The White Feminist Version of #MeToo Is In Ruins For Many Reasons
After co-opting #MeToo, white feminists and liberals continued to frame sexual assault as individual instances rather than as a systemic issue. TW/CW: This article discusses sexual assault, victim-blaming, anti-Blackness, and anti-indigeneity. As the Tara Reade allegation came to the forefront in recent
10 Black Women Who Shaped The 2010s With Their Gifts
These Black women were saving graces of the 2010s by sharing their culturally-impactful art, gifts, and passions with us. The 2010s were a long and strenuous decade. Longer than most of us wanted it to be. And it was a decade
Don’t Forget That Black Womxn Worked To Make R. Kelly Face Consequences
Those of us who have spent years reading, writing, and hearing stories about R. Kelly’s violence know that this has been a long, long road marked by Black womxn’s activism.
Jeffrey Tambor is Trash: Talent and Genius Doesn’t Justify Abuse
There is no such art, no such glorious work of fiction, no such extraordinary performance, that excuses a real-life abuser.
By Candice Frederick It’s been a mere eight months since women in Hollywood first brought Harvey Weinstein’s horrid history of sexual assault to the masses, and just as long since the #MeToo movement catapulted to the mainstream, ushering in a new era in which women’s voices, victims of men including Bill Cosby, Louis C.K., R. Kelly, Junot Díaz, Matt Lauer, and Brett Ratner, were being validated unlike ever before. EIGHT. MONTHS. And already, countless apologists have rushed to defend these so-called “geniuses” whose work they’ve repeatedly asked us to consider as we reckon with their abusive behaviors. Some have even suggested these men can and should make a comeback. The latest example was Jason Bateman, who went out of his way to interject when New York Times reporter Sopan Deb asked Jeffrey Tambor, who’s been accused of sexual and verbal harassment, whether he expects to be on future seasons of their series "Arrested Development". “Well I certainly wouldn’t do it without [him],” Bateman said. Okay fine, he reveres his award-winning on-screen dad, but maybe take some time to think about the question at hand, which was really asking whether Tambor should be on the show (or working at all) since he has been accused of sexual harassment during his work with “Transparent” and creating a toxic on-set environment—particularly for his female colleagues including Jessica Walter (who is sitting right there with them during this interview!). But it seemed for Bateman, and so many other apologists, that he prioritized Tambor’s talent and career influence over his abusive behavior of which the 73-year-old actor said he’s “working on” and “has profusely apologized”. When Walter tried to insert her voice (in a conversation where she should have already been centered), Bateman once again re-focused the attention back on Tambor, describing his actions as “incredibly common” in an industry that is “a breeding ground for atypical behavior.” But, you know, “not to belittle what happened [between Walter and Tambor],” he added. Bateman has since apologized. Co-star Tony Hale has also tweeted an apology for essentially over-talking throughout that segment of the interview, and Tambor’s apology had previously been on record. They’re all just so sorry—and sadly so is Walter, who was so marginalized throughout the interview that she actually said, “I’ve just given up. I don’t want to walk around with anger.”SUPPORT WEAR YOUR VOICE: DONATE HERE
How Myths and False Assumptions are Still Making Sexual Assault Hard to Report