Shaun KingVerified account

I left Twitter many years ago. For me, it represents so much of what is wrong with our current state of events in the world. I still believe so.

That my husband could be the number one trending topic in the world on a night where the country was literally watching a debate to choose Donald Trump’s successor, says all I need to know about the ridiculousness of this space.

And yet, as useless and detached from real life as I find this space to be, it is the place in which I am forced to come to defend myself. And to be clear, this entire rant is a defense of myself.

Before you accuse Shaun of “hiding behind me” please understand that it is my decision to engage. Shaun has asked me repeatedly not to, but I’ve held my tongue for years and I’m done.

What I can’t figure out is why you are so hellbent on destroying my family? For folx who claim to love Black people so much, you sure are committed to tearing this Black family down. And for the life of me I just can’t wrap my head around why.

You have clearly made it your mission to ruin our lives. You don’t know me, you’ve never met me. You’ve never had a conversation with me. You don’t know anything about me. And yet, you have clearly become obsessed with assassinating my character.

And to be clear, when you come for my husband, you come for me. When you have been attached to someone for 22 years, there is no such thing as his battle and my battle.

When you come for @ShaunKing you are coming for me. There is no such thing as his battle and my battle. They are all OUR battles. We are doing life together in every way. So when you attack him, there is no way for it not to bleed over into my life.

Raising 5 children takes every bit of mental and emotional energy I have. I cannot afford to be distracted in my responsibilities as their mother. I have to be a present daughter, friend, wife, and employee.

I am a Black woman doing equity work in a white dominant organization. I also have to protect myself.

So for years I have mostly been silent. I tried to separate my world - a world I can see and touch - from the nebulous, ever shifting world that is social media. I find out when shit hits the fan on here because my circle tells me.

I mostly see my role as encourager of my husband and protector of my children. But after these last 3 weeks, I have decided that there are specific things and people I want to address. So this is about to be that.

The issue I am struggling with most is this idea that my husband hates and harms Black women. And that people like @Nettaaaaaaaa and this random @AngryBlackLady think that they are in a position to speak on behalf of all Black women. How arrogant!

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don’t speak for the Black woman he’s been deeply devoted to for the last 22 years. You don’t speak for the 4 Black girls and women he’s raising.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don’t speak for the Black woman who is a trusted friend and manages all of the business/finance of @TheNorthStar. You don’t speak for the Black woman who serves as the Editor in Chief of @TheNorthStar.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don't speak for the Black woman who is Shaun's Lead Producer on the @TJMShow. You don't speak for the Black woman who manages social media for @FlipTheSenate.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don’t speak for the Black women who sweetly pressed money in his at church when he was a broke college preacher.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don’t speak for the countless Black women who welcomed Shaun into their homes as a kid and loved him and fed him just as they did their own sons.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don’t speak for the Black women @SpelmanCollege who knew Shaun as a kind and compassionate Student Government President @Morehouse and never once had a reason to question his integrity - even giving him awards.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… The mother of Botham Jean The mother of Amadou Diallo The mother of Eric Garner The mother of Philando Castile These Black mothers love Shaun and Shaun fights for them with all his heart and soul.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… The mother of Trayvon Martin The mother of Da'Quan Huey The mother of Mike Brown The mother of Bianca Roberson The mother of DeAndre Harris The mother of Monroe Bird Shaun has fought for them endlessly for years.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don't speak for the daughters of Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz, who honored Shaun this past year for loving and fighting for their family and their legacy and speaking truth to power.

Let me tell you all the Black women you don’t speak for… You don’t speak for the brilliant Black woman who gave Shaun an award two nights ago. You don’t speak for the Black (yes she’s Black) woman who defended Shaun on the red carpet of said awards. And then on Instagram.

You don’t speak for the thousands of Black women who send encouraging messages of love & support our way every day. You pretend like you’re some great defender of Black women, yet you spend every moment of your day working to destroy this Black woman’s family. YOU are the fraud!

You don't speak for the Black women, for the Black mothers and daughters, who stop Shaun in the street everywhere we go, every single day, sometimes in tears, because they see him as their fearless defender and the defender of their sons, brothers, and husbands.

It's so easy to say "don't give it attention" when it's not you. I've spent years not giving it attention and just watched as my life morphed into something I don't recognize. I am now stopped on the street even when I'm not with Shaun. It's not some Twitter beef for me.

I want these words to be a record of my position.

You are literally obsessed with my husband! Seriously, how do you have so much time on your hands??? I bet if you spent half the time actually helping people as you do trying to make the case that my husband hurts people, I think we’d have won this fight for justice by now!

You clearly live and die by twitter. Get a life! And not one built on the platform of maligning people you’ve never even met before.