What the fuck is wrong with y'all? RT @msmagazine happy 25th birthday, Rihanna. Please use your power for good. And stay safe from violence.
Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna Birthday Tweet
Twitter users said telling the star to “stay safe from violence” was victim-blaming.
I know, right? Now tell your friends!
Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna Birthd...
Anna North
Image by John Shearer / AP
The above is a tweet Ms.’s official Twitter account sent today in honor of Rihanna’s birthday. It was not well-received.
Let's be clear hat tweet shows @msmagazine's fundamental lack of respect for Rihanna's humanity. Who brings up DV history in bday wishes?
One wonders if anyone @msmagazine bothered to consider the possibility that tweet would be triggering for Rihanna or other readers?
WTF, @msmagazine ? Awful, awful! RT @msmagazine happy 25th birthday, Rihanna. Please use your power for good. And stay safe from violence.
. @msmagazine: "happy birthday, get it girl, we're rooting for you!" could have worked. more birthday, less blaming. cc @Karnythia
[TW] If you wouldn't say "Stay safe from rape," don't say "Stay safe from violence." @msmagazine
Ms. eventually deleted the tweet, but when criticized for that, they got defensive:
.@msmagazine a deletion but no apology? once again, keep it classy.
@so_treu Didn't think we were victim blaming, but concerned for woman who was abused, spoke out against abuse, then returned to abuser
@so_treu would appreciate being advised on how we missed on this instead of just being hated on. truly. apologies for any missteps made
Ultimately, though, they did issue an apology:
Apologies for not showing a deeper understanding of the reality of DV survivors' lives.
Ms. has not yet responded to our request for further comment on the issue.
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10 Responses So Far
- JennEfer thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is Fail
- kristinep4 thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is Ew
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angelak6 2 months agoIf a woman is abused by her boyfriend, leaves him, then goes back to him, then she does need to take some responsibility for what happened to her. Victim blaming would be when you are placing blame on someone who has no idea that they are about to become victimized and no way to prevent being victimized. She already knows what he is capable of but she is putting herself back in a situation where she coud get hurt. I am a survivor of domestic abuse, and I was in a relationship with my abuser for two years before I finally found the courage to leave, but once I got out of that situation there was no way in hell I was going back to it.
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- micaelal thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is LOL & Win
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- Nora.S thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is Win
- elvisdepressley thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is Fail & LOL
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jessicas97 2 months agoYou write a tweet, you’re attacked (via other tweets) for your tweet, you have to tweet an explanation for your tweet, you have to apologize for your tweet, you have to erase your tweet, an article is written about your (now deleted) tweet, people comment on the article about your tweet, people comment on the comments on the article about your tweet, you’re asked for further comment on your tweet …. .. is anyone else getting sick of this world?
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- Adrienne S Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... and thinks it’s WTF
- baconnmeggs Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... and thinks it’s LOL & Win
- tumblr.com readers just made Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... hotter
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Jessica D. 2 months agoI’m sure they aren’t the only ones who made those types of comments towards her on Twitter. Rihanna has pretty much made it clear she doesnt give a fuck about what anyone thinks about her,her music, clothing, smoking pot, or Brown. So, oh well.
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annadynamite 2 months ago“Stay safe from violence” (directed at victims of abuse) vs. “Stop doing violent things” (directed at abusers). See the difference here? See also: “don’t get raped” vs. “don’t rape.” It’s putting the impetus on the victim instead of the perpetrator to prevent the crime. Hence, victim-blaming. This tweet may have been well-meaning, but it came off as really condescending. A simple “happy birthday, we love your music, have a great day!” would have been a better birthday message instead of making a barely-veiled reference to an abusive relationship.
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- Geno B thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is Win & LOL
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Meg 2 months ago
I love Rihanna & her music -as does my ten year old daughter & her friends at school where they have her diamond lyrics up on display…. Victim blaming is witch hunting, but dating JERKS is horrible & a sad commentary on gender politics today. In other words, get rid of CB or your birthdays will become pathetic. And why do we keep shining cameras on CB & inviting him anywhere?
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karas3 2 months agoMs. Magazine. The definition of white women’s feminism, tone-deafness, and paternalism. They are absolutely precious. There’s a reason why a lot of WoC don’t really mess with mainstream Feminism. The fact they thought it was awesome-sauce to victim blame while trying to disguise it as a birthday wish is actually ridiculous. Yay judgment! Because that’s the gift that keeps on giving.
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angelak6 2 months ago
Have you ever had to deal with being beaten? I have. It’s not victim blaming to tell a woman to stay safe or to let her know people think she’s making a bad decision. There IS strong psychology involved with domestic abuse, that’s why a woman in that situation needs to constantly hear the voice of reason from people outside the situation. At the end of the day every woman is responsible for her own safety. All you are doing is saying the responsibility shouldn’t be on her, and no-one can say anything to her because of the ‘complex psychology’. All your point of view does is enable people who are in some ways addicted to abusers stay in their situation.
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- janice! Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... and thinks it’s LOL, WTF & Fail
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Jianna 2 months ago
It would’ve been “victim blaming” before she got back together with him, back when it first happened. But she, of her her own free will, decided that it’s a good idea to date her ex who beat the s**t out of her. I’m sorry, but the moment she made that decision is the moment she became a victim no longer. And I do understand that some women, for a range of reasons, feel they have to stay with their abuser. Rihanna is not one of those. She was out, he was gone. With all the attention on her there should be nothing he could use to force her to stay with him that wouldn’t be discovered. This was her choice she made with full knowledge of potential/likely consequences and whatever happens next is on her.
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amjensen410 2 months ago
Many women who stay with their abusers don’t have the money to leave, or fear that if they do leave the abusers will hurt them or their families. I’m not sure that Rihanna’s worried about either of these things. It sounds like she’s just making bad decisions.
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- Alejandra V. thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is Win
- emilyg31 thinks Ms. Magazine Criticized For Rihanna B... is WTF
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angrykitty 2 months agoThis Kamythia girl is really doing the most. And btw, who cares? If she doesn’t like the tweet she’ll either reply to it or delete it. The end.
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