We’ve seen this story before. Time and time again the media enables women to be harassed and bullied in the public eye. Usually, it is not until it’s too late that the media, and we as a society, realize that the line has been crossed.

During the early 2000s the media was absolutely brutal when it came to its attacks on young women and girls in Hollywood. In an article from “The Guardian” titled “Body shaming, media harassment, relentless cruelty – it’s time to reassess the decade that feminism forgot,” Sirin Kale details how the media and the pubic were virtually praying for stars like Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, and Paris Hilton’s downfall.

Fat-shaming and slut-shaming followed these girls from a very young age and had severe consequences on their mental and physical health later in their lives.

These stories are not just true of the early 2000s. From stars of the 1950s like Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland to the “Me Too” Movement of recent years, victimized women in Hollywood are consistently not believed by the media. Women have had to live with trauma in silence while their abusers went on to more fame and success with virtually no consequences.

With the emergence of the “Me Too” Movement, it seemed as though the public and the media were finally saying “no” to harassment and abuse by powerful men.

With that in mind, it begs the question: why wasn’t the Kanye West and Kim Kardashian story taken more seriously?

To refresh, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West on February 19. At first it seemed as though the divorce was being handled privately and maturely. Kardashian was even seen supporting West with their four children at the live performance of his latest album, “Donda.”
West was out and about dating after Kim filed for divorce. It wasn’t until Kardashian started dating Saturday Night Live cast member and comedian Pete Davidson when things started getting toxic— and fast.

West began picking fights with Kardashian over Instagram about various parenting differences, the main one being that their daughter, North West, has a TikTok account.

He then began attacking Pete Davidson, who he gave the nickname “Skete.”

He also leaked text messages sent between Kardashian and him in which she is begging him to leave her and Davidson alone.

West also showed up to her home with a truck full of roses and even purchased a home across the street from her.

The threats on Davidson went from memes to violence, with West threatening to beat him up and even decapitating a claymation version of Davidson in a music video.

The media and the public completely ignored the fact that Kanye West was harassing, stalking, and threatening two people and simply reported the story as mere drama and just “Kanye being Kanye.” However, this behavior is not normal and should not be treated as such.

Kanye West publicly was acting abusive and dangerous and no one seemed to care. If the roles were reversed, and a woman were behaving the way West is, she would instantly be labeled as crazy and would be publicly scorned.

This is when we have to ask ourselves: is the music or the art worth avoiding the truth?

I think it is acceptable to enjoy West’s music while at the same time acknowledging that his actions are totally wrong and that he should face some sort of consequences. The Grammys took action by removing West from the performance list. However, he still won two Grammys despite being disinvited. We must have open conversations about this, and not just laugh it off and move on with our lives.

West’s behavior is textbook stalking and harassment. This kind of stalking and harassment can lead to even more dangerous situations.

Many cases of domestic abuse come as a result of extreme jealousy and stalking. In fact, one in seven women have been stalked by an intimate partner in their lifetime according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The public famously saw the worst of this in the infamous OJ Simpson case. Although evidence clearly showed that OJ Simpson stalked, abused, and harassed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, the jury still acquitted him of her murder.

Unfortunately, this happens to non-famous women all of the time. The public just doesn’t hear about it.

It is time that we stop letting famous, rich, and powerful men get away with dangerous and disgusting behavior, and listen to the stories of women and take them as seriously as possible.

We should not wait until it is too late to wish we had noticed.

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