Yesterday, Xitter was all abuzz when alleged footage of Drake’s dingaling slapped the internet across the face. In a very short yet surprisingly long clip, Drake can be seen playing with his cooter shooter. According to other Xitter users who got their d*ck doctorates from WebMd and/or from hands-on, on-the-job training, there also seemed to be more room for him to grow, but not because he needed it. Admittedly, I watched the video, and honestly, literally just to write this article because I felt quite conflicted about doing so.
My justification for watching it, or at least the lie I told myself, was that it was for research purposes and that he did make a joke about it on his Instagram stories, stating, “I wasn’t hiding my meat from the world, I was hiding the world from it,” a reference to a famous lyric he wrote when the world found out that he had a son, who coincidentally came from that very factory.
Adding that the clip was “a snippet from [his] new album.” Whether he actually leaked it himself or not, I do not know, but before that, I had no intentions of watching it because I feel like no matter how strong my curiosity is, it is not right for me to go and look at someone’s else’s private parts just because they are a celebrity.
I mean, I highly doubt I’ll ever have sex with Drake, so what would be my reason for looking?
Additionally, social media star Raymonte, who is known for his hilarious antics, became very serious about his nudes being leaked on the same day, so serious that he engaged in a physical altercation yesterday with the poster. I did not see these nudes, but I’m sure his physically fighting the person who leaked them is indicative that he was not pleased by them being posted AT ALL. While Raymonte is not as famous as Drake or other celebrities whose nudes have been linked, he does have a social media following that is large enough for his privates to go viral—wait—I could’ve written that better.
Hold on, let me try again.
Raymonte is well known and followed by enough people that his nudes could easily be reposted and viewed an inordinate number of times, and he has every right to be pissed about that, no matter how unserious he may be online.
Who knows, Drake may have wanted to flaunt his Canadian bacon on the internet, but other stars don’t, and having their sex tapes or nudes leaked has caused them distress, especially the women who don’t always have the societal support to laugh off the situation. While Kevin Hart should not have been cheating…again, willingly having sex with someone just to blackmail them for millions of dollars feels worse, especially when the alternative is an embarrassment to his family, which is exactly what happened to him. While Kim Kardashian may have had better luck with a sex tape, in terms of changing her career trajectory, it is still (painted) as a painful part of her story. In the documentary Pamela: A Love Story, Pamela Anderson (formerly Lee) talks about how a sex tape, which was stolen from a safe in her home, completely turned her world upside down. She described the lawsuit as nothing but a slut-shaming fest where men felt, because she showed her posed nude, that the world seeing her have sex with her husband was somehow fair game. Pamela did not make any money from that video, and in fact, that video slowed her career down. Though known for her sex symbol status, Pamela was not allowed to put parameters on what felt comfortable to her about her own body.
A quick Google search of “celebrity nudes leaked” generates salacious websites teasing the pictures as if they were not ill-gotten gains. After shuffling through the madness, I finally came across a story about how some of the celebrities responded to their nudes being leaked, many of them stating that they themselves had to leak them as preemptive strikes against hackers who had blackmailed them. Recently, on Xitter, there were AI images of Taylor Swift being sexually objectified by Chiefs fans. The pictures were an awful depiction that, even though fake, someone should not have to endure (famous or not), and because she is America’s lily princess and can do no wrong, the White House intervened because it was FINALLY an issue. While I disagree with the incessant coddling of Taylor Swift, I don’t disagree that she or anyone should not be subjected to having sexually explicit photos of themselves on the internet that they did not authorize, whether they are real or not, and that includes them being posted preemptively as a counter against blackmail.
What is the difference between this and revenge porn?
Because one is more “passionate” than the other, it is somehow more painful to the victim? I have received more than my fair share of unsolicited d*ck pics, but really, whose share of anything unsolicited is fair? But I digress, and my disgust for the lack of consent in having to see someone’s private parts that I did not ask to see should at least equip me with the empathy to be disgusted when someone does not want me to see their private parts, (whether I see them unsolicited or not, thank you Xitter timeline). Scarlett Johansson, whose nudes were leaked back in 2011, told CNN, “it feels wrong,” when asked about her situation.
I can’t imagine someone who isn’t a celebrity saying that something feels wrong when it comes to how their body is used, and then decent society overwhelmingly disagreeing, but when it comes to celebrities, somehow our fascination with them allows us to disregard their boundaries and humanity, as well as our own.
