What if the people we call “difficult,” “problematic,” or “unlikable” aren’t villains at all — just framed that way?

In this episode, I break down the anti-hero as a framing problem, not a moral one. From Nene Leakes and Dennis Rodman to The Housemaid, we examine how power, gender and audience perspective shape who gets cast as the hero — and who gets labeled the problem.

This isn’t about defending bad behavior. It’s about understanding who controls the narrative, why certain figures are allowed complexity, and why others are flattened into cautionary tales.

If you’ve ever wondered why we root for anti-heroes — or why some people are never allowed to be heroes at all — this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• How framing turns people into anti-heroes

• Why “unlikable” is often a narrative shortcut

• The role of power, context, and perspective

• What Nene Leakes, Dennis Rodman, and The Housemaid reveal about culture

🎧 Read Her Like a Book — where we decode culture, power, and perception.

n this episode, we’re talking about foils—the characters who exist to expose the truth, whether the story is ready for it or not. A foil isn’t just a contrast; they’re a mirror, forcing us to reevaluate what we think we know about the protagonist, the narrative, and even ourselves as readers.

Using interviews, conversations, and pop culture moments, I break down how foils work, why they’re often misunderstood, and how one sharp, perceptive character can completely unravel the illusion another character is trying to maintain. Sometimes the smartest person in the room isn’t the main character—and that’s the point.

In this episode of Read Her Like a Book, we explore the unreliable narrator—those characters we think we know, until the story flips. Using Sherrone Moore and Mama Joyce as case studies, I unpack how audience bias decides who we trust and who we dismiss…even when they’re right.