50 Cent Posts Offensive Meme Mocking Terry Crews' Sexual Assault

On Tuesday, in the wake of Terry Crews speaking before Congress about his sexual assault, rapper 50 Cent took to Instagram to mock Crews’ testimony. The now-deleted Instagram post was a meme featuring two photos of Crews — one where he is shirtless with the words, “I got raped. My wife just watched” and the second of him holding a rose between his teeth with the words, “Gym time.” You can view the meme in the screenshot below.

shit like this is the reason men don’t come forward as victims of sexual assault often. 50 Cent is publicly mocking Terry Crews, allowing Russell Simmons (friends with Crews’ abuser who tried to get him to drop the charges) to openly laugh at him. pic.twitter.com/J16TUvDUYi

— wesley (@wslymcln) June 26, 2018

The caption to the meme said, “LOL,What the f*ck is going on out here man? Terry: I froze in fear. they would have had to take me to jail. get the strap.”

Though the meaning of the meme is a bit unclear, the emphasis on Crews’ powerful physique suggests it is hard to believe a man like him could have been sexually assaulted at all, reinforcing the false narrative that sexual assault is a “woman’s issue.”

Twitter users were quick to share their outrage over 50 Cent’s Instagram post.

Why havent y’all cancelled 50 cent yet? He has all the money in the world, does no good for the world and continues to use his platform to bully people. Problematic to the max.

— destiney bleu (@destineybleu) June 26, 2018

So Terry Crews had the guts to speak out about assault and 50 cent thinks it’s funny. This is why men bottle up their hurt

— Plain Jane (@jane_gains) June 26, 2018

I continue to stand with @terrycrews and his family.

50 cent should focus on becoming a full dollar.

— Kelechi Okafor (@kelechnekoff) June 26, 2018

According to RAINN, the nation’s leading sexual violence prevention organization, about two-thirds of all sexual assaults go unreported. It’s worth noting few studies have been done to document the sexual abuse or sexual assault of men and boys.

Unfortunately, 50 Cent mocking Crews’ experience of sexual assault is something many survivors fear and many even face themselves. In her piece “5 Reasons Sexual Assault Survivors Don’t Open Up About Their Abuse,” Mighty contributor Monika Sudakov details why it’s often hard for survivors to report sexual assault.

We are afraid nobody will believe us. Especially if it’s a relative, someone well known or someone powerful. The odds are we will be disbelieved and that’s humiliating.

Crews shared his testimony in front of Congress to advocate for the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights, which would enact measures like preserving rape kits and subsidizing post-assault examinations for survivors across the country.

“This bill gives survivors the right to have time to have time to distance themselves from the immediate trauma before making the difficult decision to report the assault to law enforcement,” he said.

WATCH – @terrycrews full opening statement: “I am honored to use my platform and story to help create additional civil rights protections for survivors across the nation under the Sexual Assault #SurvivorsBillofRights.”

Full video here: https://t.co/RGjyB1WSAm pic.twitter.com/ezi14zs3mY

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 26, 2018