After Kavanaugh-Ford hearing, does MeToo face a backlash?

NEW YORK – Some skeptics of #MeToo activism hope Brett Kavanaugh’s angry denial of sexual assault allegations might help fuel a backlash against the year-old movement. But advocates for victimized women say it’s now too powerful to be derailed.

The mixed reactions followed Thursday’s vehement assertion by Kavanaugh and his Republican allies that he was the victim of a “political hit job” by Democrats. They suggested that Kavanaugh’s accuser was being exploited for partisan purposes.

In a Philadelphia Inquirer column titled “Kavanaugh creates #MeToo moment for accused men,” conservative writer Christine Flowers expressed empathy for the embattled federal judge, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.

#MeToo activists acknowledge their movement faces resistance, but they also note that more women are speaking out about being sexually abused.