If Michael Cohen was a female, he would be seen as the classic case of a battered woman in a gilded cage, who was finally set free.
When a young woman seeks to move up in the world and finds a materialistically successful man who showers her with compliments and financial rewards for her loyalty and affection, who makes her dependent on him, and who expects her undivided attention and loyalty only to eventually begin berating her, isolating her, and verbally abusing her while providing her with a luxurious lifestyle, and she continues to defend him and be loyal to him even if he begins to physically abuse her, we all know she fits the pattern of a battered woman. He might even deny knowing her or deny the nature of their relationship. We know that such a woman will make excuses for the man and blame herself for his behavior, even after he abandons her for another woman, because she fears the consequences if she ever exposes his true character. Sometimes she will do this for years, denying the abuse to family and law enforcement and medical professionals, taking on herself the punishment and shame HE deserves, and even taking him back into her loving arms again and again.
Then finally, he does something so awful, usually to someone she loves more than herself, perhaps her child, and finally, FINALLY, she breaks down and attempts to tell the truth and explain all her lies, hoping for some form of justice. Talk about a credibility problem!
In the old days, she would not have been believed by anyone in authority, and probably would never even get the chance to redeem herself publicly. Today, a woman has at least some chance of finding justice in the legal system, especially if she can drag herself into a police station bruised and bloody-- though still less often than should be. And in court, good lawyers might make the case that she should be made whole financially, if no other way, if they can find a sympathetic jury.
But Michael Cohen will probably never get that kind of sympathy, because he is not the most appealingly sympathetic character and many people won't understand how a man could let himself get in such a position. Furthermore, he was never bruised and bloodied by his tormenter. (I can't help but wonder what abuse the three wives have endured, but thanks to the prenuptial agreements and financial benefits of "hush money" payments, we will never hear about it.)
But if you really think about it, it's not all that uncommon for men to attach themselves to someone they admire, only to find that person is rotten at the core, and the shame of discovering that fact has caused more than one man to commit suicide. Cohen might have been one of them if not for the fact that he had a wife and children who apparently understood his situation before it became the train wreck of 2017. Now in 2024 he is once again being shamed and ridiculed for having seen the light and trying to find justice.
I have no problem believing that despite the many lies and omissions he admits to while in the service of his abuser, he is now telling the truth. It is only reasonable that after all he did out of loyalty only to be thrown under the bus by the monster he had sold his soul for, he would harbor hatred and a need to see that monster punished for his crimes. Still as we wait to hear what the effects of his road-to-Damascus enlightenment and testimony will have in the New York prosecution, I can't help wishing he was a Michaela and not a Michael.
