Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh was accused of “slut-shaming” after making a false claim in an anecdote about progressive pundit Krystal Ball, a former Democratic congressional candidate.
Ball, formerly an MSNBC contributor, blasted Limbaugh for claiming that she had posed for nude photos as a minor, and said that even if she had done so, it shouldn’t have made a difference for her congressional campaign.
Social media blackmail
During his Sept. 4 program, as part of a broader discussion on the number of Republicans retiring from Congress, Limbaugh theorized that some were potentially being blackmailed by Democrats and their allies into stepping down over old secrets and social media posts.
Almost in passing, Limbaugh briefly referenced Ball’s failed 2010 congressional run. “Remember the name Krystal Ball with a K?” Limbaugh said. “Some thought she was attractive. She was running for Congress, and she got elected, and some tweets came out.”
He went on: “She posed nude when she was 14 or 15. She was outraged. ‘How dare you!’ I said, ‘What do you expect to happen? You put a picture of yourself nude on Facebook or MySpace or, you know, My Butt, whatever it is. Somebody’s gonna find that stuff.’ I think some of that is going on, and it’s being used to … Dare I say the word ‘blackmail’? But threaten members.”
Ball calls out Limbaugh for “slut-shaming”
What really happened? Photos of Ball partying as a young adult in the mid-2000s were publicized during her 2010 campaign to represent Virginia’s 1st district, and she eventually lost the race to a Republican opponent.
When Ball found out about the reference from Limbaugh days later, she posted a four-tweet thread on Twitter along with a video clip of herself addressing the matter on her “Rising” program for The HillTV.
“So I have some sort of weird personal/public news,” Ball wrote. “The other day on his show, Rush Limbaugh went on at length about how I posed nude when I was 14 or 15 (I did not.) I’ve been thinking for a few days about how to deal with this. Partly I didn’t really want to call more attention.
“Maybe just ignore it and move on. But the reality is, his show has millions of listeners and the transcript is readily available online. I didn’t want this slut-shaming smear just hanging out there. I’m also lucky enough to have a platform to set the record straight,” she continued.
“But maybe the next person who gets smeared will not,” Ball wrote. “I didn’t want him to think he could just slime anyone with impunity. Most importantly though, if I did ‘pose nude’ at 14, so f****** what? Should women be barred from public service because they have bodies and sexuality?” She concluded by again accusing Limbaugh of “slut-shaming” her and denounced him for attempting to be the “morality police.”
Limbaugh acknowledges mistake
To his credit, Limbaugh acknowledged his mistake during his Sept. 12 program. “I honestly thought it was — ’cause I remember she got very upset that these pictures — she was very mad, and I remember, ‘Well, what do you expect? You know, you go on social media, you do whatever, somebody’s gonna find it and it’s gonna surface.’ It turns out they were party photos, whatever it was, she was upset about it,” he said.
“So we’ve cleared the record. It wasn’t a nude photo, it was party photos. But whatever it was, she was not happy about it, she felt her privacy had been invaded,” he added. “And my point was there isn’t any privacy on social media, particularly if you run for office, people are gonna dig into it.”
716 Responses
There’s certainly a lot to learn about this issue. I really like all the points you’ve made.
The arbitrary sentence generator created a haphazard paragraph in an random sentence.
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it won’t fail me just as much as this particular one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read, however I really thought you would have something helpful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something that you could fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Great post. I am experiencing many of these issues as well..
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
Newborn Kids baby girls clothes
InstaHot Cotton Turtleneck Letter Print Bodysuits
Normally I don’t read post on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thanks, very nice article.
But wanna remark on few general things, The website style is perfect, the articles is really great : D.
Good site you have got here.. It’s difficult to find high-quality writing like yours nowadays. I seriously appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Simple & Powerful Uploadea is Amazingly easy to Use where to Store Your Data & Save Your Countless Time
Simple & Powerful Uploadea is Amazingly easy to Use where to Store Your Data & Save Your Countless Time
After checking out a number of the blog articles on your web page, I seriously appreciate your technique of writing a blog. I book-marked it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my website too and tell me your opinion.
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It is the little changes that will make the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Your style is so unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from. Thank you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this web site.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this website.
Malls are excellent areas to see; I could find all I want under one roof.
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you should write more on this issue, it might not be a taboo subject but typically folks don’t discuss these issues. To the next! Kind regards!!|
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Thanks!
Right here is the perfect web site for anybody who wants to find out about this topic. You know a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a new spin on a subject that has been written about for a long time. Great stuff, just wonderful!
This is a topic which is close to my heart… Best wishes! Exactly where are your contact details though?|
Real Estate Agent houses for sale selling your home
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Many thanks!
Thanks for another informative website. Where else may just I get that type of information written in such a perfect way? I have a mission that I am simply now running on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.
Hurrah, that’s what I was exploring for, what a stuff! existing here at this web site, thanks admin of this web page.|
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any points for novice blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.
This design is wicked! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this website. I really hope to see the same high-grade content by you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now ;)|
Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Many thanks!
Parties can be challenging to put together. Especially during the Halloween season. So how can you make the perfect party no matter the season or your theme?
Hi there to every one, because I am truly keen of reading this website’s post to be updated daily. It carries fastidious material.|
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who had been doing a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me lunch due to the fact that I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this matter here on your site.
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I believe that you ought to publish more on this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t speak about such topics. To the next! All the best!!
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who had been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me lunch due to the fact that I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this subject here on your site.
Hi, I think your site may be having web browser compatibility problems. Whenever I take a look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Aside from that, fantastic website!
Spot on with this write-up, I genuinely think this site wants far more consideration. I’ll possibly be again to read much more, thanks for that info.
arts for kids
Parties can be challenging to put together. Especially during the Halloween season. So how can you make the perfect party no matter the season or your theme
I cherished as much as you will receive performed proper here. The caricature is attractive, your authored material stylish. however, you command get bought an impatience over that you would like be handing over the following. sick indubitably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly very ceaselessly inside case you protect this increase.
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this web site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.