Even if you were a child, or not even born yet, there's still a chance that you've heard about the infamous 1993 case of Lorena Bobbitt. After years of rape and abuse by her husband, John, Bobbitt retrieved a carving knife from the kitchen during the night and cut his penis off. The case, investigation and eventual trial was one of the most talked about criminal cases of the 1990s. Well, Lifetime now has a movie based on the events, called I Was Lorena Bobbitt, and it delves into many aspects of the case, including Bobbitt throwing her husband's penis out of her car window.
The salacious nature of Lorena Bobbitt's crime probably would have gotten major attention regardless of what happened immediately after the fact, but that detail about her tossing his severed penis out of her window as she fled the scene certainly added to the public interest. People wanted to know more; not just about the crime, but about what could have led up to something so extreme. We've finally gotten the first trailer for I Was Lorena Bobbitt, and you can see that it details what led Bobbitt to do such a thing, as well as what came afterward. Take a look:
Wow. That trailer is no joke, literally. Not only does the film really take the crime seriously, but it also takes the abuse that Lorena Bobbitt suffered just as seriously, and the trailer is careful to remind us that "her story was no joke." I Was Lorena Bobbitt is actually executive produced by Bobbitt herself, and Lifetime is billing it as her opportunity to tell her full story the way she wants it to be told.
After Lorena Bobbitt's crime became public, two things happened. First, she was very upfront during the investigation about the abuse she suffered at John's hands, so the case helped to bring the issues of domestic abuse and marital rape to light. Anti-domestic violence advocates, as well as some feminist groups rallied around Bobbitt and said the history of abuse is what led to the violent and unusual attack. But, most of the attention was not so supportive or straight forward.
A lot of the media attention around the Lorena Bobbitt case quickly turned into jokes, limericks, advertising gimmicks and T-shirt slogans. Howard Stern had John Bobbitt on as a guest during his 1993 New Year's Eve special, and even raised $250,000 to help cover the outstanding costs of the surgery to reattach his penis. On top of all of this, there were also several copycat crimes reported, but which ended up being either accidents or self-inflicted.
With everything that went on in the aftermath of the crime, it makes complete sense that Lorena Bobbitt would want to make sure her story is told as close to the way she lived it as possible in this fictionalized account, and with the proper weight being given to the situation before, during and after.
I Was Lorena Bobbitt will premiere on Lifetime on May 25 at 8 p.m. EST. To see what else you can watch in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 summer premiere guide and Netflix schedule.
