Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and apparently that even goes for a beauty queen with an I.Q. of 168. That would be Joyce McKinney who enjoyed a whirlwind romance in Salt Lake City with a guy named Kirk Anderson following her reign as Miss Wyoming of 1973.
The blubbery 300-pounder was so flattered that Joyce found him attractive that he told her “I love you!” the night they met, and then proposed to her the very next day. The trouble was that he was also a Mormon and his devout parents disapproved of the hasty liaison. Plus, he was scheduled to depart to England soon to do the missionary work expected of all members of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
But Joyce just couldn’t get over being jilted, so she placed a classified ad for a pilot and a bodyguard for help in locating and liberating her runaway fiancé. They eventually found him on the steps of a church in London and abducted him at gunpoint, and then drove him not back to the airport but rather to a cottage in Devon 250 miles away.
Joyce had her henchman tie Kirk to the bed spread-eagled, and she proceeded to rape the fat man repeatedly for the next several days. Her rationale was that this was the best method of deprogramming him from what she felt was a cult.
However, instead of seeing the light, the object of her affection escaped and had Joyce and her accomplice arrested for kidnapping and sexual assault. The sensational story served as fodder for lots of lurid newspaper headlines in Great Britain for much of 1977, until the accused jumped bail and escaped back to the States, never to be extradited or to face justice again.
Tabloid, a bizarre bio-pic about a good girl gone bad, is the latest offering from Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris (for Fog of War). The film proves as fascinating as the rest of Morris’ intriguing body of work, given how it delicately unravels the mystery of exactly how and why Joyce planned and executed such a kinky conspiracy.
What might be most remarkable is the fact that the now wheelchair-bound mastermind cooperated with the project and remains in denial to this day, asserting, “I still don’t think I ever did anything wrong.” A thought-provoking picture raising the question: can a woman rape a man, or is it merely assault with intent to please?
You be the judge.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for nudity and sexuality.
Running time: 88 Minutes
Distributor: Sundance Selects
-Kam Williams
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
