Actor Terry Crews has been heavily involved in the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements, especially since he came forward with his own allegations of sexual assault which occurred at an industry party in 2016 at the hands of Adam Venit, a Hollywood agent.
Since Crews revealed the details of his assault, he has been subjected to an intensive backlash from within Hollywood and has lost friends, professional contacts and ultimately even work opportunities since his revelations.
Crews has given several speeches in recent weeks about the importance of speaking up against all forms of harassment and on challenging the culture that allows for abusive behaviors to go unpunished.
In a recent speech given at the Women in the World Summit, for example, Crews addressed how “toxic masculinity” is harmful to men and compared how the obsession of rigidly adhering to traditional masculine gender roles can be almost cult-like.
Other men in Hollywood have also spoken up about abuses they have faced, including actor Brendan Fraser, who opened up about the effects his sexual assault had on both his career and mental health.
One would assume that seeing high-profile men opening up about the issue of sexual assault and shining a light on how devastating assaults can be on men as well as women would be something that men, especially those who profess to be men’s rights advocates, would be overwhelming thrilled about. After all, “What about the men?” has been a recurring theme throughout women’s discussions on violence and other issues.
Men’s rights activists have often talked about the need for more focus on the male victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. However, backlash from men and men’s rights activists in particular show that when male victims actually do speak out, few men actually care.
Dana Liebelson, a writer for The Huffington Post, already composed the viewpoints of several men’s rights activists on the overall effects of the #MeToo movement and found that there was already little support for the movements amongst the group.
Now, in the wake of his recent statements against his assault, Crews has also come under fire from some men’s rights activists. For example, well-known men’s rights activist Paul Elam, who released a video in May discussing how society favors the idea of a female victim over male victims, mocked Crews on Twitter, calling him a “cuck” and accusing him of pandering to feminist women.
If men’s rights activists truly are about male victims of assaults, supporting Terry Crews and how he chooses to deal with the aftermath of his assault would be a great place to start. Here’s a man who is finally speaking out, as men’s rights activists claim they should but is getting harassed in response.
It is time for men, especially those claiming to advocate for their rights, to show they are truly concerned with protecting men from abuse.
