Sexual Violence in the Entertainment Industry: Trey Songz

Image Via: https://www.history.com/news/90-years-later-8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-hollywood-sign

Yet another male Hollywood celebrity accused of sexual assault - one of the latest being singer Trey Songz with multiple accusations. Seeing these headlines repeatedly, we eventually become desensitized to the severity of sexual assault in Hollywood. It is almost as if it becomes expected in an industry that openly lacks encouragement of sexual consent.

But why does this seem so common? From R.Kelly to Harvey Weinstein, Marilyn Manson, Donald Trump and Hugh Hefner, men all over the media are assuming ownership over women’s bodies.

Trey Songz has now been accused 4 times of sexual assault, the oldest accusation dating from 9 years ago. This enforces that sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry is kept hidden and is arguably one of the worst kept secrets. For decades, the industry has allowed a narrative that men can assault women and get away with it… But why?

It seems that with money, power and status comes a sense of entitlement. Women will fear saying anything because of how famous the abuser may be, how much money they have or how much pull they have in the industry, something that could ruin their career. The greater the imbalance (this could be gender, race, income, education, etc.) the greater the opportunity that a perpetrator sees to assault their victim.

In the case with Trey Songz, we noticeably understand that his celebrity status, income, and gender gives him a clear sense of authority.

Don’t kid yourself and think that these kinds of actions are uncommon; a survey done in 2018 by USA Today asked 843 women in the entertainment industry is they’ve experienced any form os sexual harassment or assault - 94% said yes. Keep in mind, these are only the ones who were comfortable answering yes. There may have been some who weren’t due to backlash or fear of retaliation from their abuser.

We’ve seen countless rich men buy, manipulate and coerce their way out of prosecution, so why would women even want to come forward in this industry? Men in Hollywood are protected while women are constantly shamed for their own experiences of assault and the trauma they live with. The entertainment industry enforces the account of rape culture and teaches men that it’s okay to assume ownership over women’s bodies when in fact it’s actually the opposite.

Next time you listen to Trey Songz or support any other individuals who have been accused of sexual abuse, I encourage you to think about what you are supporting. We must stop supporting artists that convey these types of behaviours and start supporting artists that fight for women’s voices and advocate for sexual consent. By embracing the voices of survivors, we give power to the survivor and remove it from the abuser.