The day came and went without much attention, but Tuesday, October 15 marked two years since the #MeToo movement went viral. To commemorate the anniversary, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke sat down with Teen Vogue to talk about the social media movement's cultural impact, as well as what it has meant for holding people, especially celebrities, accountable.
The movement resulted in thousands of men and women coming forward with their stories of sexual abuse and harassment. However, famous figures found themselves in the crosshairs of Cancel Culture as allegations were being thrown their way left and right. Some admitted to their wrongdoings and asked the public for forgiveness, while others have vehemently denied the accusations against them and denounced the #MeToo movement as a witchhunt.
In her Teen Vogue feature, Tarana touched on the topic of accountability, and surprisingly, she praised Aziz Ansari over how he handled the accusations against him. "I have been thinking a lot about Dave Chappelle and Aziz Ansari because they both have these comedy specials, right? And I know Dave Chappelle wasn't accused of anything, whatever, but he decided he was just going to go down this road...But some people are not going to be comfortable with what I’m going to say," she said, before adding, "[Aziz] didn‘t act like it didn't happen. He talked very clearly about what his year’s been like, and not from a like, 'Yo, this has been a really messed up year,' but like, 'What did I learn? What did I do? How did I try to make this situation, turn this situation around?' He was humble."
However, she wasn't as nice when it came to comedian Louis C.K. who was accused of misconduct by multiple women. "It’s not perfect, but at least [Aziz] didn't...I'm just so angry at the folks who kind of hide for six months, and then peek their head, like Louis C.K. Louis C.K. is an assh*le...And I'm going to tell you, he was one of my favorite comedians, right? I loved his show, I love Louis C.K., but you going to come back and start talking about transphobes, and children getting shot, what are we supposed to do?"
