Entertainment
When Mary Louise first threatened Celeste with a custody battle on Big Little Lies, viewers suspected that it would probably get bad fast. But until "The Bad Mother," no one knew just how awful it would be. Celeste's trial on Big Little Lies really didn't seem fair at all. Mary Louise's lawyer, Ira Farber, asked incredibly invasive questions, and Twitter wasn't having it.
Ira didn't hold back in his interrogation. He questioned Celeste on her sex life with Perry, as well as the casual sex she'd been having with various men after his death. He even came prepared with visual aids and presented snapshots of all the men, which proved that Mary Louise was having Celeste followed so she could gather her evidence. Ira wanted to know how far Celeste was in the healing process, why she'd never told anyone about Perry's abuse, and whether or not she still conflated violence with sex. He wanted to prove Celeste was, per the title, a bad mother.
It was incredibly difficult to watch, especially because everyone in the audience at home knows exactly what Celeste has been through. We've seen what Perry did to her, and to have her dragged through the mud in court was infuriating. It's no surprise that fans took to Twitter to express their anger.
I Object!
Didn't you kind of find yourself hoping that Madeline would step out of the courtroom for a minute, then return in a pink dress to go all Elle Woods on these people? Elle would definitely have done a better job than Celeste's lawyer. She proved Brooke Windham was innocent without revealing her dark secret, after all.
Blame
Once again, it seemed like Perry's behavior was ignored or pinned on Celeste, as though it was somehow her fault that he was abusive. Mary Louise has used those tactics all season, too. She deflects blame from Perry because she doesn't want to deal with the truth about her son, but all she does is perpetuate the pain he caused.
Turning The Tables
At the end of "The Bad Mother," Celeste took over her own defense with a plan to put Mary Louise on blast. If they were really trying to figure out the best guardian for the boys, then Mary Louise would need to prove herself, too. Let's see how she likes it when all the skeletons in her closet are dragged out for everyone to see.
Leave Celeste Alone
It was made clear during the hearing that Celeste kept her sex life separate; though the twins had met one (or two, if you believe the whole Josh thing) of Celeste's partners, she had generally only gone out on nights when they were being looked after by someone else. So what's the problem? Celeste isn't allowed to have a private life? Celeste is definitely struggling, but her sex life has nothing to do with her ability to be a good mom.
Hard To Watch
Celeste has been repeatedly asked (first by Mary Louise, then by Ira, then by the judge) why she stayed with Perry when he was hurting her, which was incredibly dismissive of the complicated situation abuse victims find themselves in. Celeste wasn't the one who did anything wrong. Perry was.
