Totally Support Rachel DeLoche Williams

After watching the Netflix show, Inventing Anna, most people were riveted by Anna because of her personality and daring. Rachel's plight was minimized at every point in her struggle. At the hotel, the managers blocked the girls from leaving until Rachel gave into the pressure and gave her own credit cards. At the police station and ADA office, everyone told her about the number of higher priority cases they had and how it was her fault that she gave the money. And then in court, Anna's lawyer blamed her for complaining about it because Anna had paid for lavish dinners, personal trainer sessions etc for her before and also because she was going to make money from a book deal and movie deal. The lawyer made her the bad guy for working with the cops.

To me this felt a lot like a rape victim's story. A rape victim doesn't ask to be raped. They sometimes end up in a position where they're pressured into sex to the point where they have no choice but to give in and do it. But in the end, it's still rape. That's why consent is such an important topic. It must be freely given.

Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that Anna duped Rachel. She faked a lifestyle she thought she should have and built trust with Rachel based on lies. If someone lured you into the alley by pretending to be a gentleman and then sexually assaulted you, it doesn't make you the bad guy. You didn't have all the facts. Their intent and actions were pre-meditated and planned. While Anna may not have started out with the thought of taking money from Rachel, she was still hustling and hoping for an easy way out. She offered to pay for the whole trip beforehand and gave no indication that Rachel should plan for more. Being a good friend doesn't mean you pressure your friend into throwing away thousands of dollars. Rachel was not obligated to help her. Rachel begged for her money for months before going to the cops. She did the right thing by going to the cops and working with them. If someone ripped me off, I would report them to the cops too. I would do everything in my power to get back my money.

Note: Again most of my opinions are based on what I saw in the tv show. I have read/seen little of other media. I did read articles saying that Rachel was reflected in a bad light in the show. Honestly, it was clear to me even while watching the show that she was a victim and that she did what she had to do cause she was left with no other choice. And I could also see how Anna was judged not guilty on the count of the money she took from Rachel because Rachel gave her credit card on her own to the hotel management. The court of law works on facts and not on the basis that Rachel felt pressured by the situation or that she had not been aware of Anna's falsehoods. It wasn't surprising. Although a case can be made that the show focused on the portion of the court proceedings related to Rachel for the most part putting a negative focus on her.  They did not focus much on the part that Anna built a fake persona to her friends. How did Anna pay for the things she bought her friends? They did not talk about evidence or proceedings for which Anna was charged as guilty. The show did not depict other people being asked to be witnesses considering the large number of discovery documents included and the number of counts for which she was found guilty. The show doesn't seem to be completely unbiased even if it's not surprising.