50 Cent mocks Terry Crews with snarky 'I got raped... my wife just watched' comment following actor's sexual assault testimony
The New York Times' and New Yorker's exposé on Harvey's Weinstein's decades of predatory behavior including sexual assault, rape, and abuse in October 2017 led to the birth of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement that empowered women across the planet to come out with their own experiences and stories. Shouting alongside these women in vociferous support was Terry Crews, who has developed a reputation for being one of the most wholesome celebrities in Hollywood.
Crews was also amongst the first male stars to come out with his own experience of sexual assault, detailing how he had been inappropriately touched and groped by talent agent Adam Venit at a party in 2016, revealing that he had not done so sooner because he had feared retaliation. The 49-year-old's bravery was lauded by several prominent members of the industry, as well as legions of fans around the world. However, rapper and fellow African-American 50 Cent seemed to have a different view.
This past Tuesday, Crews sat before the US Senate Judiciary Committee to detail the incident and its aftermath, but instead of providing a supportive voice, 50 Cent mocked the actor with a crude 'I got raped... My wife just watched' post on his Instagram page.
Accompanied by a shirtless image of Crews, 50 Cent wrote: "I got raped… My wife just watched." In what was then an even more tasteless move, he captioned said post "LOL, What the f**k is going on out here man? Terry: I froze in fear, they would have had to take me to jail."
The photo, which has since been deleted, sparked an online backlash against the 'In da Club' hitmaker, with the rapper's insinuation that Crews should have beaten Venit up because of his superior physical frame drawing significant online backlash for embodying 'toxic masculinity.'
Crews had, in fact, addressed why he did not respond violently against Venit during the incident. He told the committee that he feared doing so would damage his career in the long term: "As a black man in America, you only have a few shots at success, you only have a few chances to make yourself a viable member of the community."
The actor also talked about how he had to get out of the toxic masculinity mindset himself. "I used images of women’s bodies and pornography at my disposal, validating my need for control," he said. "I often cut women short in sharing personal details of their lives so they would seem less human, less real."
He continued: "This is how toxic masculinity permeates the culture,” he said. “As I shared my story, I was told over and over that this was not abuse, that this was a joke, that this was just horseplay. But I can say that one’s man horseplay is another man’s humiliation."
50 Cent, however, seems unperturbed by the scorn. Following massive public outrage, the rapper posted an image of him sleeping on his couch under the covers accompanied by the caption: "This is me recovering from having my sense of humor removed this morning. People are so sensitive, my doctor said l will be fine in six weeks, but my publicist said, if you see any journalist, play DEAD."
50 Cent aside, Crews will continue to garner the support of millions around the country for speaking up when many others would have piped down.