Comedian Blaire Erskine broke down in a video she posted on Tuesday night, decrying what she called “unhinged f*cking people” trolling her.
Erskine, who rose to fame in 2020 mocking Trump supporters and those opposed to wearing masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, recently called out comedian and activist Anthony Walker for soliciting donations so he could, as Erskine put it, “go to Ukraine to kill Russians, ‘to f*ck up Russians’” amid Russia’s military invasion of the Eastern European country.
Mediaite, by Jackson Richman Mar 9th, 2022,
I saw Blaire’s video online late at night and was moved by it. I’ve been writing about how the right uses online threats and intimidation for years. I downloaded it and added captions. Then she deleted her account. Today she restored it, not wanting her attackers to win.
I planned to write a piece about what happened, who benefits and profits from threats and harassments. I’d go into the legal situation & tech side. In short I’d go into the classic male Mr. Fixit mode with “Here is what you need to do!” Luckily I’ve been around enough great women who taught me to first shut up and listen.
So listen to what Blair said
Here is the text:
I’m really sorry to be even making this um because no one likes to see, fuckin. Like, the last thing anybody wants to see is a white woman crying on social media and and I get that.
The past several days, I’ve gotten a lot of messages from unhinged fucking people saying things like, “I’m going to regret, you know, making certain posts”, or that “something’s coming my way.” And that it’s a good thing I’m an attention whore cause I’m about to get a lot of attention.” Saying things like, “You’re going to rape me to teach me a lesson.”
All because I fucking made a few posts about a guy who I feel is using the word Ukraine as a way to grow his following. And I stand behind that, um, there’s a guy on Twitter, his name is Anthony Walker. And he is asking for donations, personal donations, so he can go to Ukraine, to tell Russians to fuck up Russians.
And that’s not how any of this is supposed to be working. There are legitimate organizations you can donate to. I care so much because my husband is from Ukraine and he has family over there, and it’s personal. And so I called out his behavior. And I asked for a response, which he hasn’t given.
And I’m just I imagine that he’s that there’s a group with all of these people who were doing sending me these messages in a targeted way. I don’t even think I’m making any sense right now. But they’re scary messages.
And I have reached out to Twitter, and I’ve reached out to Instagram. And each time I’m told that none of the things that really scary things, these people are saying violate you know, policies, and it’s fucked up. It’s fucked up.
People should not be allowed to threaten someone’s, you know, life, you know, threaten someone with rape threaten someone with in any sort of way. And it’s crazy, but nothing warranted it.
And I’m just fucking pissed off that women like, just like cannot be safe anywhere. And this is so stupid. Like, I’m a very privileged white lady online, who’s been incredibly lucky. And, you know, I should not be fucking complaining. It’s just like, fucking I’m fucking pissed.And I just wanted to make this to say that if a woman is online, and she’s complaining about men and women who are harassing her and saying really scary fucking things, do not tell her to ignore them, help her! Report those people!
Like never tell a women to be quiet about someone who is harassing her. It does not help. It doesn’t help. It doesn’t do anything. Those people should be called out and humiliated.
And it’s fucked up that anybody’s first response would be, “Oh, just ignore the haters.” They’re not haters. They’re people who are threatening to hurt and rape me for having a goddamn opinion.
And if you work for Instagram, or Facebook or Twitter, whatever the fuck like, do something! Because this is like, I’m lucky to have a platform to help me out but other women do not. This is just a fucked up situation. Happy International Women’s Day.
What Can Be Done?
Blaire has returned. In her video she explains why it shouldn’t be her that leaves, but them. She reads some threats to prove they are real. Then she talks about how Twitter and her lawyers are trying to deal with it.
It’s a good thing I didn’t launch into Mr. Fixit mode, she’s already on it!
For those who are in a similar situation or being harassed online, I recommend these resources.
- Crash Override is a crisis helpline, advocacy group and resource center for people who are experiencing online abuse. We are a network of experts and survivors who work directly with victims, tech companies, lawmakers, media, security experts, and law enforcement to educate and provide direct assistance working to eliminate the causes of online abuse.
- A Guide to Protecting Yourself From Online Harassment
- Cyber Civil Rights Initiative FAQ for victim CCRI Safety Center
- HeartMob, a community dedicated to helping those experiencing online harassment
For this blog, focusing on politics and the media, next time I’ll address how the media regularly put themselves in the position of defending the people making threats and not the person being attacked. I believe that the media’s attitudes about speech, and how they cover online bullies in politics, has not led to helping the victims, but excusing the perpetrators.
I hope that Blaire’s star continues to rise and that the unrepentant, intentional bullies pay a price for their actions.