Friday, April 12, 2013

Reebok Drop Rick Ross Over Controversial 'Rape' Lyrics


For a while now - there's been talk on Rick Ross' controversial rape lyrics he rapped in Rocko's song U.O.E.N.O stating "Put molly all in her champagne, she ain't even know it. I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it." Obviously Rozay probably didn't see much of the lyrics at the time he recorded it - but once the song was released - twitter/blogs/radio stations and campaigns fired up stating they want him dropped from Reebok - where he's a spokesperson for the Sports line.

After two public apologies - the general public and Reebok consumers were still not convinced and signed a petition with up to 100,000 signatures. All thanks to the women over at UltraViolet as they started a campaign 'Drop Rick Ross' which they held a protest outside of the Reebok flagship store in New York City.

Reebok told TMZ "Reebok holds our partners to a high standard, and we expect them to live up the values of our brand. Unfortunately Rick Ross has failed to do so". The Sports brand went on to say: "While we do not believe that Rick Ross condones sexual assault, we are very disappointed he has yet to display an understanding of the seriousness of this issue or an appropriate level of remorse."


UltraViolet expressed their joy with the statement below:
"We are thrilled to hear that Reebok is joining the fight against rape culture and dropping Rick Ross. This is a huge victory for women, for the 526 survivors of rape who were brave enough to publicly confront rape culture, and for the nearly 100,000 UltraViolet members who have poured their hearts and time into this campaign. This sends a strong message that rapping about drugging and raping an unconscious woman is not only morally wrong, but has real consequences. After Steubenville, Americans expect and demand better. Thank you Reebok for taking a stand." said co-founder Nita Chaudhary.

As "cool" as the lyric may seem, it is actually a very serious situation where guys are slipping mollies into women's drinks and it is very dangerous as a matter of fact. At the end of the day, rape is a serious issue - no matter how it's portrayed. As disappointing as this is for Rick Ross and his camp, I just hope that other rappers take this whole situation into consideration. 
AND this clearly goes to show that the consumer holds the power!

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