Activists with the #MeToo movement, along with Time’s Up and the National Women’s Law Center, have spoken out in support of Black survivors of sexual assault in light of allegations made against the rapper Clifford “TI” Harris and his wife, the singer Tameka “Tiny” Harris.
The scandal involving the rapper and former girl group member erupted over several weeks as women reportedly came forward to accuse the power couple of confiscating their cellphones and preventing from leaving as the Harrises sexual assaulted them, or other women, in forced drug binges.
It has prompted the activists to address the issue as showing how Black survivors are often sidelined and their stories ignored in the national MeToo reckoning in America over sexual assault.
“We know countless of you have come forward with credible accusations of horrific sexual abuse and violence at the hands of Black celebrities,” the activists and groups wrote in a public letter. “Like you, we are carrying the emotional weight of this news and know that we are reliving a collective trauma akin to the exposing of Cosby and R Kelly.”
The letter from the #MeToo activists, the NWLC and Time’s Up also chides American media organizations for failing to specifically cover Black survivors of sexual abuse. “This tendency to ignore, mock, challenge, and discredit the stories of Black survivors is an attempt to coerce us into silence and, this too, is an act of violence,” it states.
It adds: “The level of violence that has occurred against Black survivors for so long demands stories and headlines that center them across all media.”
Lisa Bloom
(@LisaBloom)
Good Lord. So many accusers. https://t.co/Oge2uHCQ2F
January 30, 2021
The allegations against the Harrises first arose in January, after the stylist Sabrina Peterson, a former friend of the couple, posted a shocking claim that the rapper had once pulled a gun on her during a dispute with his wife and another client.
Tameka Harris immediately shot back at the allegations, dismissing the beauty brand owner’s claim. Peterson has since claimed to have taken a polygraph test to verify her story.
At least one woman has engaged the attorney Lisa Bloom. The lawyer confirmed that the woman is willing to speak out against TI and Tiny, considered hip-hop royalty throughout Atlanta. So far, the alleged victim remains unidentified.
“We stand with her. The music industry is long overdue for a reckoning on how women, especially Black women, are demeaned and abused,” Bloom said in an Instagram post, adding: “Enough is enough.”
Peterson has alleged multiple women have reached out to her to share stories of their own encounters with the couple and a host of their celebrity friends. Sharing screenshots only, Peterson noted most of the response detailed what she called patterns of the sexual abuse.
The Harrises released a statement to Complex magazine, acknowledging that while their romantic life might be unconventional, they strongly deny any wrongdoing.
“They emphatically deny in the strongest way possible the egregiously appalling allegations being made against them,” the statement read.
Representatives for the couple confirmed to Complex magazine that they have explored legal action against Peterson, and others.
Requests for comment to Peterson, Harris and Bloom have not been returned.
Свежие комментарии