Why did the press accuse her of lying about the kidnapping?
The short answer is sexism. One of the things this drama clearly shows is how some people – parts of the press, strangers on social media, amateur sleuths – want to control what a person’s trauma should look like. Chloe’s outfit was criticised, she was criticised for not crying enough or not looking distraught enough. In reality, Chloe had been in Italy for several weeks before returning to the UK. She had already given evidence at a pre-trial hearing and was happy to be back in her own country. She is also very media savvy and, by her own account, just not one to cry in front of people.
The same was true of Amanda Knox when Italian police ruled that she had not adequately mourned the death of her murdered roommate Meredith Kercher and was therefore guilty of the crime.
Chloe found herself in a situation where she didn’t dare do anything. She didn’t want to be named, but her case was covered in the press. She wanted control of her own story and was accused of lying for publicity or, if not outright lying, of taking advantage of the situation for her own benefit when she couldn’t work as a model and had to somehow make ends meet.
Although Łukasz and Michał were found guilty of her kidnapping, there was ample evidence to support this, and Łukasz’s story kept changing (he accused her of planning the kidnapping with him), Chloe was still accused of lying and told the BBC that she is still being called a liar seven years later. As the programme points out, this largely happened when the first allegations against Harvey Weinstein emerged.
What happened next?
Chloe published a book that Georgia Lester read and which inspired the show. Chloe appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and was the second person to be voted out that season.
Łukasz was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison, which was later reduced to 12 years and one month. Michał, on the other hand, received a sentence of 16 years and eight months, which was later reduced to 5 years and eight months. Michał has since been released from prison.
