My advice to potential defamation plaintiffs is, routinely, “don’t sue”. But, of course, they do. As Australia’s “Weinstein moment” begins to burst the banks of that lazily flowing river called Male Privilege, the word defamation is going to be as prevalent here as it has been absent from the American conversation.

This is a critical distinction, because the attitude that Australia’s media adopts to the risk of defamation suits will determine how differently the stories play out here and in the US. It’s regrettable that the peculiarities of the law will have such profound influence on a movement that promises to fundamentally change societies.