“I don’t understand why women don’t just report it if it really happened.”
When I was 19, I reported mine. I had bruises. Hospital photos. Text messages of him apologizing the next morning. My friends drove me to the station because I could barely stop shaking. I thought evidence would make it simple. I thought truth would be enough.
Months later, I was the one on trial. His lawyer printed my Instagram photos and held them up in court. Asked why I wore crop tops. Asked why I drank that night. Asked why I didn’t scream louder. He replayed my police interview and pointed out every time I hesitated, every time I cried, every time my timeline wasn’t perfectly linear. “If it was traumatic,” he said, “why can’t she remember clearly?”
Sitting there while strangers debated my pain like it was a group project felt like being stripped again. My messages were projected on a screen. My body was described in detail. My character was picked apart like that was the real crime.
He walked out on bail. I walked out with panic attacks.
That’s why some women don’t report. Because even with bruises. Even with screenshots. Even when you do everything “right.” You still have to survive the assault twice, once in private, and once in public, just to maybe be believed.
This is probably going to tick some people off, and I hope it does. But I’m going to keep on sharing it and saying it. And once again, I am not a Swiftie, but I am a human being, a Dad AND, a Monstrous Football fan.
I am extremely disappointed in so many of you who think that "not being a fan" of someone means you're entitled to shit all over them.
I want to remind you of something.
Your children are watching you complain about Taylor Swift sitting at a football game, being happy, and cheering for a man she loves in what appears to be a very loving, respectful relationship.
Your Children are watching you judge a woman for literally just EXISTING and taking up space happily.
And you know what? Ms. Swift has won 324 awards? How many do you have?
She brought $5 BILLION dollars in consumer spending and boosted the U. S. economy so significantly, that leaders from other countries actually beg for her to play there?
Did you know that there are over 20 college courses about her skills as an artist, lyricist, and musician - including at places like Harvard, Stanford & UC Berkeley?
Did you know that Taylor Swift quietly donates mass amounts of money to local food banks in every city she performs in?
AND DID YOU KNOW …
That Taylor Swift was sexually assaulted by a radio DJ, and she got him fired? When he sued HER for over $3 million for defamation, she counter sued for a symbolic $1 in a court case that took 2 YEARS for her to win. And, she did that just to show women that fighting for what's right has no price tag & to never be silent in the face of oppression.
WELL IF YOU DON’T CARE BY NOW, YOU SHOULD.
Because your daughters, nieces, and your nephews are watching you run your mouth. And they are seeing the world hate a woman who does so much good, simply because she exists in their line of sight.
DO BETTER PEOPLE.
Teach your boys to respect women. Teach your girls that as women - they are ALLOWED to take up space.
Fix it. Become aware of your words. Because we all have the ability and the obligation to fight for the future of our children with simple moments. And we need to consciously choose to be better for them.
Taylor Swift personally hand-signs letters, delivers bonuses to her crew, dancers, drivers, and even acknowledges their families. The care, the effort, the hand letter waxing, the intention who else does it like her?
Honestly can’t think of a better way to celebrate my (almost) birthday than to relive the Eras Tour with you! This time we’re going backstage. "The End of an Era", a 6-episode behind-the-scenes docuseries, streams on @DisneyPlus beginning Dec 12 🫶