Last month, R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. Days later, a judge suspended Jamie Spears as the conservator of his daughter Britney Spears’ estate. While these cases are completely unrelated, they do have one crucial thing in common: a massive online following, and an ecosystem of think pieces and documentaries that fuel conversation online.
NPR’s TV critic Eric Deggans discusses the role documentary series have played in cases like R. Kelly’s and Britney Spears. He says it’s part of a larger movement that some are calling “consequence culture.”
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