Everyone's outraged about the same thing after watching Netflix's "Killer Sally"

Nov 4 2022, 4:39 pm

Editor’s note: This article mentions and discusses murder and domestic abuse, which some readers may find it disturbing. 

Spoilers ahead! Don’t say we didn’t warn ya.

Netflix’s limited docuseries Killer Sally dropped on November 2 and so far, viewers’ reactions to it have ranged from sympathy to anger.

The three-part true crime documentary takes us through the world of bodybuilding and the lives of couple and former marines Sally and Ray McNeil, who were both big names in bodybuilding in the 1980s.

On Valentine’s Day in 1995, Sally shot and killed her husband after enduring years of physical abuse. Her two children were also emotionally and physically abused by Ray, their stepfather.

The docuseries includes interviews with the couple’s family and friends, as well as the trial and the aftermath, and people are shocked by the level of victim blaming in court and in the media in the 1990s.

During the trial, prosecutor Dan Goldstein portrayed Sally as a violent woman due to her size and muscled appearance. He also pointed out how she “lacked remorse” because she took a nap during the interrogation.

The opinions expressed by Sally’s opposition perpetuate the notion of an ideal victim — a “battered woman” who has to be small, frail, and feminine to be believed.

For most of their marriage, Sally was supporting her husband’s dream to go pro. To make ends meet and pay for Ray’s steroids, she took on wrestling jobs and made fetishistic “muscle worship” videos. Over the years, Sally said that the abuse escalated and she feared that, one day, Ray would kill her.

Sally was later convicted of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 19 years to life. Netizens are expressing their disgust at the way the American justice system treats survivors of domestic abuse.

Perhaps one of the most tragic parts of the story is the life-long impact that violence has had on the McNeil children.

According to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, the number of women and girls killed by violence has gone up from 128 deaths in 2019 to 160 in 2020.

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