Cassie testified earlier this 12 months, describing years of abuse and assault all through her relationship with the music mogul. Her braveness was extensively praised throughout social media, however Drea believes that response revealed a painful fact. “So we need to start being real as a community. We pick and choose who we want to celebrate and advocate for, based even upon the way that they look,” she mentioned.

Drea mirrored on her personal expertise as a survivor, sharing that when she accused R. Kelly of bodily abuse, she didn’t obtain the identical outpouring of help. She additionally talked about Keke Palmer and the late Kim Porter, saying their experiences with abuse weren’t met with the identical degree of public compassion. According to Drea, colorism performs a serious half in who the group chooses to consider and uplift. “We need to take [colorism] out of it and educate ourselves, because that blew my mind,” she added.

She went on to say that some persons are too connected to the general public picture of entertainers accused of abuse, forgetting that victims usually see a facet of them the world by no means will. Despite her criticism, Drea expressed admiration for Cassie’s braveness, noting that each one victims deserve recognition and help.

Cassie’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, later praised her power, saying she continues to encourage others as she works towards therapeutic after Diddy’s latest sentencing.