Diana King Shows Solidarity To Tanya Stephens
Diana King, in a show of solidarity to Tanya Stephens, this morning pointed out that most of the men she encountered whilst pursuing her music career in Jamaica, except for a few whose friendship she treasures to this day, have tried to forcibly have sex with her.
King, who has in the past declared that she too, has been a victim of rape, was agreeing with Tanya that she should not reveal the name of the artist who assaulted her some 30 years ago.
“💯Tanya… I’ve been raped more than a few times,” the Shy Guy artist said.
“Only a handful of men that I’ve met have neva tried to hole mi dung & tek it. To this day those men r still my friends because they showed me respect & luv them for it,” Diana added.
The Billboard-charting artist said that as a consequence, she always had to be on her guard, with unorthodox measures in place to stave off the attacks, including using lit cigarettes as a weapon.
“If mi neva learn bout ‘kick dem ina dem balls’ mi woulda as dem sey ‘dun out’ and unrecognisable — di ‘man dem’ is how I originally got addicted to cigarettes. Bcuz for a time I was homeless and a walk street & a kotch, so I always had to have one lit fi out out ina dem yeye if dem trouble mi,” she said.
She said in many cases she had to forego fees that were due to her for performances, as some of the culprits were holding on to the money as a guise to ambush her.
“They r everywhere. Numerous times I had to run weh left mi likkle singing money because man a wait fi pum pum via rape. It is too normal. From family ram to boss to friend to stranger. from my experience including what other women have told me, I’d go out on a limb & say most men have either raped or tried to rape a woman before,” she noted.
“In the grand scheme of things, only a few men r innocent. Because we have a deep rape culture in Jamaica. And it tan up trang to the point where women tolerate &/or defend the men & blast the survivor… I said what I said,” she added.
Diana was responding to a post made by Tanya who had lashed persons whom she said were still coming in her inbox, demanding that she tell them the name of her rapist, even though she had declared in no uncertain terms that she would not.
Tanya insisted that the naming of her attacker had no bearing on the persons who were badgering her, as, unknown to them, there were many other sexual predators lurking around the said IG harassers.
“You don’t need me to call ONE name. There isn’t only one rapist here. Stop trying to pass off your nosiness as concern, dipshits!” she posted on Monday.
In her additional comments, she said that she knew that outing her abuser would only serve to give people a false sense of security, and that they should best be on the alert and taking universal precautions. In essence, totally trust no one.
“You want to be safe from rapists? Internalize the fact that they ALL COULD BE RAPISTS,” Tanya declared under her post.
“How about this? My calling one name relaxes your guard around the others. Stay on your f-cking toes and stop pretending your safety is in my hands. My silence is your gold… appreciate it and learn instead of being f-cking boisterous under my posts,” she said.
She continued: “There are hundreds of thousands of them. They are IN YOUR HOUSE and at your job and in your school. Your church is a petri dish full of the bacteria. Stop acting like I’m standing between you and safety!”
In responding directly to Diana King, Tanya noted: “@dianakingdom mi heart bleed fi all a we! Now me a read all these things and think…why the bumboclaat we nuh start slaughter dem yet????”
Their compatriot Ce’cile also commented on the matter, noting too, that Jamaica is “filled” with predators.
“They don’t care about rapists, they care about your business. That’s why I stop caring and mind my own business,” she wrote.
“Most of the people that needs help themselves encourages the worst behaviours especially on social media and are the very ones to blast you not seeing what you are doing is helping them cause you don’t need dem help. I’m sure some of the same ones blasting you has held some women and take it because Jamaica is filled with them. At studios in the workplace at the bars at the church pon the football field u name it dem deh deh,” she wrote.