By Yasmeen Akbar
With recent video footage of rapper Quavo and Saweetie, who recently broke up after a two-year relationship, surfaced online, many are questioning the lines of domestic violence.
The video shows the two in a disturbing altercation; it starts with the two standing outside of an elevator and Saweetie swinging on Quavo. After missing the hit, Quavo drops an orange case which they both struggle to grab. In this process, Quavo grabs Saweetie’s arm and swings her to the elevator floor.
TMZ released the video early Tuesday morning and it immediately went viral as people were quick to choose sides.
The video led to commentary on if this was a true display of domestic violence. Many argued that the altercation was not as serious as people were making it seem while others argued that this type of behavior should not be normalized.
"Why women gotta be knocked out cold for y’all to consider it abuse,” one tweet read.
“Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year,” according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
It is important to note that both parties were in the wrong and that both men and women can be victims of domestic violence. It has been found that 1 in 4 men and 1 in 3 women in the U.S. have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
However, since minor cases of domestic violence have become normalized in today’s generation it becomes hard for people to call it what it is- abuse or domestic violence.
Many related this situation back to the 2020 shooting of rapper Megan Thee Stallion who was allegedly shot by rapper Tory Lanez after an altercation. Many claimed Megan was at fault and/or lying about the situation rather than holding Lanez accountable.
Some may argue that these situations of violence against black women, where the victim is being blamed for the incident are becoming all too common and feed into the narrative that black women are the most neglected, disrespected and unprotected people in America as said by Malcolm X in 1962.
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