Tag: me too movement
Judge: Kesha falsely accused Dr. Luke of raping Katy Perry
Pop singer Kesha made a false claim that Dr. Luke raped Katy Perry when there’s “no evidence whatsoever” that he did, a judge ruled this week while sending a long-running clash between Kesha and her former mentor toward trial.
Kesha’s lawyers said in a statement that they plan to appeal Thursday’s ruling, which also says she owes the prominent producer over $373,000 in interest on royalties she paid him years late.
The decision isn’t the final word in Dr. Luke’s wider-ranging defamation and breach-of-contract suit against Kesha, but his lawyer said the ruling “brings him closer to the justice that he seeks.”
“Dr. Luke looks forward to the trial of his case, where he will prove that Kesha’s other false statements about him were equally false and defamatory,” said the attorney, Christine Lepera.
Kesha, known for such hits as “TiK ToK” and “Praying,” and Dr. Luke have been locked in court battles since 2014, when she filed a lawsuit alleging that he drugged and raped her in 2005 and emotionally abused her for years.
He denied it and sued her, saying she was smearing him with fabrications to try to get out of her record deal.
A New York court later dismissed Kesha’s sexual abuse-related claims because of time limits and other legal issues, without ruling on whether the allegations had merit.
Meanwhile, Kesha claimed — in a 2016 text message to Lady Gaga — that “Firework” singer Katy Perry “was raped by the same man.”
Dr. Luke, born Lukasz Gottwald, denies it, and Perry said it was “absolutely not” true during sworn questioning in 2017.
“There is no evidence whatsoever that Gottwald raped Katy Perry,” Manhattan judge Jennifer Schecter wrote in Thursday’s decision, calling Kesha’s remark a false statement that meets legal standards for being defamatory.
The finding is helpful to Dr. Luke. But the judge noted that many aspects of the suit remain to be decided, including the question of whether Kesha’s allegation of her own rape is true.
“Kesha and Gottwald have very different accounts of what happened on the night at issue. This court cannot decide, as a matter of law on papers and without any assessment of credibility, who should be believed,” the judge wrote. “That is a decision for the jury.”
The singer, born Kesha Rose Sebert, released her latest album, “High Road,” last week. Her emotional performance of “Praying” at the 2018 Grammy Awards marked a memorable moment as the ceremony gave voice to the #MeToo movement against sexual assault.
Dr. Luke has produced some of the biggest pop hits of the 2000s, working with stars including Perry, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson and Nicki Minaj.
The Associated Press does not generally name people who report being sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Kesha has done.
Article via ABC
Taylor Swift gives Kesha $250k + Dr. Luke FINALLY Speaks Out
Actress claims she slept with Mick Jagger when she was just 15
Actress Rae Dawn, the daughter of pot comedian Tommy Chong, said she spent a “fabulous” night with Mick Jagger back in 1977– when she was just 15 years old.
Dawn, who had roles in the 1985 films “The Color Purple” and “Commando,” detailed her underage fling with the Rolling Stones legend to the Daily Mail after she claimed to have accidentally blurted out the news while taping a forthcoming podcast from The Hollywood Reporter.
“He wasn’t that much older than me in my brain. He was 33 and young and gorgeous with a nice body,” she told the outlet in an attempt to get ahead of the story.
“It wasn’t a bad thing; it was fabulous. Totally rock ‘n’ roll. He didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do, but he was very vain, always looking in the mirror.”
Dawn, now 58, said she slept with Jagger when he was still married to his first wife after meeting him at a friend’s place.
She was pals with the daughter of John Phillips, the singer of The Mamas & the Papas, and introduced herself to Jagger one day when they were both visiting Phillips’ home.
“He never asked me how old I was and I never told him,” she told the Mail. “It never came up. I remember thinking he was really cute. He had tousled hair. I thought, ‘Oh man, he is beautiful.’”
The pair ended up spending two days together in New York, according to the Mail. Dawn insisted that the intimacy was consensual and worried that the revelation would land Jagger in deep water.
“He did nothing wrong,” said Dawn. “He didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do.”
Jagger didn’t respond to the Mail’s request for comment.
Dawn bumped into Jagger several times in the wake of the romance. Years later she got him to cast her for an appearance in the video for the Stones’ track “Just Another Night.”
They had remained friends, but their relationship apparently soured after Dawn publicly complained about Jagger’s “licky” behavior on the set.
“In real life, he was a great kisser, but in the film, he did lots of ‘licky’ things,’ she said. “I talked about that in an interview. He has a fragile ego. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”
Article via New York Post
‘It makes people uncomfortable’: inside the Weinstein-inspired thriller about complicity
Based on interviews with former employees, writer-director Kitty Green’s The Assistant looks at a toxic workplace through the eyes of a single young worker
The horror in The Assistant, a new film about an entry-level employee at a Weinstein-esque film production company, trickles out slowly, in bits small enough to leave room for doubt. That is why Jane (a brilliant Julia Garner), the recent college graduate through whose eyes we observe a pattern of sexism and (implied) sexual abuse, is often found hesitating, simultaneously swallowing her concerns and setting her face.
The Assistant, written and directed by Australian film-maker Kitty Green, explores a specific shadow of the #MeToo reckoning that often focuses solely on powerful men, or a stark harasser-victim narrative: the experience of adjacency, and of being an inadvertent or reluctant accomplice to the work culture that protects predators and abuse. Jane, an aspiring producer, is just weeks into her administrative pay-your-dues assistant role at a company steered by an imposing man we never see, and only hear in occasional berating phone calls. The film follows her over the course of one day, as she turns the lights on before dawn, makes the coffee, mans the phones; she also removes syringes from her boss’s trash can, accompanies a pretty, young intern to a hotel room the boss later visits and defuses angry phone calls from his wife. At every turn, she’s told: nothing to see here.
The film, keeping with its clear parallels to the Weinstein company, emerged out of the reporting of the film mogul’s alleged decades of sexual assault and workplace harassment in the fall of 2017 – coverage which triggered a wave of stories exposing toxic men and a reckoning with abuses of power now known as the #MeToo movement. At the time, Green was working on a project about consent on American college campuses, but switched track after “reading the media coverage … all focused on these men – Harvey Weinstein, the idea that if we get rid of him, the problem is fixed”, Green told the Guardian. “I was trying to make a film that highlighted, basically, that the problem is so much bigger than just these men.” You could remove Weinstein, or ex-CBS CEO Les Moonves, or former Today show anchor Matt Lauer – powerful men in the media industry accused of assault or harassment – but that wouldn’t address the sprawling rot facilitating them, or looking the other way.
If Ronan Farrow’s Catch and Kill and She Said, by the New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor on their Weinstein reporting, focused on complicity at the top level – lawyers, executives, celebrity friends working behind the scenes to manage and suppress – Green’s film goes straight to the bottom rung: the young female assistant wanting a break in a cutthroat business. In preparation for writing the film, Green said she interviewed dozens of former assistants in the film industry, some from Weinstein’s two production companies, Miramax and the Weinstein Company, some who “work for people who are still in power now”. She also expanded from film to entertainment at large – agencies and studios, and eventually “people in tech, people in engineering – they all had really similar stories”.
Many of the technical details of Weinstein’s alleged abuse are publicly available through court cases (such as an allegation from a former assistant that he made her clean up semen stains on his couch). So Green focused her research on the emotional truth of low-level adjacency – “how alone they felt, the culture of silence at the company, what that was like for them”, she said. “The details about the stains on the couch – that’s all in the press. But what that’s like for a human being to be around is a different kind of question.” Her interviews centered on “the ordinary, not the extraordinary”, she said, with former assistant after former assistant revealing a “commonality of experience”, and disturbing patterns. Those common threads include the usual sexual discrimination – a boys club they weren’t a part of, men promoted quickly as they stay in the same place for years, lunch duty relegated as women’s work – and more sinister stories. “Just feeling so powerless in a situation was the direct common link,” she said.
Article via The Gurdian
Don Lemon’s assault accuser says CNN anchor a ‘liar and hypocrite’ with #MeToo coverage
The man suing CNN host Don Lemon for assault says his claim isn’t being taken seriously because it doesn’t fit the mainstream media’s #MeToo movement narrative.
Dustin Hice filed an explosive lawsuit against Lemon – who is openly gay — last year, accusing the “CNN Tonight” host of a sexually charged assault.
Hice told Fox News the alleged “vile, disgusting, lewd and inhumane” attack would be treated much differently if he were a woman.
“[Lemon] put his hand down the front of his own shorts, and vigorously rubbed his genitalia, removed his hand and shoved his index and middle fingers into Plaintiff’s mustache and under Plaintiff’s nose,” according to the lawsuit, filed Aug. 11, 2019 in Suffolk County Court.
Lemon offered a six-figure settlement before talks broke down and the formal complaint was filed, according to Hice.
“I’m not doing this for notoriety or fame, I’m doing this because I’m standing up for myself and what I believe in,” Hice told Fox News. “I’ve grown a new respect for people dealing with mental health issues because stress, depression, anxiety, those are all very serious things. It consumed my life.”
CNN did not respond to a series of questions from Fox News, including a request for comment regarding Hice’s claim that Lemon offered him a six-figure settlement.
Lemon was served with the complaint Wednesday. The case was moving to discovery, according to a source close to Hice’s legal team.
CNN did not immediately respond with a comment regarding the complaint being served.
Lemon, through CNN, previously vehemently denied Hice’s allegations, and has continued to host “CNN Tonight.”
“I’ve grown a little skeptical of the news after what’s happened to me, nobody acknowledges it anymore,” Hice said. “The hypocrisy, he is a black, gay, liberal and supposed #MeToo advocate but when it doesn’t fit their narrative, or it’s one of their own, they don’t even address it.”
Lemon allegedly asked a crude question about Hice’s sexual preference during the physical confrontation, leaving him “shocked and humiliated,” according to the suit. The alleged incident occurred at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern, in the prestigious Hamptons area east of New York City in July 2018.
CNN initially denied Hice’s account and said Hice seemed to bear animosity toward the cable news network. But, Hice said he didn’t watch much CNN, with the exception of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” before the alleged incident and had no reason to trash the network.
Last year, the New York Post cited a “source close to Lemon” who said Hice asked for $1.5 million in exchange for not filing the lawsuit. Hice admitted that $1.5 million was a figure discussed during settlement talks but said it’s only part of the story.
“They painted me as trying to extort $1.5 million from him but they never mentioned that he offered many times over six figures to settle. He tried to make payments on that and I said, ‘No thank you,’” Hice said. “I think that when he went to CNN and [denied the accusations], he probably failed to mention that he offered me well over six figures in the settlement process.”
While Hice wasn’t particularly opinionated about CNN before the alleged incident, he has since paid close attention to Lemon’s show.
“I don’t want to see his face on the news anymore because he’s a blatant liar and hypocrite,” Hice said, pointing to a Sept. 2018 segment when Lemon discussed the various ways victims of sexual harassment dealt with the aftermath and trauma.
“It was only two months after he assaulted me,” Hice said. “This is something that I’m going to be healing from and recovering from for the rest of my life.”
Hice said he didn’t want to take the spotlight away from female victims of abuse and said he developed a strong sympathy for anyone going through similar struggles.
“The media has labeled me as an ‘accuser,’ as opposed to a ‘victim,’ just because I’m a male,” he said. “I’ve been struggling, but there is a lot of people that have gone through a lot worse things than somebody rubbing their genitals and putting it in your face, as disgusting and vile as that is. There are people that have been raped and worse.”
Hice said he took a polygraph test with a former FBI profiler to prove to people close to him that he’s telling the truth.
“I passed with flying colors, this guy hooked me up to this whole machine, it was nerve-wracking but I just wanted to prove that I’m not lying,” Hice said. “Witnesses saw this happen. The whole town of Sag Harbor knew.”
Last year, when the suit initially was filed, Fox News spoke with George Gounelas, one of the witnesses named in the suit who was Hice’s boss at the time of the alleged incident.
Hice approached Lemon to strike up a conversation but the newsman declined, according to Gounelas, who said he and Hice then offered to buy Lemon a drink, which the CNN host also declined.
Hice told Fox News he simply wanted to be able to share a story of taking a shot with the CNN host and was not hostile, confrontational or looking for trouble.
“He took offense to it, or took it as me flirting, and that’s when he decided he’s above the law and can do whatever the hell he wanted,” Hice said.
Gounelas said that a few moments later, Lemon came up to them.
“Don Lemon has now come around the corner and is standing face to face with us. There is a beam, a pole, in the place. Don’s standing up against the pole, face to face with Dustin, I turn around and I’m standing right there between the two of them,” Gounelas said. “He’s saying, ‘So, you like me? Is that why you’re bothering me?’”
Gounelas told Fox News he couldn’t recall what Lemon said verbatim, but it was “along the lines of, ‘Do you like me? Is that why you’re bothering me, because you wanna f— me?’”
Gounelas said Lemon appeared “pretty drunk” when he confronted the duo.
“He put his hands down his pants, inside his board shorts, grabbed his [genitals], and then came out with two fingers and, like, clipped Dustin’s nose up and down with two fingers asking ‘do you like p—- or d—?’” Gounelas said.
Gounelas also said he laughed during the alleged incident and immediately mocked Hice as “gross” because of Lemon’s alleged actions – but Hice didn’t think it was a laughing matter.
“Dustin was in this shock mode, saying, ‘Bro, did that just happen? That was disgusting,’” Gounelas said, noting that the story followed Hice. “Every time we went out, every bartender offered him a lemon drop shot, making fun of him. He got some sh– for it.”
“The plaintiff in this lawsuit has previously displayed a pattern of contempt for CNN on his social media accounts,” a CNN spokesperson told Fox News in a statement when the suit was first filed last year. “This claim follows his unsuccessful threats and demands for an exorbitant amount of money from Don Lemon.”
“Don categorically denies these claims and this matter does not merit any further comment at this time,” the CNN spokesperson added last year.
Article via FOX
Annabella Sciorra Testifies That Harvey Weinstein Raped Her: ‘My Body Shut Down’
Article via YahooNews
Annabella Sciorra said in court testimony Thursday that Harvey Weinstein raped her more than two decades ago.
Called as a witness for Weinstein’s rape trial in New York, the actor — at times visibly very upset and crying — recalled the incident shortly after she appeared in Miramax’s “The Night We Never Met,” released in 1993. After a dinner in New York in ’93 or ’94, Weinstein dropped her off at her Gramercy Park apartment. He unexpectedly showed up at her door, pushing it open, and started to unbutton his shirt.
“I realized that he thought in his head that he wanted to have sex,” Sciorra said. “I started to back up because I thought I could make it into my bathroom. I told him to leave because it was not going to happen… I was not going to have sex with him.”
Weinstein then grabbed Sciorra around her collar above her chest, the actor testified, and he shoved her onto the bed. She said she was wearing a nightgown and did not have underwear on. “I was trying to get him off of me, I was punching him, I was kicking him,” she said. “I was just trying to get him away from me… He put my hands over my head to put them back and he got on top of me and he raped me.”
“He put his penis inside my vagina and he raped me,” Sciorra continued. “I was trying to fight but I couldn’t fight anymore because he had my hands locked. At a certain point he stopped, and he came out of me and he ejaculated on top of me on my leg in the nightgown.”
At that point, according to Sciorra, Weinstein said, “I have perfect timing,” and then “he proceeded to put his mouth on my vagina,” before which he said, “This is for you.”
“I didn’t have very much fight left inside of me at that point. I said ‘no, no’ but there was not much I could do at that point. My body shut down,” Sciorra testified. “And then it was just so disgusting that my body started to shake in a way that was very unusual,” she said, describing it as “like a seizure or something.”
Sciorra said she doesn’t remember a lot of what happened the rest of that night. “I know that I woke up. I’m not sure if I fainted or fell asleep or blacked out, but I woke up on the floor with my nightgown kind of up and I didn’t know if something else had happened.”
Sciorra said she did not call police to report the incident “because he was someone I knew,” she testified. “I would say I felt at the time that rape was something that happened in a back alleyway in a dark place” and committed by a stranger.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Donna Rotunno challenged that version of events, suggesting that Sciorra must have known what rape was at the time.
“Ms. Sciorra, you were 33 years old at the time?” she asked.
Rotunno also questioned various decisions Sciorra said that she made that night. She asked why Sciorra had opened the door to Weinstein without knowing who it was, and asked why she hadn’t tried to get to her phone to call 911.
“It happened very fast — very fast,” Sciorra said.
Rotunno highlighted Sciorra’s training as an actor, suggesting that her job is to pretend to be someone she is not.
Sciorra told the jury that a few weeks after the incident, she was in a restaurant where she saw Weinstein. “I confronted him about what happened in my apartment. I tried to talk to him about what happened and I told him how I woke up and then I blacked out and fainted and he said, ‘That’s what all the nice Catholic girls say,’ and then he leaned into me and said, ‘This remains between you and I.’ It was very menacing… and I thought he was going to hit me right there. And it was threatening and I was afraid.”
The actor testified that she wasn’t drunk on the night she alleges Weinstein raped her, and she said she had stopped taking Valium prior to the incident. “I realized I was addicted to the Valium. I was taking it during the day a lot and at nighttime and I also knew it wasn’t good for me, so I found homeopathic treatment at the pharmacy so I started to wean myself off,” she said.
Following Weinstein’s alleged rape, according to Sciorra, she began to drink heavily and cut herself. “I cried a lot. I had a lot of what I know is called dissociative experiences. I spent a lot of time alone,” she said. “I didn’t see very many people. I didn’t want to talk about what happened. I disappeared… I began to drink a lot. I began to cut myself a lot.”
In 1997, when Sciorra was at the Cannes Film Festival to promote Miramax’s “Cop Land,” Weinstein showed up unannounced at her hotel with a bottle of baby oil in his hand, she testified — at which point she pressed “every single call button” on the hotel phone. Since then, Sciorra testified, she recalled seeing Weinstein only once more, at an event. “Suddenly I felt a hand on my back, and as I turned around, it was the defendant and he immediately took his hand off and went away,” Sciorra said.
Sciorra said she first met Weinstein in either 1990 or 1991 when her agent took her to a party in Los Angeles at someone’s house. “There was a lot of people there, and at a certain point, my agent introduced me to Harvey Weinstein,” she said. Asked if she was familiar with Weinstein at that point, she said, “No, I had never heard of him.” Sciorra joined Weinstein in a car ride home to Malibu from the party, during which Weinstein handed her his business card and said that if she came across any scripts, she could reach out.
Sciorra said that following their initial meeting, she approached Weinstein about the script for “The Night We Never Met,” a rom-com in which she co-starred with Matthew Broderick. According to Sciorra, Weinstein said he wouldn’t produce the movie if she was not in it and he pushed her to start the shoot on the heels of two other movies she was in.
Weinstein sent Sciorra, who was living on Central Park West at the time, a plastic bag of Valium and a collection of his recent movies with a note saying “Enjoy these movies,” along with some licorice, popcorn and a bottle of wine. Later, Weinstein delivered another care package to her: “He sent me a box of chocolate penises,” she testified. “I thought it was disgusting and inappropriate.”
Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi, in her direct examination, asked Sciorra if it’s typical in the entertainment business to take meetings with producers and directors in hotel rooms, to which Sciorra responded: “Yeah, all the time.”
Illuzzi also queried Sciorra about whether she had any romantic relationship with Weinstein ever in her life. “No,” the actor replied. “To this day, have you ever had a romantic interest in Harvey Weinstein?” the prosecutor asked. “No,” Sciorra said.
Previously, Weinstein’s defense team had sought to block Sciorra’s testimony, arguing that her allegations were past the statute of limitations and represented a violation the Constitution’s prohibition on “ex post facto” laws. Prosecutors asked the court to allow Sciorra’s testimony to show that Weinstein is a repeat sex offender and a judge allowed her as a trial witness in a ruling last fall.
At the beginning of her testimony, Sciorra talked about her background growing up in Brooklyn. She said she graduated American Academy of Dramatic Arts high school at 17, and wanted to pursue a career in entertainment professionally — despite her mom’s disapproval. Sciorra is known for her roles in “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Jungle Fever” and earned an Emmy nomination for her part in HBO’s “The Sopranos.”
In New York, Weinstein is facing five counts of predatory sexual assault, rape, and criminal sexual acts. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. He also faces four charges in Los Angeles for allegedly raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in 2013, which carry a sentence of up to 28 years in prison. Weinstein’s criminal trial began Jan. 6 at the state Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Weinstein, who has been suffering health problems, hobbled into the courtroom Thursday without his walker, and was holding onto his PR rep.
Pictured above: Annabella Sciorra arrives to testify as a witness in the sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein at New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Jan. 23.
Hillary Clinton & others break their silence on Harvey Weinstein+ My thoughts on the hypocrisy!
Kim Kardashian finally addresses allegations against photographer Marcus Hyde
Kim Kardashian has broken her silence on the recent allegations that her personal photographer, Marcus Hyde, offered a model a free photoshoot in exchange for nude pictures.
“I have been reading all of the messages and stories from women regarding inappropriate and inexcusable behavior of a photographer that I have worked with in the past,” Kim wrote on her Instagram story on Tuesday. “My own experiences have always been professional, and I am deeply shocked, saddened and disappointed to learn that other women have had very different experiences.
“I stand in full support of every woman’s right to not be harassed, asked or pressured to do anything they are not comfortable with,” she continued. “We cannot allow this type of behavior to go unnoticed and I applaud those who speak out.”
On Monday, Los Angeles-based model Sunnaya accused Hyde of trying to bribe her into sending him nude pictures in exchange for a free photoshoot. If she didn’t send the nudes, he would’ve charged her $2,000, she claimed. Sunnaya shared screenshots of a conversation allegedly between her and Hyde that ultimately ended with him allegedly telling her to “find someone else. I’ll keep shooting celebs.”
Ariana Grande, who frequently collaborated with Hyde, slammed him over the accusations, as did Bella Thorne, drag queen Aquaria and Michelle Visage.
The famed shutterbug survived a near-fatal car crash last year. During his recovery, Kardashian and husband Kanye West donated $25,000 to alleviate his medical costs, and in April he attended West’s Sunday Service performance at Coachella.
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Kim Kardashian West helped FREE 17 inmates in 90 days!
In light of #MeToo, Disney quietly deleted a “blooper” scene from the latest release of Toy Story 2
Article via AVClub
It looks like Disney is reevaluating some of its earlier work to better fit the current climate—one that hopefully finds creepy behavior less amusing and more…well, fucking creepy. One such moment took place in Toy Story 2‘s faux blooper reel. The scene begins at 3:29 where Stinky Pete, the antagonistic prospector voiced by Kelsey Grammer, is seen in a box with twin Barbie dolls. Pete is speaking rather lecherously, asking them if they are “absolutely twins,” and suggestively flexing his ability to get them parts in the next Toy Story sequel while grabbing one of their hands. As soon as he realizes he’s being filmed, his demeanor changes entirely and he quickly escorts them out of his box. As quick as it is, Disney is now realizing that the implications of the clip are not worth the potential laughs and removing it entirely from future DVD and digital copies.
It’s a familiar casting couch scenario and a common trope that has often been used to denote a character’s creepiness. But with the parade of stories of harassment and abuse at the hands of many men in the industry—including Pixar’s co-founder and former head John Lasseter, the scene is just a gross reminder of behavior that has been excused and overlooked for decades. It’s also an example of how the public is socialized to downplay this kind of interaction from a young age. Hopefully this is a sign of more thoughtful writing to come, which would spare them secret editing sessions in the future.
Check out some Lovelyti videos:
Wendy Williams criticized for her #MeToo comments+ Alley Mills speaks on false claims
Hillary Clinton & others break their silence on Harvey Weinstein+ My thoughts on the hypocrisy!
Creepy Video shows Nelly Serenading Children+ His Accuser Says Nelly Is Bullying Her
Radio Station Removes ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ From Rotation During #MeToo Peak
A radio station in Cleveland decided to remove “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” from it’s Christmas playlist after complaints from a listener deeming the tune inappropriate.
The song, written in 1944, details a conversation between a woman who is trying to leave a man’s home, and the man who won’t let her due to the blizzard outside. According to FOX8, a listener called WDOK 102.1 to say that the song doesn’t align with the morals of the growing #MeToo movement.
“People might say, ‘Oh, enough with that #MeToo,’ but if you really put that aside and listen to the lyrics, it’s not something I would want my daughter to be in that kind of a situation,” WDOK’s midday host Desiray told FOX8. “The tune might be catchy, but let’s maybe not promote that sort of an idea.”
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” includes lyrics such as, “I simply must go/But baby it’s cold outside/The answer is no/But baby it’s cold outside.” Listen to the full tune below.
Article via: Billboard
Remy Ma Blaming Victims Of Sexual Assault For Being Too “Scared” To Report
Article via Madame Noir
The “State Of The Culture,” is rape culture.
The latest heated debate between media personality Scottie Beam and rapper Remy Ma on Revolt’s digital show, “State Of The Culture,” was a harsh reminder that it’s not just men upholding the systems of patriarchy that lambast sexual assault victims, it’s women too.
As the hosts began to tackle the topic of Bill Cosby’s recent conviction and sentencing for the 2004 rape of Andrea Constand, the lines in the sand were drawn in fire, with Scottie speaking on behalf of victims, and Remy choosing to focus on the “responsibility” of survivors to come forward immediately after assault takes place.
“It’s not easy reliving and recounting these situations that you go through that are extremely traumatic. It’s not that easy. Rape kits, having to be touched and examined all over again after you’ve been violated, is not easy. And also on top of that, having people like you sit here and say you don’t believe them.” Scottie explained to Remy.
Remy dug in her heels on her point saying, “Unfortunately, part of the procedure is convincing people about what happened.”
Scottie quipped back explaining that the entire examination process is re-traumtazing for many victims and added, “Who wants to go through that?” Continuing, “It’s not fair for you to say, you gotta come out..you can’t even save yourself at that moment.”
Remy fired off, “But you do though.” The Bronx lyricist went on to say she doesn’t believe all 60 of Cosby’s alleged accusers were telling the truth. And in her closing statements, she reiterated that if she was violated, she would say something. And women need to do the same.
“If I’m violated nothing on this planet..maybe that’s what we need to do as women. As women, we need to stand up a little more. Don’t be scared to come out.”
Continuing, “As women, this always underlying ‘I’m scared, I was afraid, I was this..’ I think they are valid. But I think as women, we have a responsibility as well, not just to ourselves, but to other women. Because if I’m violated…I want something to be done. I don’t want them just in jail. I want them violated like I’ve been violated…I want you to not use your d*ck ever again,” the 38-year-old concluded.
Beyond her suggesting some sort of vigilante retribution, Remy point’s are dangerous and hurtful on two accounts. One, she is shaming victims who never spoke out or spoke out “too late” by implying they are cowards for not seeking justice within a “reasonable” time period. Her opinion does not acknowledge the literal PTSD assault victims have to overcome to even begin the process of advocating for themselves. Beyond the physical wounds, which in some cases can include bleeding, bruising, difficulty walking, and tearing, the psychological damage that comes from surviving rape includes suicidal thoughts, depression, disassociation, fear, guilt, numbness, distrust of others, and helplessness, to name a few. For Remy to insinuate women are weak for not being able to overcome these mental and physical barriers before some arbitrary deadline is disappointing, to say the least. It’s stubborn stances like these that keep survivors of sexual assault psychologically gagged in their trauma and assailants roaming free.
Second, as Black women, we often see other black women–our mothers, sisters, aunties, friends and cousins as our safety net and our only real allies in this fight for equality and physical safety. To see one of our own victim blame evokes feelings of a deep seeded betrayal. How can you choose to focus on the victim being too “scared” to come forward, versus shifting your attention to the societal ills of toxic masculinity that perpetuates rape culture in our communities? It is the responsibility of rapists not to rape. Period. It’s not what the victim was wearing. It’s not where they were going. It’s not whether or not they were drinking. And their culpability sure as hell isn’t dependent on when they decide to report, if they ever do.
To survivors of sexual assault, there is no “expiration” date for your story. You are brave in silence. You are brave in your shaky voice. You are brave in your loud outcry. And I hear you and believe you.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider.
You can watch the whole show below: