Taraji P. Henson is under fire after she was seen comparing the backlash and response surrounding the sexual abuse allegations against R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein. Henson seemed to question why Kelly was being slammed more than Weinstein, and Twitter users were not happy about her argument to say the least.
The Oscar nominee posted a video on her Instagram Live comparing the #MuteRKelly hashtag to #MuteHarveyWeinstein. Of course, the R. Kelly hashtag had more posts because #MuteRKelly was a movement and Harvey Weinstein isn’t a singer so there is nothing to mute. Most social media users feel that either way, the comparison is unnecessary because they are both trash and should both be behind bars, however, Harvey Weinstein is on trial.
In the series of videos, the first one showed her looking up the hashtag and fan pages under “Mute R. Kelly.” And of course, she found a handful of pages advocating for the complete dismissal of R. Kelly.
She then searched for similar tags and pages for Weinstein, but was unsuccessful. She also looked up pages under his full name to no avail. Henson then shared an emoji along with a simple “hmmm.” The message suggested that she was confused as to why Weinstein and Kelly both of whom have been accused of sexually abusing dozens of women through their career were not receiving the same backlash. It appeared her argument regarding the inconsistency might have something to do with race.
Twitter users were not persuaded by Henson’s thesis however. Surviving R. Kelly show-runner, Dream Hampton promptly responded to Henson’s story, saying, “no idea why Taraji Henson wouldn’t know that there are not one, but two projects abt Harvey Weinstein. But this is an oft-invoked deflection. While I care abt the Hollywood stars Weinstein abused, I care more abt Asante, Kitty, Jerhona, Lisette, Azriel & Joy & others, even more.” Others criticized the actress for not acknowledging the black women and girls who had allegedly been abused by Kelly throughout the years.
While there may not be pages about muting Weinstein on Instagram, the Hollywood mogul is facing consequences for his actions. Weinstein was forced to step down from his company, and he was arrested on the 18th of May 2018 and charged with “rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct for incidents involving two separate women.”
He later made bail but was mandated to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor.
However Taraji has since reversed herself and tweeted “LET ME BE CLEAR R.KELLY IS GUILTY AND WRONG AND SHOULD BE MUTED PERIOD!!!!.” A move that most have identified as damage control for her fiasco on Instagram.