Trial by Twitter: Year On for #MeToo Movement & the Reputations It Ruined

Following October 2017, the movement has been picking up steam, with famous and regular people alike, coming forward with their stories of suffering sexual harassment or assault in one form or another.

From a social media hashtag to a movement that brought down the likes of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, the MeToo trend has also faced mass backlash.

Although praised by many for bringing to the surfaces crimes and inappropriate conduct by sex abusers, the movement has also been slammed for giving life to devastating and unfounded allegations, stirring "hatred of men and of sexuality" and for cutting the accused out and "excluding them from our history."

And while Netflix viewers won't see Kevin Spacey act in the latest season of the House of Cards series — given he was dropped by production due to sexual misconduct allegations — concerns grow over blacklisting actors and re-evaluating their previous and current work based on accusations.

Among others, the US First Lady Melania Trump has highlighted the importance of "hard evidence" when women come forward with exposes.

Since the so-called rebirth of the MeToo trend at the instigation of US actress Alyssa Milano, a legion of famous actresses and high-profile figures has come forward lambasting alleged and convicted abusers not only in film but politics, finance, church, sports, military and other industries.

The rise of a new variation of feminism in the light of the MeToo movement has to this moment seen to the downfall or inadvertently caused reputation damage for a number of prominent figures.