Detroit Political Sex Scandal Analysis
Two felonies and eight years later, Christine Beatty, former Detroit Chief of staff entangled in the infamous 2008 Detroit political sex scandal with then mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick opens up about the scandal and shares her story of self-redemption.
December 1, 2008, is a day that remains in infamy for former Detroit Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty who was sentenced to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges.
Both Beatty and Kilpatrick were accused of an extramarital affair by Detroit Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown who was subsequently fired after his discovery of the affair. When taken to trial in 2007 by police whistle-blowers Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope, the couple lied under oath, denying …show more content…
the affair and firing of Gary Brown.
This cover-up was subsequently tarnished when The Detroit Free Press exposed thousands of incriminating text messages between Beatty and Kilpatrick the following year. The messages revealed their usage of Detroit city funds for romantic getaways and exposed their true motives behind firing Detroit Deputy Police Chief, Gary Brown.
Following the trials and sentencing, Beatty was left to pick up the pieces of her life, and weather the extensive media attacks on her character.
“A misconception that people had about me is that I was begging for sympathy, but rather all I was asking for was to be judged fairly on my skill set— through the scandal, nobody ever paid any attention to my actual qualifications,” said Beatty.
She attributed part of the backlash she received from the media to her being a black woman in politics.
“Black women are last on the totem pole, but being a woman played an even larger role in my downfall than my race. In politics men get second chances, but women don’t---- just look at Kwame, he was able to get a job and bounce back, I wasn’t,” said Beatty. As Christine noted, Kwame Kilpatrick was able to make a return to the professional world. A year following his release, Kilpatrick was able to land a job as a software salesman for Compuware subsidiary Covisint, earning a $120,000 yearly salary. He was also given financial gifts and support by Detroit business big-wigs Manuel Moroun and Peter Karmanos who gave him gifts and loans totaling over $300,000.
In contrast, Beatty’s return to the professional world was all but welcoming as she was consistently denied work opportunities and was blackballed from the political and professional …show more content…
world.
“ Because of the scandal, my professional career was compromised—Since then, I've had to create my own opportunities through public speaking, branding and really grinding to get my professional life back on track,” said Beatty.
Although some doors to the professional world have closed on her, Beatty looks towards her involvement in the new Centric docuseries, From the Bottom Up as being a pathway to finally get herself back into the public eye and re-brand herself.
“I was first approached [for the show] by Nicki gilbert who pitched the idea of a different reality show based on the lives of five women sharing their stories of redemption. She assured me that the show would be different than the other reality shows out there, and wouldn’t exploit us or our stories.”
Fully aware of the mistakes she made and the impact it had on her lives and others, Beatty now uses the show as an opportunity to open up about the true impact the scandal had on her life and how she has rebuilt her self-confidence. “The show made me more confident in sharing my journey with other people and made me more willing to offer myself up to them [other cast members] because they've been through something just as traumatic as I have --- helping other people in the midst of your storm makes you feel human
again.”
Although Christine Beatty admits to wearing her shame following the scandal, she still remains optimistic about her future and has taken the necessary steps to overcoming her past mistakes.
“I had to forgive myself first. It took reclaiming my power and restoring my spirit to accepting my circumstance and getting past it,” added Beatty.
December 1, 2008, is a day that remains in infamy for former Detroit Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty who was sentenced to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges.
Both Beatty and Kilpatrick were accused of an extramarital affair by Detroit Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown who was subsequently fired after his discovery of the affair. When taken to trial in 2007 by police whistle-blowers Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope, the couple lied under oath, denying …show more content…
the affair and firing of Gary Brown.
This cover-up was subsequently tarnished when The Detroit Free Press exposed thousands of incriminating text messages between Beatty and Kilpatrick the following year. The messages revealed their usage of Detroit city funds for romantic getaways and exposed their true motives behind firing Detroit Deputy Police Chief, Gary Brown.
Following the trials and sentencing, Beatty was left to pick up the pieces of her life, and weather the extensive media attacks on her character.
“A misconception that people had about me is that I was begging for sympathy, but rather all I was asking for was to be judged fairly on my skill set— through the scandal, nobody ever paid any attention to my actual qualifications,” said Beatty.
She attributed part of the backlash she received from the media to her being a black woman in politics.
“Black women are last on the totem pole, but being a woman played an even larger role in my downfall than my race. In politics men get second chances, but women don’t---- just look at Kwame, he was able to get a job and bounce back, I wasn’t,” said Beatty. As Christine noted, Kwame Kilpatrick was able to make a return to the professional world. A year following his release, Kilpatrick was able to land a job as a software salesman for Compuware subsidiary Covisint, earning a $120,000 yearly salary. He was also given financial gifts and support by Detroit business big-wigs Manuel Moroun and Peter Karmanos who gave him gifts and loans totaling over $300,000.
In contrast, Beatty’s return to the professional world was all but welcoming as she was consistently denied work opportunities and was blackballed from the political and professional …show more content…
world.
“ Because of the scandal, my professional career was compromised—Since then, I've had to create my own opportunities through public speaking, branding and really grinding to get my professional life back on track,” said Beatty.
Although some doors to the professional world have closed on her, Beatty looks towards her involvement in the new Centric docuseries, From the Bottom Up as being a pathway to finally get herself back into the public eye and re-brand herself.
“I was first approached [for the show] by Nicki gilbert who pitched the idea of a different reality show based on the lives of five women sharing their stories of redemption. She assured me that the show would be different than the other reality shows out there, and wouldn’t exploit us or our stories.”
Fully aware of the mistakes she made and the impact it had on her lives and others, Beatty now uses the show as an opportunity to open up about the true impact the scandal had on her life and how she has rebuilt her self-confidence. “The show made me more confident in sharing my journey with other people and made me more willing to offer myself up to them [other cast members] because they've been through something just as traumatic as I have --- helping other people in the midst of your storm makes you feel human
again.”
Although Christine Beatty admits to wearing her shame following the scandal, she still remains optimistic about her future and has taken the necessary steps to overcoming her past mistakes.
“I had to forgive myself first. It took reclaiming my power and restoring my spirit to accepting my circumstance and getting past it,” added Beatty.