In a series of tweets on Friday, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Terry Crews blamed what he called a “pimp culture” in the Black community for the encouraging victims of sexual abuse to remain silent.
Earlier this month, Crews shared his own story of sexual assault, saying a Hollywood executive approached him in front of his wife and “groped” him. On Friday, he said sexual predators in the Black take advantage of a “no snitching” attitude to get away with assaults.
“Sexual abuse/assault/harassment happens so frequently [with] Pimp Culture in the Black community it has a nickname– being ‘Turned out,’” he wrote. “Young Black girls/boys in churches, schools, athletic teams & youth groups are preyed upon by molesters and then told [to] ‘stop snitching.’
“Being ‘turned out’ means the girl or boy has accepted their own objectification [therefore] the predator can abuse them as he or she sees fit.”
Crews further explained that those who do speak out about their abuse are “shunned by the community” and “dared” to identify their abusers. “When they don’t, the victim is called a liar,” he wrote. “When they do- the predator parades the victim’s anger/ promiscuity and is labeled a ‘ho’.”
Crews also said some black victims are punished for acting out against their abusers.
“Prison is full of black [people] who’ve simply retaliated against their abuser, choosing prison over the ‘shame’ of revealing what happened,” he wrote. “Secrecy and victim shaming have sadly been a unspoken part of Black culture [for] generations.”
“Any culture can be self-destructive if you accept it’s sicknesses as an identity,” Crews added. “Which is why the veil of secrecy must be broken.”
Read all of Crews’ tweets below:
I’m going let you know a few things about PIMP CULTURE as it stands in the Black community. (1)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Sexual abuse/assault/harassment happens so frequently w/ Pimp Culture in the Black community it has a nickname-
being “Turned out” (2)— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Young Black girls/boys in churches, schools, athletic teams & youth groups are preyed upon by molesters and then told 2 “stop snitching” (3)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Being “turned out” means the girl or boy has accepted their own objectification there4 the predator can abuse them as he or she sees fit (4)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Helpless, the girl or boy becomes promiscuous/acts out violently/or withdraws entirely- shunned by the community 4 bein “born like that” (5)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Even worse, the victim is often dared to name names, quite often by the SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE ABUSING THEM. (6)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
When they don’t, the victim is called a liar. When they do- the predator parades the victim’s anger/ promiscuity and is labeled a “ho”. (7)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Prison is full of black ppl who’ve simply retaliated against their abuser, choosing prison over the “shame” of revealing what happened.(8)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Men get points in the Black community 4 extolling Pimp Culture. “Game” involves lying & tricking young girls/boys & “turning them out”. (9
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Secrecy and victim shaming have sadly been a unspoken part of Black culture 4 generations. “How u just gonna put us out there like that”(10)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
All honest disclosure is viewed as a betrayal of the community itself. Those who tell are hereby “Airing our dirty laundry”(11)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
How can you defeat what’s never discussed? You can’t. A lot of Black men and women are “turned out” and don’t realize it.(12)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017
Any culture can be self-destructive if you accept it’s sicknesses as an identity. Which is why the veil of secrecy must be broken (13)
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) October 20, 2017