On Monday afternoon, a video was released showing rapper Xxxtentacion shot dead in his car after shopping for motorcycles in Florida. The video and announcement of his death came swiftly to social media, followed by outcries of sadness and anger. Social media users quickly divided themselves up into fans who were devastated by the death and those indifferent to his death because of his extremely violent nature.
I'm one of the latter.
When Xxx died, he was in the middle of a lawsuit from 2016 that alleged he disgustingly abused his pregnant ex-girlfriend. After physically and emotionally abusing her throughout the year, he finds out she is pregnant and beats her so terribly that he sees it necessary to lock her in a bedroom and wait for her face to heal before he takes her to the hospital. While I spared the gory details, her account of the abuse is horrifying.
If abusing women isn't enough for you, Xxx also said he beat a man within an inch of his life while he was in juvenile detention because a man would not stop staring at him and Xxx "thought [the man] was gay." He then smeared the beaten man's blood all over his hands and face.
"So I'm like strangling him, and he's like leaking, leaking, leaking type shit, and I'm strangling him so he doesn't scream," XXX said during the YouTube No Jumper podcast. "Don't think I'm trying to be cliché or a fucking weirdo when I say this, but I was going crazy. Like, I smear his blood on my face, in my hands, I got it in my nails, bro, I had it all over me."
As accounts of this violence arose, Xxx's music grew and it seemed as if the violence was fueling the popularity of his music. His abusive behavior went hand in hand with his career; there was never a moment where his fans did not know the extent of his crimes.
So, to hear people say that he was "too young to die" or to "respect the dead" is ridiculous and harmful for the victims he traumatized. Death is never a good thing, but supporting someone into their grave that was violently homophobic and misogynistic shows a lack of humanity and speaks volumes about our society today.
Our society excuses an artist or influencer's crimes simply because of their talent. It puts the value of entertainment above sexual assault, abuse, racism, and homophobia. It eradicates the importance of the victims and their feelings, along with any future incidents the artist might commit.
It speaks even more to the idea of the victim in our society. Despite the trauma the victim has gone through, the perpetrator is often given the victim complex. Excuses arise to shed the perp in a better light; she was dressed promiscuously, he was an orphan with a rough childhood, he was reaching for his wallet but he may have been reaching for a gun.
We've all heard it before.
When will the victim be free to heal and seek justice without the idea that it may have been their fault?
Your favorite rapper beat two people within an inch of their lives but because he creates "bops," you're still going to support him? Your favorite singer put his hands around another singer's throat and beat her black and blue, but because it was nine years ago he should finally be given a break? Your favorite actor sexually assaults countless co-stars, belittling them and traumatizing them, but you want to separate their work from their crimes?
I didn't want Xxxtentacion to die, but I will not be mourning his death. His fans are cowards who are unwilling to stand up for victims of abuse and violence. If you feel differently, maybe you should look within before you speak out.
