Megan, Halle, & Cassie Spoke Up — And Got Doubted, Not Defended

Even as Megan Thee Stallion, Cassie, and Halle Bailey came forward with evidence, they were still mocked, doubted, memed, or ignored.

They came with photos. Court documents. Police reports. Sworn testimony. Like hundreds of thousands of others, Megan Thee Stallion, Cassie Ventura, and Halle Bailey all stood up in public, in courtrooms, or both, against men who allegedly harmed them. Still, the response from much of the public wasn’t supportive. It was a suspicion. Dismissal. Mockery. In a culture that loves Black women’s aesthetics but denies their suffering, evidence alone apparently isn’t enough. You can be shot, assaulted, harassed, and still be called a liar—even long after your abuser is convicted.

Although there have been legal systems that have identified them as victims, much of the court of public opinion has not given Megan, Cassie, or Halle grace. It’s something that many women understand. What these three experienced is not aberrational but part of a lineage of disbelief. It is something that has trailed Black women across generations and industries.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) remains one of the most pervasive yet under-addressed forms of gender-based violence, and Black women are among the most at-risk populations in the United States. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 40 percent of Black women will experience physical or sexual violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. It is a rate significantly higher than that of other racial groups in the U.S.

Homicide data is equally chilling. Black women are more likely to be killed by a current or former partner than any other racial group of women, and nearly half of all homicides involving Black women are committed by a partner or ex. Despite this, Black women are less likely to seek help from law enforcement or the legal system, often due to a deep mistrust of institutions, fear of not being believed, and the societal pressure to protect men, even at the expense of their own safety. The silence around IPV in Black communities isn’t born of denial. It’s born of historical survival strategies. Yet, silence doesn’t protect us. Awareness and naming the system are part of our protection now.

The Pattern, Not The Exception

There’s a reason why people continue to doubt Megan, regardless of what was presented in court against Tory Lanez.