Ms. Ford was also feted by millionaires and movie stars after her bombshell congressional testimony and was rewarded with other celebrity perks.

Nobody rushed to support Mr. Judge, whose mental health suffered from the ordeal. In addition to Ms. Ford, old classmates and acquaintances were given high-profile platforms to make unsubstantiated claims about his behavior in high school and beyond.

The negative publicity damaged Mr. Judge’s reputation, resulting in the loss of much of the freelance writing work that supported his existence....

Mr. Judge also wrote a book about the experience. Unlike Ms. Ford, he was never invited to promote it on major cable and broadcast television shows.