Whoopi Goldberg offered some unsolicited advice to Bella Thorne and it’s not good.
Bella was recently threatened by a hacker who got ahold of her nude photos and videos. Instead of letting it spread without her consent, she posted it herself to get her power back. In a segment on The View, Whoopi said that celebrities like Bella shouldn’t be taking nude photos. “If you’re famous, I don’t care how old you are, you don’t take nude pictures of yourself,” she said. “Once you take that picture, it goes into the Cloud and it’s available to any hacker who wants it, and if you don’t know that in 2019 that this is an issue, I’m sorry…You don’t get to do that.”
Bella later took to Instagram to express her disappointment with Whoopi’s statement and how she’s blaming women who’ve been victimized in the past. “Dear Whoopi, I have loved you for so long but honestly I’m so displeased and sadden[ed] by your response to my [leak],” she wrote in a Notes statement. “Blaming girls for taking the photos in the first place? Is sick and honestly disgusting. So what a girl can’t send her boyfriend that she misses photos of her that are sexy?…I as a woman should be so scared walking around my home, being on my phone, doing anything? Is that what you want our women to be like? Scared of the masses for their sexuality?? Is that what you want? I’m offended for anyone out there who has ever taken a sexy photo…Your view on this matter is honestly awful and I hope you change your mind set as you are on a show talking to young girls.”
In an emotional Instagram Stories video, Bella said she’s cancelling her The View guesting because she doesn’t want to get “beaten down” about what she does with her body and how she expresses her sexuality. “I feel pretty disgusting, Whoopi, knowing that everyone’s seen my sh*t. And I just want to say that me watching this interview made me feel bad about myself. And I hope you’re happy. I really do. I hope you’re so f*cking happy…You’re so crazy for thinking such terrible things on such an awful situation,” she said.
We’re with Bella on this one. In the past, female celebrities’ nudes have spread online and they are usually slut-shamed. (Check: The “Fappening”) For Whoopi to say that celebrities should adjust instead of focusing on the hackers at fault is pure victim-blaming.
No person—male or female—should ever feel like they’re in danger of getting exposed every time they’re sending private photos to someone. And just because they do, it doesn’t mean they’re asking to get harassed or publicly humiliated. If Whoopi should be concerned about anything in 2019, it should be the continuing existence of rape culture and internalized misogyny in the world.
[Seventeen]
Photo courtesy of Whoopi Goldberg’s Instagram account
For the latest in culture, fashion, beauty, and celebrities, subscribe to our weekly newsletter here
Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber
Related stories:
Bella Thorne released her nude photos after getting threatened by a hacker
How we should approach Tyler Posey and Cody Christian’s leaked photos
Whoopi Goldberg to release marijuana-infused products for women
Kendall Jenner getting body-shamed for leaked nudes prove no one is immune