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The rich and powerful have used their resources against lesser civilians since the beginning of time, but now the everyday joe is saying no more.

A shift has begun in society and thanks to platforms like the Me Too Movement people are no longer willing to turn a blind eye.

And celebrities, athletes, and politicians seem to be at the forefront of these public scandals.

In 2018, America’s favorite television dad and King of clean comedy Bill Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison after multiple women accused him of drugging and raping them. In a similar case, American film producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for similar charges.

In both instances, each man used his status to yield power and influence over their victims, which made them scared to come forward for various reasons.

Thanks to two journalists from New York Times Magazine, who broke the Weinstein story, the Me Too Movement, which was launched in 2006 by Tarana Burke became a household term.

But there’s more than just a need for justice that helped to shape these movements.

It’s a little thing called “Cancel Culture!” It’s been highly perceived that these movements would not garner the same impact without social media and its legions of subscribers.

These so-called justice movements rely heavily on the push from the cancel culture groups on social media to spread the information and get people talking. Social media and smartphones have become it’s on lifeline for victims who are desperate to share their story.

And thanks to the cancel culture officers more high-profile celebrities are being called to the fire every day. From the highly publicized workplace sexual assault case of Today Show anchor Matt Lauer to the sexual misconduct allegations of U.S. Representative, Katie Hil (Democrat-California). Both of whom were forced to step down from their jobs and issue a public apology.

In recent news, Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson has over 22 women who have come forward and accused him of lewd behavior during his massage sessions.

Actor John Travolta found himself in a massage scandal back in 2012 when two men filed separate $2 million civil lawsuits against him for sexual harassment after he made unwanted advances towards them during a massage session at an Atlanta hotel.

Long gone are the days where the rich and famous can use their money to hush their victims into silence, like a Richard Gear type character in the movie Pretty Woman.

Currently one of the most shocking celebrity scandals comes from rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris. 

Over 11 victims have come forward with claims of rape, drug abuse, sex trafficking, and kidnapping.   The women took to social media to share their stories with allegations dating back to 2009 and in some instances involving minors.

 

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In a statement to Billboard, the couple’s lawyer Steve Sadow said, “The Harrises are still waiting for the accusers to reveal themselves publicly. By continuing to hide behind anonymous allegations, the unnamed accusers effectively render themselves not credible and unworthy of belief. We say: let the light shine on their identities so we can go about disproving these scurrilous accusations.”

Charges have yet to be officially brought against the couple, but it’s about time that these badly behaved celebs be held accountable for their actions.

As these movements continue to grow the alliance between the social media cancel culture will only get stronger.