‘Come on Ladies, Use a Little Wisdom’
Recently, Netflix released a documentary called The Tinder Swindler. It follows the true story of many women who have been defrauded and manipulated by a man called Simon Leviev. The women in the documentary met Simon on the dating app, Tinder, in which he convinces them he is the ‘Prince of Diamonds’. He takes them on lavish dates and manipulates them into believing he loves them through a series of different tactics.
However, as any master manipulator does, these women were truly convinced that they had found the one and therefore wanted to protect him. They ended up sending him large sums of money in order to do what they thought was protecting him. According to Netflix, Leviev was given a fifteen-month sentence but only served five months in an Israel prison, being charged for fraud, theft, and forgery.
It is estimated that he swindled $10 million from victims across the globe.
The consensus from the public seems to be that Leviev deserved way more time in prison than five months and should not be roaming free. The Netflix documentary shows Leviev after serving time in prison continuing his lavish lifestyle, showing off expensive pairs of shoes and glamorous holidays.
The question is: how is he able to afford all of this?
Well, it is because the Netflix show has allowed him to gain a following and a platform, making him as a sort of celebrity. Therefore, he can profit off his crimes. He has managed to retain his money through a variety of ways.
In this ‘influencer’ generation, Simon has been given a platform to continue exploiting people because many see him as a successful businessman. According to Netflix, Simon launched a website offering business advice. After doing a little research myself, I stumbled across the ‘Simon Leviev Fan Club’ on a website called ‘Cameo’ where people pay him money (around £150) to receive a personalised video message. On the website he is labelled as ‘The Tinder Swindler’ under his profile and has 761 fans. It says underneath it, ‘Excited to be on Cameo to wish the special person in your life whatever you need!’. It is unclear whether this is 100% a legit website or not, but either way, someone out there is capitalising off his crimes!
However, what seems to be the most shocking part to me about this scandal, is how the women have been portrayed as completely stupid whilst Simon Leviev has been glamourised as a clever businessman. In reality, these women are victims and Leviev is a criminal and master manipulator.
Below are some comments I have taken from Twitter that magnify this issue:
The most noticeable thing about these tweets is how the women have been portrayed as stupid and how Leviev has been painted out as a hero.
Whether you believe the women were gullible or not, victim blaming is not the answer. The women in the documentary know they made a mistake, that is why they are raising awareness and showing how easy it is to be manipulated. One of the victims understands the danger she put herself in when getting on a flight with a stranger – in the moment of time, she had a ‘you only live once’ attitude towards it.
Whilst, yes, that is a ridiculous thing to do, I can guarantee you she knows that and regrets it! This is why hindsight is a wonderful thing; she would have never got on that flight if she knew what was going to happen.
Not only are the women being victim-blamed, but Leviev has gained attention from this and is able to carry on his lifestyle because of the failed justice system and the lack of compassion we have for these victims. He has been made into memes and therefore it has become some kind of joke.
Why is he now a role model?
The reception of the Netflix documentary emphasises how social media magnifies the existing sexism women are still enduring. Instead of sympathising with the women, they have been victim-blamed and labelled as gullible rather than being labelled as exploited and emotionally manipulated. Manipulation is very real, and it is hard to realise you are being manipulated when you’re in it. The victims of Leviev built a relationship with this man and therefore wanted to do anything to help him, even if that meant risking their own lives.
This documentary has highlighted that victim-blaming is a very big issue, and that as a society we need to fix this by realising that victims are not stupid, but rather manipulated and exploited.
Sources:
Cameo: https://www.cameo.com/simonleviev?business=true&qid=1646329345
Twitter: https://twitter.com/home