Historically, we have been a culture that celebrated the reformed asshole more than the victims of their wrongdoings. That’s starting to change with mass MAGA migrations, but there is still a large subset of people who are enabling the bad guys.
The problem with the redemption arc is that it centers the transgressor rather than addressing the harm, correcting it and maintaining accountability for the long term — keeping the injured as the focus.
But what happens when the perpetrator uses the arc itself to benefit and manipulate?
Congratulations — you realized at 40 years old that racism and pedophilia are bad. Here’s your blue ribbon, a future book deal, 100k new Instagram followers, and a Netflix documentary about your journey through the devastation. “Learning your lesson” has been transformed into media opportunities, monetization, and effectively marketing your own self-aggrandizement.
The structure of a redemption arc remains static: a fall from grace, a reflection, a transformation, and ultimately, absolution.
Think about public figures who have effectively utilized (or manipulated) the arc:
Robert Downey Jr. is the ultimate gold standard of redemption arc narratives. He is held as an example of “radical accountability” — he accepted and owned his mistakes, did not blame others, and worked hard in recovery, in family life, and in his work to regain the trust he destroyed. While he has benefitted from his career comeback, he has not sold his story, traded on his addiction, or monetized his prison time.
Martha Stewart never apologized for insider trading, obstruction or lying to investigators. The trading — which was an effort to avoid just over $45k in losses — ended up costing her almost $200k in civil charges and penalties, and millions in revenue. Instead of a redemption arc, she leaned into a new “bad girl” dynamic, selling Omnimedia for $335M, diversifying into cannabis products and strategic partnerships (like Snoop Dogg) to appeal to a younger generation. And it worked - she averages $900M in retail sales annually.
A more modern redemption arc is that of Logan Paul. After the horrifying 2017 videos of a suicide victim in Japan, he published what he later called a “half-assed apology”. He then rebranded and monetized every aspect of the media attention, going on an actual redemption tour — interviewing mental health experts and performing his own reflection type videos. This was not genuine, meaningful change but a strategic move designed to elevate his brand and protect controversial crypto deals.
There’s even JK Rowling, whose fans have desired and demanded a redemption arc due to her continued transphobic rhetoric. Instead, she has doubled down, digging in even further — even stating that a percentage of profits from her new series will be donated to support anti-trans legislation.
And now - we have MAGA supporters who are coming around, claiming they have had a change of heart, saying they were brainwashed and are asking for grace as they de-program from the “MAGA cult”. They frame themselves as victims of manipulation while the actual victims remain background characters. They hit a social media and podcast circuit, telling their stories of transformation and building platforms based on how wrong they were. But their timeline is corrupt — marginalized peoples warned them for decades. Their ‘revelations’ suspiciously only come after they are personally affected by tariffs, by deportation orders, by policies that impact their businesses and the prices of eggs and gas skyrocketing. It’s not just those people anymore.
The narcissistic core theme remains focused on the perpetrator’s growth. In most cases, they center themselves and their supposed transformation becomes the story — not the injury they caused, and not the real people who bore the brunt of it. The victims are still ignored and muted, becoming the supporting characters in their growth narrative.
Contrition becomes a public performance that demands recognition and credit for being a decent human being.
Monetizing the arc — via books, tours, speaking engagements, paid views, movies or documentaries, even ‘merch’ —makes it a marketable commodity. And people forgive, forget, and consume.
It incentivizes the cycle.
What’s gets lost is actual accountability —without the performance. The actions without the marketing teams, the narratives, the cameras, the audiences.
It’s the genuine quiet work of making amends.
It’s an ongoing commitment to learn, to do better, to be better. That’s the difference between claiming transformation and honest, changed behavior.
What if there is no actual arc? What if it’s a lifetime of ongoing practice — of learning and being a decent person?
Perhaps the truly reformed don’t need to keep convincing you of their reformation.
Again. . .excellent content, message and truth.