Kehlani, an and R&B superstar from my old stomping ground, Oakland, CA, tried to kill herself this week due to cyberbullying. She’d been “slut shammed,” a particularly vicious type of cyberbullyin. She felt –at least for a moment in time–that suicide was the only way to end her pain.
Kehlani, a cyberbullying victim.Kotinsky/Getty
Cyberbullying.
A report about a recent study of 350 hospitalized teens claims that 50% of teens teens admitted to the Emergency Room had been cyberbullied in comparison with the usual 15% cited from earlier studies. In this study (at a Providence, RI hospital), 25% even had signs of PTSD. Another young singing sensation, Long Island’s Jenna Rose, has experienced cyberbullying just like singer Kehlani. Untreated, such bullying can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, physical health problems, and other nasty consequences.
Here’s the Kehlani story:
“Kehlani is in the hospital following an alleged suicide attempt. According to Hollywood Life, the R&B singer allegedly tried to take her own life yesterday after a vicious cyberbullying attack that followed a questionable Instagram post by rapper PARTYNEXTDOOR. The photo showed the rapper in bed with Kehlani, leading many people to believe that she cheated on her boyfriend, Kyrie Irving. What people didn’t realize, however, is that the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard broke things off with Kehlani recently.
Kehlani and PARTYNEXTDOOR, who were lovers for a very long time, had a painful breakup, and according to TMZ, they have very recently reunited.
Kyrie Irving fans and Cavaliers fans were angry at the thought of anyone cheating on Kyrie. Some fans were worried that the upset would impact Kyrie Irving’s performance as well. Twitter lit up with attacks about Kehlani and her alleged affair. Celebrity gossip sites also got involved. Fans of all three, Kyrie Irving, Kehlani, and PARTYNEXTDOOR, were tweeting insults and accusations at Kehlani. The topic went viral.
Kehlani was the target of a massive social media attack. It was so huge, nasty, and intimidating that it could go down in history as the most widespread case of cyberbullying ever. It involved hundreds of thousands of social media accounts. With 3 famous people involved, including a famous sports figure, a lot of people were drawn to the topic. HipHopDX reports that more than one million hashtags were created in a trending social media topic rush. The viral response was overwhelming, and it all happened rapidly, just yesterday, in a matter of hours.
After reading all of this outpouring of anger, Kehlani deleted her social media accounts and allegedly attempted suicide. She made an Instagram post before deleting her account. The Shade Room Inc. was able to capture the post in time to save it. The note was accompanied by a selfie of her arm with an IV in it, apparently lying in a hospital bed.
Kehlani was allegedly so devastated by the accusations inspired by the photo PARTYNEXTDOOR posted and the venom directed at her by over a million people that she attempted to take her own life. She would not be the first person to suicide in response to cyberbullying. Nobullying.com cites the fact that 30,000 people commit suicide each year and that bullying is intrinsically linked to suicide in many case. Cyber bullying, even more than traditional bullying, leads to low self-esteem, thoughts of suicide, and suicide according to the anti-bullying website. About 20 percent of young people who are cyberbullied have thoughts of suicide.
Is PARTYNEXTDOOR to blame? He just didn’t see the potential harm in posting a photo. He did help save her life, according to Kehlani’s statement to TMZ.
Is Kehlani innocent? Is it really anyone else’s business? Yesterday, cyber rumors and online bullying almost took the life of R&B singer Kehlani, who claims she did absolutely nothing wrong. Kehlani says she didn’t cheat on Kyrie Irving with PARTYNEXTDOOR.
Kehlani had already broken up with Kyrie.”
Other bullying experiences.
From what I’ve read, Kehlani’s been bullied before. She’s received plenty of backlash for her liberal use of the N-word, and especially for her ethnicity. As she says,
“When you look at me, you can’t really tell what I am but I’m black, white, Native, Spanish and a little bit of Filipino.”
Read More: 25 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Kehlani.
My latest book, PRIVILEGED KILLERS, is a true story about a half-dozen Dark Triad people in my everyday life - narcissists, manipulators, and psychopaths. Three of 'em murdered people, and one came after my wife and me. Print and e-book versions of this (and CLEFT HEART) available at Amazon and elsewhere online. Also at your local bookstore.
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