Last week I swooned a bit over Channing Tatum during his interview with Joanna Coles from Cosmopolitan at Cannes Lion. The conversation did get serious later. At one point, a lady in the audience asked him, “You are a role model for the generations and I think that’s a big responsibility… you are the father of a girl and there is so much going on, what happened in Stanford recently, what are your thoughts about changing for the next generation of girls?” The lady was referring to what is commonly known as the Stanford Rape Case in which Stanford student and swimmer, Brock Turner, was sentenced to just six months after being convicted of rape. The excuse the judge gave for the minor sentence was he thought Turner could potentially be a viable member of society in the future. Channing said he couldn’t believe the sentence and thinks the guy should have been punished commensurate to the crime.
He’s speaking out. Channing Tatum addressed the controversial Brock Turner Stanford rape case during a new interview with Cosmopolitan magazine on Wednesday, June 22.
The “Magic Mike” actor, 36, sat down with Cosmo editor-in-chief Joanna Coles during a Facebook Live chat from The Girls’ Lounge in France, where he discussed the “very real” culture surrounding rape and sexual assault.
“I think it’s tough. I think that rape culture is a very real thing,” he explained. “I really think it’s a horrible, horrible idea to let someone off because of possibly what they’re gonna be capable of doing. Because if you start doing that, where do you end? Where does that stop? Where does that line actually quit? I don’t think it’s right. I think [Turner] should’ve been punished, personally, but I also don’t know what the answer is to protect women, to keep you out of those situations.”
As previously reported, the former Stanford swimmer, 20, was convicted on three felony counts in March for sexually assaulting an unconscious, intoxicated woman. Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to just six months in prison and claimed that a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on the college athlete’s future. The Associated Press later reported that Turner will only serve three months of his sentence.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Tatum said of the shortened sentence on Wednesday. “That is like if you killed someone, if you got caught red-handed murdering someone, and then just because you went to a nice school and you were a good swimmer, you somehow get a lesser sentence than what you would’ve for cold-blooded murder. I mean, that just doesn’t make any sense.”
I totally agree with his point that it is a dangerous to sentence a person based on what we presume they might be capable of. I think if someone commits rape, we have seen what they are capable of, nothing more needs to be presumed.
I caution trigger warnings for the articles linked in this paragraph. The case itself and the victim’s powerful letter she read to her rapist the day he was convicted set off a chain-reaction on social media. Joe Biden wrote an amazing Open Letter to the victim and the cast of Girls shot a video for her. These efforts, along with comments like Channing’s, keeps the case in the media, which might possibly be a step closer to justice for the next victim. I also want to acknowledge the two graduate students who helped the victim that horrible night and were vital during the case.
Photo credit: Fame/Flynet and WENN Photos
Go Tatum. Proud he knows what’s right.
Right? It’s so refreshing when celebrities say actual good things.
I couldn’t believe the sentencing this ‘judge’ gave to that rapist! What kind of example does that show to future would be rapist and poor victims going throw the same ordeal! It’s not ok to rape, get convicted and only been handed 6 montths! What kind of society we live in!
I cried like a baby after I read the victims letter and couldn’t stop thinking about it for days after.
#recallaaronpersky
He ran uncontested so he is in for another 6 years, but the prosecution on another sexual assault case ask that he be removed and it was granted. This can be the slowly but surely way for his career to end.
There’s petition to remove Judge Aaron Persky from the bench. If you’re appalled by his ruling then it’s definitely worth your time to sign it.
https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/stanford_judgepersky/
Thank you for sharing this. I signed the petition.
I am not a social media person, but for those of you who do, please put this out there!
Thank you again, layla.
I signed the petition a few weeks ago as I was OUTRAGED at the special treatment of the rapist! The victim letter had me sobbing my eyes out. How she has made it this far is beyond me. She is so strong. I don’t even know her but I’m so proud of her. I only pray for that kind of strength.
Signed. Thank you for passing this along.
People are also refusing to sit on the jury for his cases as well. Just terrible.
The biggest issue isn’t this one particular case and this one particular judge. This judge is kind of getting punished for his light sentencing, which is unusual. The problem is that this sentence was actually in line with the norm for sentencing rapists. It’s completely normal. In fact, the fact that he was convicted at all was a huge win because 97% of rapists go unpunished. The fact is that our outrage shouldn’t be directed at this one case and this one judge, it should be aimed at the entire system.
I just read that the judge who sentenced Brock Turner to six months in jail sentenced an Hispanic man to three years in prison for raping his roommate.They were both first time offenders.So poor,Hispanic guy 3 years vs Stanford Swimmer six months in jail.
That’s disgusting, but I can’t say I’m surprised. So sad.
ETA: I didn’t mean to imply the other crime was not terrible and hurtful, just that the Turner case was horribly mishandled and unfair to the victim.
Unreal. I guess nobody was on hand to cry about how the other guy can’t even enjoy steak anymore.
And also, go Channing!
Sorry for the same post below, Colette! When I posted, there weren’t any comments at all! After hitting post, boom! There they were 😊
That is so infuriating. That is not justice!
The judge needs to be sacked and tried in court for being an idiot. And for possible profiling and discrimination.
Brock Turner is not special snowflake – he’s a depraved pervert and rapist.
As Kitten has said often, we need to teach men NOT to rape.
Just as we as a society teach people NOT to kill or cheat or steal or lie and so on and so forth.
This is very true, but it also goes deeper than this, and extends to the double standard applied to women. Case and point: inebriation. If a guy gets blitzed out of his mind and does something heinous, he’s excused. He messed up, this isn’t how he really is, give him one more chance, etc. If a girl gets blitzed out of her mind , she should have known better, put herself in that situation, etc. It’s an amazing double standard that we hold our society to that excuses so much wrong alpha behavior. Brock Turner – and so many campus rape cases- should have seen a harsher punishment…6mos in prison is no where near enough and thank God for the guys that turned him in.
Women and men create a better world when they are allied- Brock came from a background of privilege and took advantage where he could bc he felt entitled. He should lose his place at Stanford!
AFAIK he did loose his place at Stanford. And he will now never be a professional swimmer because the American swimming association (?) showed him the door too. Also his female friend who defended him had her gigs cancelled all over the place.
So at least the people are reacting.
We also need to teach that guys like this aren’t athletes who made a mistake, but that these are rapists who just happen to be a athlete.
Well rape isn’t as important as SPORTS! It’s unbelievable. So basically if this asshat had been a college drop out or an English major, he’d have been sentenced differently? That’s terrifying. Why is such an importance placed on grown men who play games on a field? Society has its priorities all messed up. Athletes aren’t Gods.
First off – thank you for covering this.
And yes- good to have people of influence and profile speak out.
+1
I just read an article yesterday that the same judge who sentenced Turner sentenced a Latino man to 3 years for raping his roommate:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3662445/Judge-sentenced-Brock-Turner-20-six-months-rape-hand-three-year-sentence-Latino-man-32-charged-crime.html
Biased much, judge? Won’t this ruin *his* life, too??
same judge ruled a domestic abuser who beat the victim until she’s unrecognizable to 2 weekends in jail. and apparently personally made sure that the man got out of jail in a timely manner so he could go back to work on time the monday of his release.
http://m.democracynow.org/web_exclusives/2908
Arg!!! That makes me so angry!
Thanks for posting link,I couldn’t remember which site I had read about the other case.
He’s right. Speaking as a mother of two teenage boys I have diligently telling them about rape and situations to avoid. For example, if a girl is drunk and doesn’t seem coherent, don’t go there. We need to teach our boys it’s not ok to have sex with anyone who isn’t of sound mind to give permission.
I was talking with my friend this weekend, and she reminded me that that was the best case scenario for a victim: the rapist was caught red-handed, and a conviction occurred. My friend was presumably raped during grad school, but doesn’t remember anything, just woke up in her bed covered in blood. My friend referred to the victim as “lucky.” As someone who hasn’t been sexually assaulted, I can’t say I would call the victim lucky, but sadly, she was more fortunate than some victims. As other commenters have said, this case was an absolute travesty and everyone needs to be taught not to rape as a baseline.
I can see what your friend means, though – for Emily there’s no question what happened, or by who, or how. She has clarity and proof and witnesses and her rapist has a conviction, however poorly punished. Your friend knows she was raped, but beyond that she probably has a whole bunch of questions.
Very good point. The punishment in this case does not match the crime, not by a long shot. But what makes this case even worse (hard to believe that is possible) is the fact that he WAS convicted and yet didn’t get proper sentencing.
It is as if this judge just ignored the fact that a jury convicted him.
I can’t fault your friend for her perspective. I do worry about what this says to other victims. The Stanford victim had the “perfect” case, with multiple unrelated witnesses and physical evidence. If she can’t get justice, even with all of this evidence that most victims don’t have, I worry that this will scare off other victims from reporting the crimes committed against them.
She isn’t lucky. Her case is an example of just HOW incredibly f*cked up our justice system is.
” If she can’t get justice, even with all of this evidence that most victims don’t have, I worry that this will scare off other victims from reporting the crimes committed against them.”
Exactly. So very sad and gross….but true. I can’t imagine there is anything “easy” about reporting a rape. So many already don’t report and then this high profile case gives future victims a VERY good reason to doubt if it is worth it to go through all that, just to have the judge ignore the conviction.
Yes to all of these comments.
I didn’t mean to imply that my friend’s perspective wasn’t valid, it absolutely is. I just don’t feel able to comment on that part as someone who has been unbelievably lucky to never have been assaulted (and like many women, I’ve been fall-down, blackout drunk more times than I care to recall).
And yes, the judge pretty much undermined the jury (not to mention the victim and witnesses), and our justice system is shameful in its treatment of women and minorities.
Then there’s John P. Enochs: 2 rapes, 1 day in jail.
That case is a WEE bit more complex. First, that case is the result of a plea bargain that the prosecution signed off on. The Turner case was a judge rejecting the prosecution’s arguments for a much higher sentence.
Second, the prosecution’s office actually released a statement on that case. They said that, unbeknownst to the public, the one victim declined to cooperate with the prosecution. That meant that, barring a deal, her case was going to be dropped entirely. The second victim, the statement says, was caught lying on several occasions and gave testimony that contradicted some witnesses and video footage from the night in question. She was still willing to go forward with the prosecution, but the attorneys involved recognized that her credibility was low and that the defense would likely tear her apart on the stand. So, they made a deal that would at least result in a criminal record.
Now, I do not like the case – it makes my skin crawl. That’s why I don’t work in prosecutions. However, I appreciate the conundrum they faced here. Neither victim’s case was actually winnable in court. If they had gone to trial, he was certainly looking at acquittal in both cases. And that would have been no record, no tracking, no nothing. Free as a bird. The deal, as truly bad as it is, at least gets him a record and some kind of tracking. It sucks, it truly sucks, but I have to ask, honestly – what would you do differently? As a lawyer but also as somebody with a daughter, I question whether it would have been ethical to put Victim 2 on the stand knowing that the defense would savage her and win acquittal for it. So truthfully, I struggle to think of what I’d do differently.
That’s also why the media generally sucks at reporting on legal proceedings.
Channing is becoming the feminist ally I never thought I wanted until now. I love how serious and matter-of-fact he is about this subject (although I do know I probably shouldn’t applaud him just for being a decent human being).
Wow, could he BE any more awesome?
A seriously charming and smart potato.
First of all, YAY one more reason to keep my Channing crush! hahaha!
And two, OH MY GOSH THAT JOE BIDEN LETTER…it made me cry. At work. I hadn’t seen it before today and I don’t know why when he said “I see you” I just lost it.
One thing I was curious about: in the English courts, a sentence that is unconscionably light can be appealed by the Crown Prosecution Service, and a harsher one given, if the crime is serious enough: http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/unduly_lenient_sentences/ – does anything like that exist in the States? Can a judge who sentences someone eye-wateringly leniently have the sentence reviewed, and a more appropriate one imposed? I’m assuming not, given nobody has mentioned any such thing.
Any actual lawyers here could probably give you a better answer, but as far as I know – no. It falls under the clause of “double jeopardy.” A person in the United States cannot be tried for the same offense twice. A defendant can appeal a sentence, but I don’t think such a process exists for plaintiffs.
We have double jeopardy too, but that isn’t about the conviction itself – it isn’t about the jury’s decision on guilt or innocence. It’s just about the penalty for the conviction.
(Our strict double jeopardy rules were relaxed a few years ago, in that if compelling new evidence has emerged since, then a judge can rule that a second trial can occur. But it’s very rare, and has to be applied for. It’s seen as for really exceptional cases, where an almost certainly guilty person was exonerated because the key evidence just wasn’t available at the time. Obviously, though, that has risks too. However, even when we had strict double jeopardy laws, you could still appeal a stupidly weak sentence as that isn’t about the facts of the case being determined by the jury.)
Wow! I am always saying that we need more celebrity men to stand up and say these things so that regular guys understand it’s not only ok to be feminist, it actually makes you educated, urbane and…cool.
So…Gooo Channing Tatum! I will see his movies forever because of this.
I’m so glad he said this. More publicity to what is right and decent. Bravo.