I think one of the worst things Diane ever did, that she never got called out for, was using Penny’s story as a plot point in Philbert, just to rip Bojack a new one. I do understand he needed to be called out since he hadn’t really faced any real consequences for it yet, but making it into a plot point in a show that aired publicly was a shitty thing to do. Yes, the circumstances in that story were slightly different, but on the off-chance Penny or her mother happened to see that, it’s her trauma being aired without her permission. That wasn’t Diane’s story to tell and if she really was that angry about it and so determined to go after Bojack, she should have done it differently. I also hated the reporters who pried so hard into Penny’s story without any regard to how it would affect her, but they were already established as shitty people who didn’t care at all. Diane knew better and still did what she did.
I just got so angry about this and had to vent. I get why it happened, but I still hate that it happened and that no one called her out for it once they all learned about what Bojack did. Not that I can think of a way they would all find out it was her that made that plot point in the script, aside from maybe PC or Bojack connecting the dots since they were there for it.
A lot of people wanna say that bojack didnt face any consequences for what he did to penny (aside from what the reporters and diane did) but as a victim of something similar, i feel like its better left dead and not talked about…penny was flipping out thinking people knew, and its understandable because who wouldnt want to just forget it and pretend nothing happened. I personally like that option, not doing anything about it because i really just want that moment to disappear. What would be accomplished in “justice” for that story to be made public of all things?? Penny gets justice in what way?? He gets shamed and now everyone can look at her as the poor victim? Of course she’s having anxiety attacks!
Honestly, I don’t think there was any kind of good justice he could’ve faced because he didn’t break the law with her meaning it’s not like they could have had him arrested or pressed charges for it (though he definitely should have gotten his ass thrown in jail for giving her friend booze). It’s a shitty situation where the best that could happen is that he gets publicly outed and shamed, but it comes at the cost of her story also getting spread. If that’s something she wanted, then that’s fine. But since it was all rapidly happening without her consent, that’s awful. I can’t even begin to imagine having reporters show up at both my workplace and my home to dig into a past trauma so callously. At the very least, she should have had control over whether or not people got to know about it.
IMO this sounds parallel to a Gina situation. She was put in a vulnerable position with BoJack and ended up hurt/straight up assaulted.
Gina tells no one the truth bc she doesn’t want to just be known as the woman who was attacked by BoJack. She wants to be famous and be known, but for her acting.
Penny doesn’t want anyone to know about her experience with BoJack either (at least initially). Both their privacies should be respected. Diane didn’t just violate Penny’s privacy, she spat on it and ran over it.
But imo it’s really, really SHADY that Diane’s wrongdoings are brushed off by fans. Diane can do no wrong in the eyes of the fans, and when there’s a legitimate argument to call her out on her BS, fans sum it up as “misogynistic”. It gets tiring.