Kyle Rittenhouse is being accused by many observers of putting on a superficial display of anguish and sorrow during his testimony in his murder trial on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.
Rittenhouse is accused of killing two protesters and wounding a third during the Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the summer of 2020.
The teen defendant began hyperventilating and scrunching up his face while describing the scenario surrounding the killing of the first protester, Joseph Rosenbaum. Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, was also heard sobbing in the courtroom, CNN reports.
This prompted Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder to call for a 10-minute break for Rittenhouse to compose himself.
However, it was LeBron James who needed to compose himself after laughing at Rittenhouse. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar and others described Rittenhouse’s crying as performative “crocodile tears” and attempted manipulation of the narrative to paint himself as the victim.
What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court. 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/LKwYssIUmD
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 11, 2021
CNN pundit Ana Navarro-Cárdenas also tweeted: “Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27. Think about how much their loved ones have cried, real anguish and grief, not crocodile tears.”
Amanda Marcotte, a writer for Salon, tweeted: “F— this brat’s crocodile tears. Self-defense is when you are minding your own business, someone attacks you, and you have to fight back. Rittenhouse picked up a gun and went looking for trouble. He found it and, in a sane world, would go to jail for it.”
Kyle Rittenhouse’s was face scrunching extra hard with zero moisture. Crocodile tears https://t.co/xxAmRImrcR
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) November 10, 2021
The term 'crocodile tears' (a superficial display of anguish) comes from a medieval belief that crocodiles shed tears of sadness when killing their prey. https://t.co/tkuVCEbBRa
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 10, 2021
Carli Pierson, a USA TODAY opinion writer, penned that “Kyle Rittenhouse deserves an award for his melodramatic performance on the witness stand.”
