When I was younger, I remember seeing the hashtag “Me Too” online, but never really
looking into it. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to see the influence and the impact of
the Me-Too movement, and how it’s still relevant to 2024, in light of celebrities such as P.
Diddy and Yung Filly being accused of sexual crimes. The #MeToo movement is an awareness campaign against sexual abuse that was made by Tarana Burke, where stories were publicised about peoples’ experience with sexual abuse or harassment. Tarana’s goal is to help empower those who have been victims of sexual harassment, as by sharing stories, it may encourage people to speak out against rapists and people who’ve been guilty of sexual harassment. The #MeToo movement has been
endorsed by celebrities such as Alyssa Milano and Terry Crews, who’ve both spoken out
about being victims of sexual assault.
Although the #MeToo movement was highly associated with the exposure of Harvey
Weinstein’s behaviour and how he had sexually assaulted celebrities such as Alyssa Milano,
the #MeToo’s movements premise of wanting to spread awareness and encourage others to
speak out is still relevant to this day. In November 2023, singer and actress Cassie Ventura
had sued her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing him of sexual assault and physical
abuse. Despite the hefty lawsuit that detailed the abuse that Cassie went through, there
were people showing scepticism of Cassie’s claims. That was until a video of Cassie and
Diddy got released of him knocking her down and dragging her back to their hotel room,
alluding to Cassie possibly trying to escape Diddy. As of October 2024, Diddy has been hit
with 6 lawsuits alleging rape and sexual allegations, including Dawn Richards, a former
member of Diddy’s former girl group called “Danity Kane”.
The reason I believe that the #MeToo movement is important is because of my belief that
there’s solidarity in numbers; if people hear about stories they can relate to regarding
sexual assault, they’ll then be encouraged to speak out against rapists and abusers. As of
October 2024, YouTuber Yung Filly was charged (not accused, charged) with four counts of
rape, three counts of assault and one count of choking a woman, according to police.
Despite the fact that these are not accusations and actual charges, I’ve seen TikTok
comments of young boys not believing the charges or saying that the girl lied. This to me
highlights the importance of speaking out against rapists and abusers because if people
don’t speak out people aren’t going to learn that certain behaviours aren’t okay and that
rapists and abusers should be punished for their actions.
Speaking out is a very courageous and scary thing to do, which is why we shouldn’t shame
people for when they actually decide to speak out, or why they decide to speak out. For
example, Terry Crews was fearful to speak out about being sexually assaulted by a
Hollywood executive, because he had a fear of being ostracised. This led celebrities such as 50 Cent to make fun of his sexual assault, but Terry speaking out was significant because it
shows that sexual assault or abuse can happen to anyone.
Overall, I believe that the #MeToo movement is still relevant to today as people are feeling
more comfortable speaking up because of movements like this. Especially because of recent
lawsuits, more people are recognising abusive and unacceptable behaviours and are calling
them out.