For years, celebrity women have been disrespected. They are mistreated by their husbands and the media, while society just lets it happen. I would love to say that this is a rare occasion and that famous women rarely have to deal with this kind of treatment, but it is a common occurrence all the time. Even if you do not hear about it, it happens.Â
There are countless examples of the husbands of these women being unfaithful. They have sex with random women and even have children with them. And you know what? Women are expected to stay. There is not really a reason for why these women should stay except that the media and society expect them to. Princess Diana, Beyonce, Kendall Jenner, Cardi B, Tiny, and countless famous women have been cheated on by their significant others. Because they are “iconic couples,” we expect them to forget about the pain and stay. There is always a double standard though. When women stay after their partner is unfaithful, they are called stupid and easy for giving in to whatever lies they have been told. Yet, when they leave, people make it the woman’s fault and blame her for the failed relationship. Society does not want these women to win.
Social media feeds into the idea that women need to stay in failed relationships for no reason by giving haters a platform to share their opinions. There are always memes and articles that blame the woman. Recently, Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset. Initial allegations were that he cheated on her and society automatically said that it was her fault. They made jokes at her expense in a difficult time. Memes said that her WAP was not enough to keep her man referring to her recent song with Megan Thee Stallion. Articles made it seem as if she was overreacting when in reality, she gave him chance after chance, and he screwed them up. The idea that she did something wrong to make him cheat is ridiculous and it’s not just her. People use these celebrities as examples. They say things like “If Beyonce can get cheated on, then so can I” as if being talented and gorgeous means that you will never get cheated on. It is the cheater’s fault and only the cheater’s fault.Â
Celebrity women are often sexualized in the media. They are expected to look a certain way and when they don’t, we clown them. It does not matter if cellulite and stretch marks are natural or if it is unrealistic to expect a woman’s body to bounce back after a baby. Similarly, to how we expect women to stay in unhappy relationships, we expect them to look a certain way. And when they don’t people use that as another justification as to why they were cheated on.Â
To me, it seems as if just because they have vaginas and are famous, they are expected to pretend that they are happy in their relationship even when they are unappreciated and abused. Why should women put themselves through hell just to please society? Why are these women always held to unreasonably high standards while their husbands are rarely held accountable for their actions?Â
I’m tired of seeing women being used as target practice. I do not want to keep seeing jokes made at the expense of these women’s feelings. The community as a collective needs to stay out of women’s relationships. Let them divorce their husbands in peace. Let them have stretch marks without this media shaming them for it and saying it is disgusting (which it isn’t). Let them live their lives however they choose to. If their husband has a baby (or multiple) with another woman during their marriage, then they should be able to leave without people bring up her kids. 9 times out of 10, they are thinking of their kids and they know leaving their husbands would be better for the children. Let famous women or just women, in general, make their own choices about their marriage and their body without it becoming a joke to every other person in the world.