Oh man, my kittens were jumping off the walls last night. You would never think they had surgery.
As someone who has been in the public eye for the past 15 years, I am used to scrutiny and criticism. Online hate – especially when it targets women, and Black women in particular – has been extensively documented. So I have a pretty good idea of what to expect if I choose to speak out about sexism and racism in a country unwilling to acknowledge its misdeeds. Anonymous abuse and attacks from political or public figures come with the territory, and I have little choice but to face them.
But I could never have imagined that a French celebrity could subject me to persistent criticism in plain sight, yet escape being called out for it by any of the media figures who invite him to appear on their shows and platforms. It has been a chilling lesson to realise that instead it was me who would end up victimised and put on trial for attempting to expose what I felt was harassment.
I didn't initially pay much attention when, in 2017, this high-profile figure, a philosopher who regularly appears on French TV and radio, dedicated a radio segment to me and ideas of mine that he disagreed with. This is all part of public debate, which I totally accept.
But then he started to mention me on Twitter (now X) on a regular basis. At first I responded, but realising that no answer I gave would satisfy his so-called wish to debate, I asked him to call a halt to the conversation.
Over subsequent months, I asked him numerous times to leave me alone, for example in May 2018, August 2018 and December 2018. But he would not stop, once even answering, strangely: "I never held on to you. I have nothing to let go of."
Head over to that article and read the rest…it is disturbing and fascinating.
From yesterday's memorial…this made me cry.
This is an open thread.
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