Celebrities used their influence with the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown and called out for the young women’s freedom. Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian and more tweeted about it and realized the campaign.
Brown is currently serving a life sentence for killing a man that kept her and abused her. The case has gained the spotlight in the wake of the sexual harassment and assault conversation.
#FreeCyntoiaBrown
The national conversation about sexual assault and harassment cast a new spotlight on an old case, and celebrities were not blindsided by it.LeBron James, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Cara Delevigne and Kim Kardashian West were among the first celebrities to join the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown and the conversation.
The case received attention after a tweet detailing Brown in court went viral on Tuesday. Brown was sex trafficked by a pimp, who physically and sexually abused her, and was then sold to Nashville realtor Johnny Allen.
Brown killed Allen and was jugded as an adult, despite being 16 years old, and was sentenced to life in prison in Tennesse, with no parole for at least 51 years.The calls to free Brown came as stories of sexual assault dominated the news and also rapper Meek Mill’s sentence to two to four years for a parole violation.
A petition for Brown’s freedom was started online on MoveOn.org and has garnered more than 176,000 signatures to date.
Me Facing Life: Cyontoi’s Story
Last week, the Nashville Fox affiliate ran a story about Brown, and showed portions of a 2011 documentary, ‘Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story.’In the film, filmmaker Dan Birman explored Brown’s familial legacy of abuse and her own history of being sex trafficked.
“I’m glad we were able to start that conversation,” Birman told Fox 17. “This is a young girl who’s at the tail end of three generations of violence against women,” he added.
‘Me Facing Life’ also helped spark a push in Tennessee to reform the state’s juvenile justice laws. “How this turns out that’s going to be for lawyers, judges, governor and others to figure out.”
Brown’s attorney Charles Bone said Brown was surprised by the outpouring of support for her. “She’s very shocked and surprised and thankful as we all are for the interest of these celebrities. In today’s world, we never know when you’re going to do a story that lights a fire,” said Bone.
“Just to see all the people and all the different organizations who believe in me and who want to stand up for me, it’s humbling and mind-blowing,” Brown said.
Source: IBT