Fiona Hill's gender critique during public impeachment testimony gets applause online

By Alisa Wiersema

Fiona Hill had the high-profile experience of publicly testifying in the impeachment proceedings of a sitting U.S. president – but in doing so, she was also faced with a situation that hit close to home with many women in everyday circumstances.

Hill, an accomplished scholar, was asked to explain an instance when she was "upset" with former U.N. Ambassador Gordon Sondland regarding the way things were going in Ukraine in June 2018.

"I was actually, to be honest, angry with him and, you know, I hate to say it, but often when women show anger, it's not fully appreciated," Hill testified, adding, "It's often, you know, pushed onto emotional issues perhaps or deflected onto other people."

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Former White House national security aide Fiona Hill, and David Holmes, a U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, right, testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 21, 2019.

Her blunt assessment of the sexism and double standards that often arise when women express anger, struck a chord with women tuned into the hearing, many of whom immediately seized on the moment as a relatable and common experience.

She is well spoken, eloquent and very calm. Much respect to her. She's right when a woman is angry because something isn't right and they point it out, they are dismissed as emotional. A man can be angry and it's acceptable.

— Elizabeth Rose (@goalieliz8) November 21, 2019

Yes ma’am ! 🙌🏾 #ImpeachmentHearing

— Georgia Sugarbaker (@GeorgiaSuga) November 21, 2019

FIONA HILL: I hate to say it, but when women show anger, it’s not taken seriously or it's pushed off as “emotional issues.”

WOMEN EVERYWHERE: pic.twitter.com/kTvmTPVt4V

— Rachel Heine (@RachelHeine) November 21, 2019

🏆🏆🏆

— Angela Henderson (@DrAngelaShenell) November 21, 2019

For Hill, the brief admission of anger -- and its perception -- may have simply have been her way of providing the House Intelligence Committee with an accurate answer, but for women across the country it was also a moment of having their everyday frustrations put on record while playing out in the public eye.

"I'm glad this truth will exist in official transcripts for eternity. Imagine the injustice -- first you're ill-treated, then your anger to it is deemed invalid," Twitter user @krantinari wrote.