John Legend Called Out the Double Standard Women Face on Social Media
Troy Harvey/ABC, Getty Images
On the May 3rd episode of the People Every Day podcast, John Legend expounded on the double standards surrounding women and men facing scrutiny on social media.
His wife, Chrissy Teigen, announced a short break from Twitter in late March before making a return just three weeks later. The Twitter personality's unplug from social media came shortly after a now-deleted series of tweets including her saying that Twitter "no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that's the right time to call something."
Between constant harassment from online trolls and negative comments surrounding her miscarriage, I'm surprised Teigen didn't leave Twitter sooner. This unfortunate cyberbullying that women of color endure is nothing new considering celebrities like Lizzo, Kelly Marie Tran, and Meghan Markle have all left their social media platforms.
Legend said that his wife's absence from social media was "easier said than done," which explains why the miniature unplug lasted less than a month.
"Because you do wanna get feedback. And so much of Chrissy's career has been built off of her interaction with people and her getting to know her audience and them getting to know her," he said. "She doesn't want to close herself off to it, but at the same time, it can be toxic sometimes."
Teigen's battle with her online presence has made Legend fully aware about the double standard that women have to deal with compared to their male counterparts.
"There's a lot more scrutiny on the way they look and people feel much more comfortable being mean to them than they do to men. Just seeing the difference between the way I get treated and the way Chrissy does."
Unfortunately, this is the eye-opening circumstance that a lot of men don't witness their partner face to show the double standard. The scrutiny that women—specifically women of color—face online is unbearable to many, whether they're a celebrity or not. Overall, we're hoping that Teigen's recent return to Twitter is healthy!
