Malik Yoba Flipped Out In An Interview After Being Asked About Allegations He Solicited Underage Trans Girls
So Malik Yoba came forward and announced that he was a man who is attracted to trans women. Which was amazing and so progressive and really incredible considering how tense things can be in the black community with LGBTQ acceptance. We all wanted to shout to the skies and applaud Malik for helping make progress not just for black people but all men who are into trans girls. That excitement was shorter-lived than Shane Gillis’ SNL career–because immediately afterwards news broke that Malik was coming forward because of some allegations of him soliciting underage trans girls. Well he was asked about it in an interview and girl… he just straight up walked out. He snaps and then leaves. It’s such a cringe moment… some of you are gonna love it.
The Root says they love to create a moment, and bitch they did. Okay so the storyline goes: Malik was a creep in the 90s. A trans woman, Mariah Lopez Ebony, is executive director of STARR–the Strategic Trans Alliance for Radical Reform, which was founded by LGBT pioneers Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. So sis has some pretty decent accolades. And she also is accusing Malik of soliciting sex from her at ages 13 and 16. Another trans woman, Ja’nese Bussey, also says she slept with Malik and co-signs that Mariah did at 13, since they worked together. On two occasions, Ja’nese says she hooked with Malik and that he had asked her to connect him with “teenage girls”. And not for SAT prep.
So Malik deleted the Instagram post about his love for trans girls since all that mess was being brought up in the comments (aside from the transphobia and bigotry) and he gave a statement to The Root about it saying he: “categorically denies all allegations and will not respond, beyond this comment, to requests for comment.” I’m not sure if that comment came before this interview or what but it’s a mess.
So it’s starts fine and everything is normal until about seven minutes in… then shit gets… awkward.
Here’s a transcript:
The Root: Since creating these posts, you’ve received a mixture of support and criticisms. On a more serious note, a trans woman named Mariah Lopez Ebony wrote a Facebook post in which she accused you of soliciting sex from her as a minor when she was both 13 and 16 years old. What do you have to say to this allegation?
Yoba: I say that, you know, when I heard that, and I actually didn’t read it until last Thursday, what she actually said, I don’t know the woman, number one…
The Root: So, you’re saying you never met her, you don’t know her?
Yoba: That’s exactly what I am saying. I don’t know her. I have no idea who she is. I am familiar with that pain, I’m familiar with that trauma. I’m familiar with people who are crying out for help. I’m familiar with the lack of regard for this population, which is, again, my point. So, when I heard it, for me, to hear something so heinous, right, number one, and to see someone post something with no proof of anything and to see the world embrace it, or a portion of the world embrace it, that toxicity, speaks exactly to the reason I do the work that I do.
So, it’s an oxymoron almost. It’s like: “Wow, the first cis-gender man who stands up for the community and gets attacked by that community.” But that’s true for anybody that’s ever stood up for oppressed people. It’s happened to Gandhi. It’s happened to Mandela. It’s happened to Marcus Garvey. It’s happened to Malcolm X. It’s happened to anyone who has said, “I am gonna stand up for these oppressed people.”
Yup, he was accused of child sexual assault and he’s like: “Hey girl: I’m Malcolm X.” YIKES! It gets worse and he calls the whole thing a “set up” (which is like: he’s not wrong, but homeboy you should expect it). Here’s how The Root describes him storming out:
“The Root went on to ask Yoba about allegations from trans sex workers who claimed that he solicited sex from them. Yoba replied that he didn’t know what the reporter was talking about. When asked how he reacts to criticisms that he does not actually care for trans people and that he fetishizes trans women, Yoba became demonstrably upset.
Yoba walked away from his chair, threw his microphone to the floor, yelled “fuck you” to this reporter and the production team and demanded that he be given the SD video cards that recorded the interview, which The Root’s producers refused to do.”
He told them to give him the footage. Ma’am… that’s a BAD look. Innocent people don’t ask for footage unless they mean to show it to everyone as evidence. Noooo! Why can’t the LGBTQ community have anything? Why can’t a hot dude admit he’s into trans girls without a shady backstory of underage prostitution? Is that too much to ask?
Here’s the video if you want to cringe so hard your shoulders cramp. Malik answers awkward questions about 7:00 minutes in and the storming fiasco is about 16:00. The interviewer literally picks up a mug of tea to sip; it’s so smug. Enjoy!
Pic: YouTube