I wrote this blog, “Amanda Seales is making “Us” look bad…,” a few days ago after I read an article on Black Sports Online (BSO). That article stated that Amanda Seales lied about accusations she made against Dr. Myron Rolle. Yesterday, on Van Lathan’s The Red Pill podcast with both Robert Littal, the founder of BSO, and Amanda Seales, as guests they discussed the misleading headline that many used, including myself, and the accusations that were made against Rolle. Robert Littal apologized for the misleading headline. While he admitted that his headline was inaccurate, he also stated that he felt Seales had lied, not that she had actually lied. While I do appreciate Littal’s apology and clarification I still find Seales’ explanation and lack of accountability regarding her accusations against Dr. Rolle to be problematic.
Basically, she is still making “Us” look bad, us being black women. And again, while Seales does not represent or speak for all black women, her behavior still reflects on us. Throughout the entire Van Lathan podcast she doubled down on what she had said about Rolle, repeatedly sidestepping her responsibility throughout the entire segment. It was a fiasco. The fact that she, a celebrity, with a large platform, basically took information that could not be verified and decided to publicize it because she felt it was problematic enough that women interested in dating Rolle needed to be “cautioned” was wrong. There is no way around it. By not accepting responsibility for her actions she is opening the door to those who want to make it seem as though black women do not want to be held accountable when they are wrong.
On top of that as much as she claimed throughout the interview that she was thinking of the safety of women by speaking out, I am here to say that she was not thinking about the safety of women at all. Let me walk you through how women look out for each other when it comes to problematic men. Women navigate men, male emotions, sexism, patriarchy, and sexual harassment daily. When there is a man who has the potential to cause problems, we tell each other. We have to, it’s necessary to avoid dangerous situations. However, just as Seales liked to point out to Littal that he had a greater responsibility because of his platform, so does she. Throughout the entire podcast she maintained the insinuation that Dr. Rolle had committed some wrongdoing of some sort and continued to say he had sixteen accusers. Now, if those accusations didn’t rise to the level of criminal the proper course of action was to warn any girlfriend she may have had who was romantically interested in Rolle. However, if those accusations did rise to the level of criminal she absolutely should have gone to the authorities.
Sixteen women accusing anyone of criminal wrongdoing IS a reportable offense. Not reporting these accusations if they are serious means she puts other women at risk. Seales’ standing by her insinuations yet not reporting Dr. Rolle to any authorities shows me that her actions are completely self-serving. It is and has always been her intention all along to cause controversy, not to help women. And, her actions are actually damaging to real victims because again, her insinuating that Rolle has behaved improperly gives rise to the false notion that women lie about sexual assault and rape.
According to Seales she has the dms from his accusers. Why not simply send the information she has received on to the proper authorities if it is that concerning? This makes sense if her goal is to protect women. Why should Dr. Rolle be protected if he is so problematic? His being a black doctor doesn’t mean anything if he is harming women. He doesn’t deserve protection if the accusations are serious and true.
Seales says that she doesn’t want to tear down a black man or get him in trouble with his job but I believe that is utter nonsense and I am calling her out on it. Not going to the authorities if she feels Dr. Rolle is a real threat is not protecting women and publicizing these accusations on her celebrity platform IS accusing Dr. Rolle of wrongdoing. Further, it is definitely tearing him down as a black man.
She can’t claim to be truthful if she isn’t doing what is necessary to make sure the truth comes out. Her story is trash and there is no way around it. She is wrong. As a black woman I am here to say that her behavior is a problem. She should not be allowed to behave in this fashion.
Honestly, I wish I had been on that podcast yesterday. I would have definitely called her out on the fact that she wasn’t looking out for women by not reporting these accusations to the authorities if they were serious. If those accusations were not so serious I would have called her out for talking about them as a celebrity. She knows her words have power.
Basically, what was the purpose of publicizing these accusations unless she simply wanted to spread rumors? I am not a celebrity but I know better than to post unverified accusations about famous or popular men to the followers on my social media accounts. Here is the thing, I have first-hand knowledge of famous and popular men with problematic behavior towards women but I don’t talk about it because if I did so it would have an impact on those men. It would also have an impact on me. Which is what Seales is experiencing now. Her unverified words about Rolle are impacting her and now she wants to play semantics about what is ok for others to say.
Speaking as a woman who actually looks out regularly for other women, unlike Seales, I KNOW for a fact that if a man is so problematic that women need to be warned, I am going to the authorities. If sixteen women come to me about one guy, I am definitely sending that info on to someone who can get him off the streets. But, Seales isn’t doing that, and that says a lot. She says she’s trying to look out for black men or not tear a black man down but which is it, look out for women or look out for black men? I think Seales just doesn’t want to admit she is inescapably wrong for what she did.
As a feminist, I am someone who is regularly accused of being a man hater trying to tear black men down. However, I have to point out that Seales is the reason this whole situation started. She talked about the accusations, she put them into the public view, she caused the first domino of this issue to fall. But for her talking about Rolle, regardless of whether she said his name at first or not, because from the moment she spoke of him she spoke in detail, none of this information would have ever been public. She is responsible for every single story about Rolle because she spoke about him first. For that she has not accepted responsibility nor has she apologized. While many may think of me as a man hater and male basher I want to be clear, I call people out when they are wrong regardless of their sex. Amanda Seales is absolutely wrong for her behavior, period.
At the end of the Van Lathan podcast this question was asked, “How do we elevate as a community?” We elevate as a community when we one, hold any sexual predator accountable for their predatory behavior. That means if there is a man out there who is harming women and we have knowledge of that then we have the duty and responsibility to report it to the proper authorities regardless of his race or career. And two, we hold those with greater influence accountable for their words. That means any person who can reach thousands of people, myself included, with the touch of a button must be held to a higher standard when it comes to the words we use.
When those of us who have the ability to influence use our words irresponsibly we can cause irreparable damage. In this situation all of the damage that has happened to Rolle and Seales is because Seales put unverified information into the world. And, for that she owes her fans and Rolle an apology.
~Kai
Follow me: @KaiNicole on Twitter, @KaiFlyMommy on Instagram. And, buy the best dating book for women, Date Like A Woman!
Photo: Instagram
