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I’ve told y’all I root for Amber Rose. I admire what she’s trying to do, take her sexuality and be a voice for women. For far too long the men she was with romantically, cast her in their own fantasies. She’s just now getting around to establishing a lane and a voice for herself, a lane which seeks to empower women. One that calls our rape culture, dismantles respectability politics and gives women the agency to dress as they choose and still demand respect. I love all of that. The fact that a woman so closely linked to the Hip Hop community which has demonized Black women for so long would use her platform to do this work is incredible.
Still, Amber is learning. Her emergence as a feminist and a spokesperson for women and their struggles has not been perfect. There was the time <a href="http://madamenoire.com/598453/amber-rose-tells-women-to-do-what-theyve-done-for-centuries-and-people-are-mad-about-it/">she instructed women to use the men in their romantic relationships</a> to help fund their businesses. <a href="http://madamenoire.com/720286/amber-rose-body-shaming-julianne-hough/">Or even that apology to Julianne Hough</a>. And most recently when she ignored a woman trying to discuss sexual abuse.
According to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPcKJ2xh1bM/?taken-by=fameolousent_"><em>Fameolous</em></a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ambertheactivist/">AmberTheActivist</a> and a couple of screen shots, Amber Rose and Blac Chyna signed on to Instagram Live for a Confessions hour. And they asked users to call in and talk to them. But when one woman wanted to discuss the fact that she had been raped by her uncle, Amber Rose had no time for her. When she started telling her story, Rose responded saying it was “too deep” and then hung up on her. Other fans were even claiming that Amber and Blac Chyna started laughing at this woman.
Outraged by Amber’s response AmberTheActivist posted this response on her Instagram.
<blockquote><em>Share if you support survivors! TRIGGER WARNING- molestation/incest 🙅🏽 Amber Rose is doing a live stream right now asking for confessions. A girl started telling about her Uncle molested her and Amber Rose HUNG UP on her and said "that's too deep." Then, Amber Rose, Blac Chyna and all their friends laughed. I thought you were and advocate for survivors @amberrose? How could you do that when the Amber Rose slut walk is for survivors of rape and molestation?? Oh that's right- MONEY. I want you all to know that as I rise in fame and abundance, I will always stand with you and FOR you. I will teach you how to be divine feminists, how to heal from rape, and how to be spiritual sluts with grace 💅🏾 @amberrose is not fighting for us. She is fighting for HERSELF, her reputation, and desperate need to not be vilified for being a stripper once upon a time. I will always stand with you, for you, and I will always believe you!! I was totally for the cause but @amberrose just revealed herself to be a scam. 🙄 See last post ✨ #CreatingConsentCulture #amberrose #amberroseslutwalk #ignoranceg</em></blockquote>
In response to the backlash she was receiving, Amber Rose issued this statement on her Instagram page.
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPc50tDjHQV/" target="_blank">I was on IG live last night with my friends a woman called in and said that she was molested by her uncle when she was 5 years old at the same time laughing with her friend in the background. She obviously wanted A moment on our IG live that's why I said " That's too much" and hung up on her. I'm not gonna deal with people that think its funny or they just want to get a little five minutes of fame on Instagram. It's really fucked up because I give my life to helping women, rape victims, sexual assault victims and women that have suffered from molestation. Furthermore there were people in that room with me last night that were molested, also SO WAS MY MOTHER! So why would I ever laugh at someone that was molested???? All of you so called supporters of mine were never supporters at all, if you were you would've known better. Also I'm so sick of people saying that I make all of this money from slut walk. Guess how much I make??? 0 fucking dollars Slut Walk is FREE and I put my blood sweat and tears into it every year. I've taken so many punches for all of you!!! From social media, media outlets, people on the street to brands that won't even work with me because I stand for women and Slut shaming. It's disappointing that you can devote your life into helping people every single day and one misunderstanding everybody turns their back on you. Stand up and make a change! Ask yourself what are YOU doing for Women's Rights? Or whatever ur cause is. Know ur facts before you try to erase all the good someone has done. I have an extremely compassionate heart and I will continue to take the punches - Muva</a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Amber Rose (@amberrose) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-01-19T15:51:10+00:00">Jan 19, 2017 at 7:51am PST</time></p>
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I understand that Amber might have believed the woman was calling in trying to make light of a very serious situation. Still, she didn’t handle this in the best way. If she really felt that this caller was not being honest or truthful about what, for some people is a very real occurrence in their lives, then she should have taken the time to one see if she really was being truthful— and not suffering from a fit of nervous laughter— and if she wasn’t, then it would be a great time to explain to this woman why her attempt to use rape as a joke was not called for. And why she as an advocate for women wouldn’t stand for it. Saying “That’s too deep” doesn’t speak to any of that. It makes it seem like the issue itself is too deep. And furthermore, given Amber’s description from that night, I can’t understand why that was her knee jerk response in the first place. Her platform is supposed to be based on speaking about the issues that are too deep.
I understand that it might have been a misunderstanding and I already know people love to call her out as a fraud when she is doing real work. Still, I don’t think it would be a bad idea for her to take a second to try and realize why people were so offended by her response.
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<div class="adL"><span class="im"><i>Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bettah-Days-Veronica-R-Wells/dp/1535549866" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Bettah-Days-Veronica-R-Wells/dp/1535549866&source=gmail&ust=1484930322635000&usg=AFQjCNGCR2y_rege7NsJMOWRlIzk1skA9A">“Bettah Days.”</a> You can follow her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/veronicarwells" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.facebook.com/veronicarwells&source=gmail&ust=1484930322635000&usg=AFQjCNG9gEUQdKfCSSoHvpkE3XD7ZBhCQw">Facebook</a> and Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/VDubShrug" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://twitter.com/VDubShrug&source=gmail&ust=1484930322635000&usg=AFQjCNEysIJ5bwRYzxltZITLupSjqoHC_Q"> @VDubShrug.</a></i> </span></div>
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