In the last two decades she has abandoned feminism and attracted controversy with her social commentary and her views on sexual abuse, domestic violence and men's rights advocacy.

[9] This period of her career was the subject of a television documentary in the Australian Time of My Life series (2013), in which the presenter introduced Arndt as "the feisty young editor [who] taught us all we need to know, and more, about ...

[2] Medical witnesses, including gynaecology professor Derek Llewellyn-Jones, presented evidence to a court hearing supporting Forum’s educative role in the court hearing on the matter, summed up by Magistrate Mr N. O. Scott to make the case that "the general public was ignorant or misinformed on sexual matters and there was a necessity for an education programme in this sphere.

"[18] Between 1973 and 1976 the Australian Broadcasting Control Board had ruled that all TV and radio programs in which Arndt took part in had to be pre-recorded so that they could be approved by station management before being transmitted.

"[5] In 1986, Arndt moved to New York City for five years and, while living in the United States, wrote a weekly newspaper column syndicated through The Age in Melbourne (and published in Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane).

[28][29] In 2010, Arndt said "I spent my early career lobbying for women but turned to men when I realised how lousy they are about advocating for issues that affect their private lives.

"[6] Kate Gleeson, a senior lecturer at Macquarie Law School who has studied her, says "Arndt's extolling of men's rights, as well as her critique of feminist analyses of domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and sex within marriage, has provoked feminist ire in the press", adding that "To Arndt's frustration, the male revolution she advocated of political reaction against feminism had failed to emerge.

[33] The program also accused Arndt of journalistic non-disclosure in a column she wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald when she identified Kerryn Phelps's same-sex marriage to Ascham Girls' School teacher Jackie Stricker.

[9][34] In 2010, Good Weekend said she had repositioned herself as "a champion of the downtrodden male of the species", adding that "In her writing, the former libertine started to sound like a self-appointed guardian of public morals.

"[citation needed] Her friend Merri Southwood said of Arndt's newspaper columns at the time, "I'm not sure how much of it is the author seeking an audience and how much is the genuine Bettina ... Because, in fact, the way she writes is sometimes a little at odds with her own personal life.

[39] She believes there is a pervasive "anti-male bias" in society, media and the law—also extending into areas such as divorce, cancer research and domestic violence—saying that women are prioritised, thus denying men their rights.

[43] In 2012, Janet Albrechtsen wrote that Arndt "now argues that with women dominating public discussion of gender and sexual issues, men's views are being silenced".

[44] Arndt argues that "radical feminism, where men are presented as violent and sexist, is guilty of manshaming and destroying what should be a bond of mutual acceptance and respect between the sexes".

[9] John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, spoke out about the importance of Arndt's work saying "For me now what becomes the issue is what about that extraordinary in-depth research you do that needs to be taken seriously at a time when we are all at each other's throats, when it is all too common just to shut people down.

Former senator Brian Greig denounced Arndt for using "the work of 'researchers' with strong links to the American religious right" when discussing same-sex parenting, saying that she should have been "able to distinguish such research from sham, politically motivated studies".

[53] In 2005, in an article in The Courier-Mail, Arndt discussed convicted paedophile Robert Potter, a scoutmaster who had molested four boys, one of whom subsequently attempted suicide.

[53] In a 2012 article she wrote that "Demonising sexuality inevitably distorts a proper perspective on sexual crimes, leading to politically inspired calls for absurdly longer sentences, misinformation about the likelihood of offenders to reoffend and exaggeration of the emotional damage to the victims of minor abuse" and that "Our prurient interest in sex crimes often robs the perpetrator of any chance of redemption—as the sad death of cricket commentator Peter Roebuck bears witness.

[60][61] In the video, Arndt was seen to laugh and referred to "sexually provocative behaviour from female students" and said young women should "behave sensibly and not exploit their seductive power to ruin the lives of men".

The Saturday Paper reported that "Federal government ministers and conservative media personalities have been quick to praise Arndt as the latest free speech hero threatened by a censorious left-wing culture on university campuses.

[80] Katharine Gelber, a Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Queensland, concluded that "the idea that her free speech has been violated by the actions of a small group of protestors is absurd".

[53] Bester's sexual assault victim, Grace Tame, said that "I believe that honouring someone who actively defended a pedophile on a public platform is a blatant example of the protracted, systemic moral corruption that still hampers our society.

"[27] Law professor Augusto Zimmerman responded to Hennessy’s intervention by stating that "One must speak out loud and clear about domestic violence against anyone, either male or female.

Zimmerman, a former West Australian Law Reform Commissioner, went on: "We can only wish this country had more brave and courageous people like Ms Arndt to fight against the sexist biases of governments such as Victoria’s, and to champion the cause of justice and equality for all, regardless of gender or ideological considerations.

[71] Sue Williamson from the University of New South Wales in Canberra noted that the Governor-General can revoke an award if the awardee "has behaved or acted in a manner that has brought disrepute on the order".

[87] In February 2020, following controversy about Arndt's comments on a domestic violence quadruple murder-suicide in Queensland, Liberal MP Tim Smith wrote to the chairman of the Council of the Order of Australia, Shane Stone, calling for her award to be revoked.

[88] Within days many politicians from the Liberal Party, Labor and the Greens were also calling for her award to be revoked,[42][89][90][91][92][93] including the Federal Minister for Women, Marise Payne.

"[95] In response to the Senate vote Arndt said conservative MPs had "caved in" to "feminist power" and urged her supporters to "maintain the rage" and mobilise against what she believes are "feral mobs trying to take [her] out".

While refusing to comment on Arndt's case specifically, he also noted in relation to past removals that they "largely attribute to legal proceedings having been exhausted" and confirmed that some recipients convicted of serious charges retained their awards while still undergoing appeals.

[96] Psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed wrote, "Despite the term hysterical being criticised as having a sexist history and connotation, it is difficult to describe the reaction to Bettina Arndt's Australia Day honours as anything but.

The complaints accusing Arndt of supposedly sympathising with a paedophile and other such alleged misdemeanours are just a smokescreen for her real crime – betraying the feminist cause by prosecuting problems faced by men and boys.