The plight of superstar rapper Megan Thee Stallion is sadly the epitome of so much of what is wrong with America when it comes to prominent Black women.
Two years ago, Megan was having a banner year. She was winning awards, pumping out hit singles, inspiring TikTok dances — and her sex appeal was, to quote her lyrics to “Body,” “getting [us] through the quarantine.”
And then, she says, she got shot. Megan alleges that during an altercation with the mediocre rapper Tory Lanez in July 2020, Lanez shot her in the foot, leaving her limping and bleeding. At the time, there was little outrage or sympathy for Megan, which I noted in a column that year. And the episode went largely ignored in the mainstream media. I mean, imagine if someone like Taylor Swift or Adele said she’d been assaulted or shot? Major headlines for weeks.
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Men in the hip-hop community also attacked her, claiming she’d lied. Recently, Drake even released a song in which he raps about a “stallion” lying about getting shot — and drew a bit of backlash for it.
Follow this authorKaren Attiah's opinionsFast-forward to today, and Lanez is finally on trial for felony assault and other charges. (He has pleaded not guilty.) And yet again, there has been very little mainstream coverage of the case.
Megan took the stand on Tuesday and talked about how the violence and the past two years have affected her life. “I can’t hold conversations with people for a long time,” she said. “I don’t feel like I want to be on this Earth. I wish he would have just shot and killed me, if I knew I would have to go through this torture.”
I’ll have a lot more to say next week as the trial unfolds. But already the coverage (or lack thereof) has revealed so much. There are excellent reporters on this story. But where are the serious think pieces about violence against women that we saw, say, in the Amber Heard trial? Where are the pieces connecting Megan’s story to the conversation about gun violence in America? Where are all the White folks, Black men and others who love to say #BelieveBlackWomen every time we help liberals win elections — but apparently not when our lives are literally in danger?
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*Crickets.*
I’ve been thinking of another Meg — last name Markle — now that the Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan” is out. The revelations about Meghan Markle’s experiences of abuse and racism after her marriage into the British royal family have me grappling with the realities of being a Black woman who dares to speak up about her mistreatment. Stay tuned for more on all this in my next column.
Global Radar: Africa is still in the World Cup, idc idc
Normally, during World Cup time, I’m a pretty prolific writer/tweeter/trash-talker when it comes to the games. I’ve been quieter this year, especially after my fatherland’s team, the Black Stars of Ghana, were eliminated by Uruguay. It was a hard loss to stomach. In 2010, Uruguay eliminated Ghana after a controversial handball by Uruguay blocked what would have been a winning goal for the West African team, and would have made Ghana the first sub-Saharan African team to advance to the semifinals.
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This is what I love about the games. We put so much geopolitical weight on the performance of these teams. Which is why it’s always interesting to me when Black people and Africans decide whom to support after sub-Saharan African teams get knocked out. When Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals and then the semifinals, becoming the first African team to do so, it ignited discourse about Morocco’s place in the Arab world and how it’s possible to be both Arab and African at the same time.
Morocco lost to France — so now, with France in the finals, the spotlight turns to the fact that many of the team’s members are from the African continent. The last time I (and Trevor Noah) pointed this out, we were met with angry responses from French fans, who accused us of denying the players’ Frenchness. Le eye roll. We all know France wouldn’t be the country, or the World Cup team, it is today without Africa.
I know a lot of Africans will root for France to support the African players. As for me, I’m still waiting for the day an actual African team plays in the finals — and wins.
Home Front: Goodbye, Grant Wahl
For the past decade, when I thought of soccer and journalism, one name came to mind: Grant Wahl.
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I followed his soccer reporting every time the games came around. He was well known for putting a young LeBron James on the map, with his Sports Illustrated story “The Chosen One,” in 2002. In recent years, Wahl became known for taking a stand against injustice and demanding change in the sports world. He tried to run for FIFA president in 2011 against the then-entrenched FIFA strongman Sepp Blatter. In 2020, he was fired from Sports Illustrated, a place he worked for 24 years, after criticizing the magazine for trying to push through permanent pay cuts. And while in Qatar for the World Cup, he went viral for wearing a rainbow T-shirt to protest homophobia in the country.
Wahl died last Friday in Qatar, a shock to the sports and journalism worlds. His wife said the cause was an aortic aneurysm. He was only 49.
I didn’t know Wahl well, but we exchanged a few messages over social media. We would share each other’s stories. After the brutal murder of my colleague Jamal Khashoggi, he reached out. According to everyone I know who knew him, he was quick to offer help, encouragement and praise to aspiring journalists.
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His last message to me was: “Karen! Your story yesterday was amazing. YOU are amazing. And I will follow you to the ends. Vamos amiga!”
We lost a real one. I didn’t think the end would come so soon. Thank you, Grant, for everything. Vaya con dios, amigo.
Do you have questions, comments, tips, recipes, poems, praise or critiques for me? Submit them here. I do read every submission and might include yours in a future version of the newsletter.
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