaldo e as Prostitutas” (“Saint Ronaldo and the prostitutes”), Editorial for Jornal Público on 7 October 2018. The ironic editorial tone depicts the national sports hero status in the context of a problematic sexual national culture. The column is centerd on how the national celebrity was generally defended and the woman scorned, pointing out how this was part of a culture of machismo, cultivated by men and accepted by women, characterizing a country of “deep machismo rooted in vast parts of the female population will take centuries to disappear” (Idem).

2 Spiegel Online “How Ronaldo's Legal Team Dealt with Disaster” 8th October 2018 https://www.spiegel.de/international/how-ronaldo-legal-team-dealt-with-rape-accusations-a-1231779.html.

3 Spiegel Online “Cristiano Ronaldo's Secret” 19th April 2017 https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/der-spiegel-football-leaks-exclusive-cristiano-ronaldo-rape-allegation-a-1143910.html.

4 Spiegel Online “The Woman Who Accuses Ronaldo of Rape” 29th October 2018 https://www.spiegel.de/international/cristiano-ronaldo-kathryn-mayorga-the-woman-who-accuses-ronaldo-of-rape-a-1230634.html.

5 Reuters “Ronaldo lawyers to sue Der Spiegel over 'illegal' report” 29th September 2018 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-ronaldo/ronaldo-lawyers-to-sue-der-spiegel-over-illegal-report-idUSKCN1M90KY.

6 Jornal de Notícias “Advogados de norte-americana vão explicar queixa de violação contra Cristiano Ronaldo” 2th October 2018 https://www.jn.pt/desporto/canal/planeta-ronaldo/advogados-de-norte-americana-vao-explicar-queixa-de-violacao-contra-cristiano-ronaldo-9938229.html.

7 Spiegel Online “Cristiano Ronaldo's Secret” 19th April 2017 https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/der-spiegel-football-leaks-exclusive-cristiano-ronaldo-rape-allegation-a-1143910.html.

8 https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/2356228/no-charges-for-ronaldo.

9 According to data from Associação Portuguesa de Controlo de Tiragens e Circulação, the Portuguese Association which measures newspapers prints and circulation.

10 The ten initial themes were: Ronaldo social high life; Ronaldo as a national hero; Ronaldo is innocent; economic consequences; collateral damages; trivializing the allegations; women scorned/scrutiny of the complainant; complainant vulnerability; scrutiny of the accused; and deconstruction of rape myths.

11 Marialva is a term somewhat equivalent to macho.