Terry Crews previously filed a police report against Adam Venit. (Gage Skidmore)
Terry Crews has been outspoken about his sexual assault at the hands of a Hollywood agent, but some still don’t feel he fought back enough. One such person pointed that out to the comedian Tuesday, Dec. 26 and Crews hit back with a lesson about white privilege.
User @conundrumstix tweeted Crews a link to an article about “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Jason Priestley’s experience with Harvey Weinstein. The former movie mogul has been outed in the industry after numerous sexual harassment claims have been levied against him.
“Back in 1995, when that event happened with Harvey Weinstein, I didn’t know who that guy was that I punched at that party,” Priestley told Entertainment Tonight of what happened at a Golden Globes party decades ago. “I didn’t find out until the next morning when I read the paper. I just knew that there was this big bully at this party who was not a nice guy and then asked me to step outside. That was my experience with him.”
Crews came forward with his sexual assault in October, saying WME agent Adam Venit groped him at a party in February 2016. He noted he did not fight back at the time because of his stature.
“240 lbs. Black Man Stomps Out Hollywood Honcho’ would be the headline the next day,” he tweeted at the time. “I decided not 2 take it further [because] I didn’t want [to be] ostracized.”
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But @conundrumstix felt Crews should have been a lot more direct in his confrontation with Venit, whom the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star has since filed a police report and lawsuit against.
https://twitter.com/conundrumstix/status/945735667996332033
But Crews wasn’t just letting this explanation slide.
You know you’re privileged when you don’t recognize all your privileges. I try to tell show my kids this, but it’s hard to see through all that privilege they have
— terry crews (@terrycrews) December 26, 2017
The tweet spawned a couple of debates about white privilege all on its own.
One schooling…
Intersections exist. If you have full use of your body you're privileged (society is designed to be easy for you to navigate) over someone who does not.
— Ash 🌙 tired lol (@ashscheherazade) December 26, 2017
If the world was designed around deaf people or blind people you might find yourself having trouble existing in it without accommodation.
— Ash 🌙 tired lol (@ashscheherazade) December 26, 2017
I lived in Hawaii for a while and white people are NOT the majority and are not treated special. My favorite thing was to hear whites there complaining when they discovered they wouldn't get special treatment for being white lol
— Ash 🌙 tired lol (@ashscheherazade) December 26, 2017
Men also have privilege over women, the rich over the poor, etc.
— Ash 🌙 tired lol (@ashscheherazade) December 26, 2017
…after another.
The real bummer is that someone is telling a victim of sexually harassment how they should have responded, and trying to invalidate the actions they DID take. Terry made it clear from the beginning part of his response was due to his race and danger he could be in for violence.
— Hey Guys Guess What Black Lives Matter (@Leekrinkaze) December 26, 2017
You cannot control what anyone else tries to do. You literally cannot stop anyone from trying to make you feel bad for being white. Case in point: you clearly don't understand your white privilege and your resulting statements make you sound like a jerk. You should feel bad.
— Dan- Nurse for justice #FireMorePolice (@manfromthehand) December 26, 2017
