Amber Rose is all for the #MeToo movement but feels black women and their stories of sexual assault have been overlooked. Tarana Burkestarted the campaign over a decade ago, but it didn’t start getting the attention of major news outlets until last year when victims (most of which were white women) accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment.
“A black woman started it [#MeToo] and she didn’t get the recognition she deserved… and then it just became about rich white women,” said Rose to TMZ.
She’s not the only one who thinks this way. Comedian Kathy Griffinresponded to the newly surfaced #MuteRKelly movement that’s holding the artist accountable for his many sexual assault accusations. When asked why she believed it took so long for the public to acknowledge his alleged sexual misconduct, she responded:
“Because his victims are black women and our racist culture does not value their pain as much as it does the pain of white women.”
For 20 years we've been reading about credible accusations against R Kelly. For 20 years we've known that he has settled multiple claims of sexual misconduct. For 20 years we have known he is a sexual predator.
Because his victims are black women and our racist culture does not value their pain as much as it does the pain of white women. #MuteRKellyhttps://t.co/0pzcX8gGxc
Many of the victims who accused the R&B singer of sexual assault felt their stories were overlooked and they weren’t included in the #MeToo movement, including Jerhonda Pace who went on The Real and opened up about her experience.
Now, more attention and acknowledgment than ever before has been brought to their claims.