Netflix’s Worst Ex Ever doesn’t just spotlight bad boyfriends and ex-wives, but an even worse justice system skewed against believing women.
You’ve probably spotted it on your Netflix dashboard. A gaunt white woman’s face with the title “Worst Roommate Ever” emblazoned over it. You think, how bad can it be? Many of us have endured listening to our dorm roommates have sex with a significant other or even themselves. But alas — this is not your typical bad roommate experience. Slap Jason Blumhouse’s name on it, and you’ve got something more sinister and horrifying (one of the stories is even being turned into a film with director Paul Feig attached – a pairing that feels oddly intriguing). It’s true crime meets true nightmare with stories running the gamut from serial squatters to murderers.
Well, just when you thought it was safe to start entertaining the idea of splitting rent again — especially in this economy — now Netflix has dropped Worst Ex Ever, which will probably make you scared to ever think about dating another human being, especially if you’re a woman.
When I pressed play, I wondered how many Worst Ex Ever episodes would center on women recounting stories of dangerous men (it’s three of the four), but what I didn’t account for was the incredible bend-over-backward ways men in power would disregard these horrifying domestic abuse stories. The exes aren’t the only villains.
The first instance arrives in Episode 1 “Dating the Devil.” Benjamin Foster brutally assaults his ex-girlfriend in her own apartment. When she escapes to the leasing office for help, covered in her own blood with her pinky finger hanging on by a thread, the cops arrest HER when Foster tells them she was the one who beat him (he cut himself with a knife to frame her). Not surprisingly, the unbelieved victim is Black and the perpetrator is white.
Episode 2’s “Betrayed By the Badge” might be the most harrowing and frustrating of the season. Young entrepreneur and single mom Seemona starts dating a man named Jerry, who identifies himself as a New York cop. Soon, she discovers he’s not (she receives a phone call from his wife!) and ends the relationship. Eventually, he breaks into her house, assaults her, and brutally rapes her in the basement. Obviously, she presses charges against him, but right before the case is about to go to trial, she’s pulled over and arrested for burglary and police impersonation charges. The police never look into her story or alibi, or the fact that there’s a man who’s threatening her to drop the case — and put her in jail for seven months! Jerry had gotten his friends to identify her in fake burglaries to make her look bad for the trial.
In Episode 4’s “Married to a Monster,” Amanda Canales parks her car in front of her garage and as soon as she exits is hit over the head and attacked in the car. Left with broken teeth and a bloody eye, she tells the cops that she knows her abusive ex Kevin Lewis did this. The cops ask her if she’d seen his face and she says the blood in her eyes prevented her from a clear visual, so they say that isn’t enough for them to arrest him — despite his abusive background and him even being a boxer.
What’s notable about Episode 3’s “Killing for Custody” is that it centers not on a woman, but a man named Eric as he tells his story of abuse from his ex Rosa. But what’s also different is how close-and-shut this case is when it comes to the cops believing the male victim. Never does he utter, “They didn’t believe me,” which becomes a common thread in the other episodes. In fact, recognizing how dangerous Rosa is, the cops slowly relinquish custody of Eric’s daughter to his care, from 50-50 to 100%. This is excellent work on the cops’ part in acknowledging the situation, but also, Rosa is Asian American. If the roles were reversed and Eric was an Asian woman, would the cops be as responsive?
Worst Ex Ever is just tale after tale of domestic abuse highlighting the failures of the criminal justice system and how women struggle to be believed. Where Worst Roommate Ever has more nuanced portrayals of bad living situations, Worst Ex Ever could have easily been called Worst Justice System EVER. Maybe it sensationalizes the abuse with its catchy title, but the stories in this series prove to be important in capturing what little options women, especially women of color, have in domestic abuse situations.
Worst Ex Ever is streaming on Netflix.
