Our generation benefits being able to receive news in real time via social media, podcasts, 24 hour cable news and the like. But we are simultaneously cursed when these platforms are used by clueless souls who can’t wait to blather on and on about highly sensitive issues - like, say… domestic abuse.
Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was ousted from his team and the entire NFL organization indefinitely after TMZ leaked surveillance footage of him slugging his now wife Janay in an elevator, leaving her unconscious. Shortly after the incident became the biggest news story of the moment, Janay defended her husband via Instagram and declared that she refuses to leave Rice.
If you follow the universal moral code, two things go without saying – 1) a man should never lay hands on a woman 2) unless she is attempting to kill him (which the Ray/Janay video clearly rules out). In short, absolutely nothing makes her deserving of getting knocked out cold in an elevator by her husband. For the most part, those sentiments seemed to echo through the entire social sphere as people weighed in about the case.
But as always, there were a handful of celebrities who shared some rather unsavory opinions about the incident and domestic violence in general. Check out these celebrities who probably should have kept their thoughts on mute.
Paul George
The Indiana Pacers forward took to his twitter account to chime in on the infamous elevator attack, claiming that if Janay is unbothered by the incident, we should be too. That obviously didn’t go over well with his followers, as a key characteristic of abused women is that more often than not, they end up defending their abuser. The backlash was so bad, George and Pacers President Larry Bird both issued public apologies.
Image: Fox Sports
Floyd Mayweather
One would think the famed boxer, who himself has racked up a combined 15 domestic violence counts from different women, would stay as far away from the subject on social media as possible. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem too fond of thinking before he types. “I think there’s a lot worse things that go on in other people’s households, also,” Mayweather said. “It’s just not caught on video, if that’s safe to say.”
On the topic of his own abuse allegations, the ‘Money Team’ chief went on to say, “With Chris Brown and Rihanna, you seen pictures. With (Chad) Ochocinco and Evelyn, you seen pictures. You guys have yet to see any pictures of a battered woman, a woman who says she was kicked and beaten (by Mayweather). Count on Money Mayweather to make the issue about him – especially when he has a new fight to promote.
Boyce Watkins
Author and social commentator Boyce Watkins made a lot of enemies after penning an open letter to Janay Rice, offering a congratulatory pat on the back for staying and “keep her family together.” He writes, “With black families being torn apart left and right by the pitfalls of extreme feminism, we should appreciate situations where someone isn’t seeking to throw the baby out with the bathwater and destroying their family at the drop of a hat.”
Rather than taking the stance that no man should hit a woman despite how he’s provoked, Watkins goes on to place some of the blame for getting knocked out on Janay herself. “The other ugly truth – which some people will never admit- is that if you did indeed spit in Ray’s face (as the elevator video seems to show), you also need counseling. A gentleman will never hit you under any circumstances, but to demand that he behave like a gentleman, it is also mandated that you conduct yourself like a lady.”
Stephen A Smith
Now here’s a man who knows how to stay in the headlines. Stephen A. Smith, who was not long ago suspended by ESPN for running off at the mouth, has come under fire again for going after Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
“Absent of us discovering that Roger Goodell saw the video, tried to hide it, acted as if he never saw it and gave Ray Rice a two-game suspension only, absent of those discoveries, I’m sorry, I think this woman is off her rocker. I think she’s lost her mind. That’s right, I said it. This is the most ridiculous nonsense I’ve ever heard in my life. Roger Goodell deserves to lose his job? Why are you acting like he’s Ray Rice? Roger Goodell did not hit Janay Palmer-Rice. He hasn’t hit any woman. Why are we talking about the NFL as if its some cesspool for domestic violence? There’s a few cases. It’s being dealt with. It needs to be dealt with harshly. There are 1,800 players in the NFL. By and large, most acting like model citizens, never getting in any kind of trouble. What the hell is this? Because this happened, he’s gotta go? That’s crazy. That’s crazy.”
Maybe if Smith stopped spewing comments rooted in misogyny and clear disregard for women, he could stop back-tracking, as he was ‘compelled’ to do this morning:
Gilbert Gottfried There’s no such thing as “too soon” in Gilbert Gotfried’s book. The legendary comedian is known for cracking timely jokes related to big news headlines, and the Ray Rice case was no different. He tweeted:
Obviously Ray Rice misunderstood me when I said “She’s hot, you you should definitely hit that!” — Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) September 10, 2014
The wave of Ray Rice jokes on social media shouldn’t be surprising to an extent, but since his previous jokes about the Japanese Tsunami cost him the voice over job with Aflec, Gottfried really should have attempted to do better.
Image: Inquisitr
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, tried and failed miserably to make a joke out of the elevator video while throwing in relation to Solange-gate.
Predictably, the tweet was deleted shortly after posting. What Embiid fails to realize is there’s absolutely nothing humorous about domestic violence, and joking about it so soon after a national headline like this certainly won’t win you any cool points. Nice try, though.
Fox and Friends
Perhaps expecting news organizations to report the facts and leave out the fluff is asking too much these days, but I’m raising eyebrows at “accomplished” news anchors cracking jokes about violence against women. After discussing the latest developments in the Ray Rice situation, co-host Brian Kilmeade joked, “I think the message is, take the stairs.” Another co-host Steve Doocy countered, “The message is when you’re in an elevator, there’s a camera.”
Viewers were outraged that the hosts and producers thought making light of domestic abuse was acceptable. Kilmeade made a statement claiming they do not take domestic violence lightly. I have to ask – if cracking jokes about it on a national TV segment isn’t taking it lightly, then what is?