Ashley Judd speaks up against Twitter Rape Threats

The actress Ashley Judd spoke up about an onslaught against her on Twitter that was very misogynistic in its tone. She said that gender violence was an online fact that needed to be tackled.

Ashley Judd, the actress and women’s rights advocate, wrote a few comments on Twitter about a sports scene recently that rubbed some fans of the team the wrong way. Ashley had just said in an offhand moment of light hilarity that the opponents can kiss her posterior.

But the deluge of hate mail that arrived on her Twitter account was so voluminous that it caused her to literally go into a state of shock. Ashley Judd is a starlet that is used to routine insults that are the common lot of the rich and famous.

Some of the incoming messages were so disgusting and violent in their nature that Ashley was forced to turn to the administration of Twitter to deal with them since she feared for her life.

The messages termed her as female genitalia, a prostitute and a female dog. Other degrading phrases having to do with unnatural sexual acts and rape terminology were applied to Judd thereby giving her the creeps. 

I published my #onlinegenderviolence essay w/ http://t.co/0nBdc5Ic5u because millennias will solve this problem. http://t.co/a8wNUWYytE— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) March 19, 2015

Ashley said that she deleted her tweet after these hate-filled comments started pouring in. Yet they wouldn’t stop. She noted the fact that she would have been spared the insulting spiel had she been a man instead of a woman.

Ashley is a big fan of the sports extravaganza that is called March Madness. And she participates in the craziness of the games that take place as a part of this event every year. But this time her enthusiasm seems to have backfired.

She said that she fears for her life as a woman and other girls who are online ought to be careful too lest they offend any psycho who is a predatory influence online. Just having a private opinion about something can cause the most radical reaction from many crackpots who are hidden in the folds of cyberspace and just waiting to pounce on innocent victims who happen to be females.

“Forget Your Team: It’s Your Online Gender Violence That Can Kiss My Ass.” Who else has had enough? What will you do? http://t.co/a8wNUWYytE— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) March 19, 2015

Ashley Judd was raped twice in 1984 by the same man and she has had to face a lot of pain in the healing process as she worked with counselors to work through the trauma. It’s been some time since she has freed herself emotionally and physically from the scars of that fateful day in 1984.

Today when she faces such messages that exploit her female identity in order to make fun of her in a degrading manner that reeks of male chauvinism, she is saddened and frightened beyond belief. She is reporting some of the tweets to the law enforcement authorities since they are so threatening that she is fearful for her life and identity as a woman.  

I posted my essay & a few thoughts & questions for you. Take care of your sweet selves! https://t.co/r3L7oN4aWZ … http://t.co/a8wNUWYytE …— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) March 19, 2015