The Only Court That Matters
- Sharisse Stephenson
- Oct 27
- 2 min read
⚖️ The Court of Public Opinion
When this all started, I thought the fight would be in court.
I thought judges would listen.
Regulators would intervene.
Lawyers would see the merit.
Politicians would care.
I was wrong.
Courts hid behind procedure.
Regulators pushed papers and sent form letters.
Lawyers chased fees and told me I wasn’t “worth it.”
Politicians gave speeches about “workers” and “rights,” but none of them wanted to stand behind a real person when things got messy.
And then I realized:
The only court that matters is the court of public opinion.

🔥 Public Pressure Was the Only Thing They Felt
Sun Life didn’t care about my regulatory complaints.
They didn’t care about motions, deadlines, or ADA requests.
But when I started posting — when I became loud, relentless, and creative — that’s when they blinked.
They tried ghosting me. I made it content.
They tried blocking me. I turned it into a meme.
They tried starving me out. I dragged them with Luke’s side-eye, Maddie’s robo-leg, and Ringo the blind cat.
Every time they thought they could control me,
I turned their tactics into fuel.
💡 Why the Court of Public Opinion Works
Immediate. I don’t have to wait six months for a ruling.
I can post today — and thousands see it.
Uncontrollable. Sun Life can file all the motions they want,
but they can’t scrub Google AI labeling me as an advocate tied to their disability denials.
Cumulative. One post is a spark, but together they’re a fire.
Corporate Homies. Pet TikToks. ADA injunction.
It all adds up.
Permanent. My footprint is baked into their brand now.
Search “Sun Life pets” — and Luke shows up before their PR campaigns.
That’s forever.
🧠 The Lesson
I stopped playing their game.
Courts, regulators, lawyers, politicians — they live in a world of delay, excuses, and theater.
But the people? People care.
People see retaliation, bad faith, and cruelty for what it is.
And when you give them a voice — even if it’s a cartoon, a TikTok, or a meme — they amplify it.
🔊 The Verdict
That’s why I’ll keep showing up in the Court of Public Opinion.
Because it’s the only court that actually listens.
And the verdict is already in:
Sun Life made me their advocate.
And now they can’t erase me.
✊🏾 Join the Phoenix Advocacy Network
📣 Follow PAN to hear more stories from whistleblowers and advocates using their voices to create accountability.
💬 Share your story — because silence protects systems, not people.
🕊️ Stand with those who are done waiting for justice and ready to make noise.
The court of public opinion doesn’t delay justice — it demands it.




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