It looks like Olivia Rodrigo has recently joined the list of celebrities that have publicly endorsed the story of Jane Doe, a Cornell University student, alleging she has been drugged and gang-raped by seven fraternity members of the University in 2024. The Grammy winner accused Cornell University, among others, of supporting abusers over the women.
“Shame on Cornell and on every institution who protects rapists and abusers over women. I stand with Jane Doe. Her bravery reverberates across the country, and the crimes against her will not go unpunished,” wrote Olivia Rodrigo in an Instagram post on Saturday.
“What she lived through matters, and so does the failure of those who could have intervened but chose not to,” Rodrigo wrote. “She deserves answers, consequences, and lasting change.”
Olivia’s statements follow Governor Kathy Hochul signing an executive order on Thursday, appointing Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case and removing it from the local district attorney, who initially decided not to file charges two years ago.
According to court documents, Jane Doe sued seven men, Cornell, Chi Phi fraternity, and her sorority over a drugging and rape. Jane claims to have been assaulted on October 19, 2024, when she was 20 years old, by seven fraternity members at Cornell University in Ithaca. As per Jane’s statement, those men drugged her with Ketamine and sexually assaulted her in the Chi Phi frat house.
Jane reported her alleged assault to Cornell University’s police department. Three weeks later, the Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s office read her written statement for the police and concluded there were no grounds for prosecution. Nobody was ever arrested.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said two of the seven men were expelled from Cornell University because of their actions. Meanwhile, the rest of them were punished with less severe measures, such as suspensions, writing workshops, and essays. Cornell University officials say they punished some of the men with expulsion, suspension, and other measures, and claim it was impossible to allow students to receive only an essay as punishment.
The Xi chapter of Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University has been banned from campus.
None of those men have been criminally charged. Some of those men’s attorneys have denied the accusations. Some of them have also personally denied the accusations.
However, after the lawsuit gained national publicity, Matt Van Houten said last week that he decided to reopen the case and present it to a grand jury, but still emphasized that the claims described in the lawsuit are dramatically different from Jane’s statements to the police in 2024.
According to Kathy Hochul, who had previously called for an independent review of Cornell’s handling of this case, the release of new documents, among which there is a 120-page-long transcript of Jane’s statements to the police, raises serious questions about how Cornell’s police officers and the district attorney’s office dealt with the case, reducing public confidence in Van Houten’s ability to prosecute this case.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Manhattan, Kathy said, “I will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug.” She said this is because the district attorney’s office did not interview Jane. Furthermore, Kathy said she urges the state legislators to amend the state law in such a way that a person will be considered too drunk to agree with the actions committed against them, regardless of their voluntary choice to consume alcohol or drugs.
As part of its duty, Letita James will review evidence, will interview the witnesses, and will prosecute this case if it is reasonable. “This is now an active criminal investigation,” James said.
Matt Van Houten said he supported being removed from the case and promised his cooperation. “We were not provided the full picture by the University,” said Van Houten. Meanwhile, Cornell endorsed the decision and agreed to conduct an independent outside review of how it handled the allegations. Giuffra also said he and his client welcomed the news and looked forward to working with James.
President Donald Trump criticized James after she gained the right to review the case. He said James is corrupt and that nobody will be treated fairly in the case she is investigating, though he doesn’t seem to know much about it.
Now, the Jane Doe case has drawn support from numerous well-known celebrities and politicians. Florence Pugh claimed on Instagram that the situation makes her “uneasy and sick and anxious.” She also urged men to talk. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay, whose foundation supports victims of sexual abuse, wrote, “Cornell has failed to protect its students.”
Hudson Williams, an actor known for the show ” Heated Rivalry, ” called for arrests of those men in his Instagram story, “F*** them and f*** Cornell too.” Josh Gad criticized Cornell’s punishment for the act. Meanwhile, Rebel Wilson urged witnesses to come forward with information about Jane’s assault, “Sending love to all the Jane Does out there.” Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceled a visit to Cornell University because of this investigation.
This case also inspired #IAmJaneDoe, a social media campaign, during which many people claim they are Jane Doe. The movement became possible when independent journalist Michael Tracey asked for help identifying Jane Doe. According to supporters of this campaign, flooding the Internet with Jane’s name makes any efforts to reveal her useless.
“He is trying to expose her identity. We won’t let him. I am Jane Doe,” one of the content creators said in her TikTok video, which was watched more than 5.2 million times until Friday.
Michael Tracey claims his actions are journalism protected by freedom of speech, while Giuffra says attempts to identify his client are meant to embarrass her. He also adds that sometimes women are wrongly identified as Jane Doe. According to New York law, individuals can file suits for sexual assault anonymously.
Many participants in this movement draw parallels between #IAmJaneDoe and the #MeToo Movement of 2017. They share their stories of sexual abuse and bring attention to the issue of colleges’ and police officers’ responses to cases when students report assaults.
Olivia Rodrigo has previously used her platform to support feminist movements. She invited Lily Allen to perform “F*** You” at Glastonbury Festival after the decision of the US Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling.
