Journalist Marcin Kącki from ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ wrote a text in the form of a ‘confession,’ detailing his relationships with women, among other things. The article garnered admiration for Kącki, but it was interrupted by one of his victims. Karolina Rogaska launched a strong attack, describing how the journalist treated her. It also came to light that Kącki wrote the text after being removed from working with students.
Investigative journalist Marcin Kącki from ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ and its magazine ‘Duży Format’ decided to write a text in which he confronted his demons from the past. The confession largely revolved around his relationships with the opposite sex, addressing issues like alcohol abuse and casual encounters with women.
He wrote, among other things, about a phone call to a female journalist with whom, as he writes, he “crossed the line.”
“I called this woman, whom I knew as a young journalist from a literary festival, from those years when I drifted like Marzanna. She told what I did back then, that she was surprised because she knew me from books where I pursued human beasts, that yes, it is in her, she called my behavior crossing the line, and said that I must remember that ‘no’ doesn’t mean ‘no.’ Harm returns after years, if it is processed, named—I wrote two books about it, and I wasn’t surprised that she carried this memory for years,” wrote Kącki. And this is one of the milder passages from his text.
The victim breaks the silence. ‘I’ve Reached My Limit.’
Kącki’s text stirred intense emotions. There was no shortage of praise for the journalist for opening up. However, Karolina Rogaska, the woman from the mentioned phone call, spoke up.
“I can’t remain silent anymore, even though I know it may be associated with a lynching. Unfortunately, I know how victims are treated. But I’ve reached my limit; I’m tired of the cult of tormentors,” wrote Rogaska.
“The fact that people read Kącki’s text and applaud him without considering the dozens of victims he mentions doesn’t concern them. Perhaps they assume that since these women told him – surprised by his call – that “it’s okay,” everything is fine? Women who experienced harm many years ago may say such things just to get the conversation out of their heads,” added Rogaska.
“I am tired of this manipulation, justifying one’s bad behavior with one’s experiences: I did wrong, but life treated me badly. I also have many difficult experiences behind me – Marcin, you lost a brother, and I a sister – however, I would never think of treating someone else badly because of it. When I do something wrong, I simply apologize, without seeking justifications. Without mentioning, by the way, how many other things I did right. That’s how apologies work,” pointed out the journalist’s victim.
Karolina Rogaska on Kącki’s behavior: ‘Disgusting’
Addressing Kącki, Karolina Rogaska asked why he didn’t directly write about what he did in relationships with women.
“Why didn’t you write that you treated my repeated NO as if it didn’t exist? Why didn’t you mention how you threw at me that ‘now you refuse, but after 30, you won’t be so picky and you’ll indulge as much as you want’? How did you consider undressing and masturbating despite my evident horror? Disgusting behavior. DISGUSTING. I apologize for being literal, but I no longer have the strength for monosyllables,” she wrote.
She also referred to the phone call from the ‘Wyborcza’ journalist, described in the text: – Kącki describes how he called me, and even in this small fragment, he misses the truth. By saying that I expressed surprise at his behavior, as he wrote so many books about harm. I didn’t express it. I’ve been around for so many years that such things don’t surprise me. He talked about his books and that as the author of such books, he MUST understand and he wants me to explain what he did wrong. No apology was uttered. Only later, once in a text message. And yes, Marcin, I have evidence of this, as I recorded our conversation.
“Moreover – after this conversation, I even had a sense of, well, let’s bury it again. Maybe he really understood something, maybe he wouldn’t harm anyone anymore. But now I feel that this conversation, these phone calls, were just another ‘gathering material’ for the text (…) And please, don’t ask me now: why were you silent for so many years? If you don’t know, read about what happens in the victim’s psyche. About the shame they should never feel because only one person should be ashamed. About fear, pain, about the desire to erase memory,” she wrote.
Her response to Kącki’s text caused a storm: nearly 3,000 reactions on Facebook, on the X portal – over 150,000 views.
Kącki removed from working with students. ‘Karolina, we support you.’
A statement on the matter also appeared on the Institute of Reportage’s website, where Kącki lectured (the Polish School of Reportage is a training program organized by the Institute of Reportage Foundation).
“Karolina Rogaska is a graduate of PSR and our colleague. A few weeks ago, we learned that she was harmed by Marcin Kącki. We removed him from working with PSR students, informing him of the reasons for this decision. Yesterday, he published a confession in ‘Gazeta Wyborcza,’ and today, Karolina Rogaska posted her response to this text on her FB. Karolina, we support you, we are with you. We believe in what you say and respect your courage,” reads the statement, signed by, among others, Mariusz Szczygła.