It’s no secret that the internet is full of trolls and jerks, just waiting to tear women down with any number of petty, shallow insults. So when one of those trolls gets shut down in spectacular fashion, it can feel pretty good to witness.
Cara Delevingne took to Twitter to do some innocent vaguebooking (vaguetweeting?), saying “On my way to do something incredibly exciting and I am very nervous.” Simple, right? Who could possibly have a problem with that? Well, a lot of people, apparently. Take for instance, this awful person who decided this would be the perfect time to try to tear her down for her decision to pursue a career in modeling and acting.
@Caradelevingne hopefully an interview for a real job. Your looks will fade, Cara. You can’t cash in on your eyebrows forever.
— BradTheLadLong (@BradTheLadLong) January 7, 2017
Rather than just ignoring him and going on with her day (no one would have blamed her!), Delevingne actually took the time to send back a warning.
You will regret saying that. I am actually trying to do something good. This has nothing to do with my ‘looks’ https://t.co/93LTs3aKsB
— Cara Delevingne (@Caradelevingne) January 7, 2017
But of course that didn’t stop him. The two went back and forth for a few minutes before Brad became defensive at Delevingne’s lack of appreciation for his “advice.”
@Caradelevingne Stop being rude, Cara. I am just giving you career advice to help you succeed. Maybe listen to it. Might get you somewhere
— BradTheLadLong (@BradTheLadLong) January 7, 2017
The term “mansplaining” often gets a kneejerk defensive reaction from people who think that it’s defined as anything a man says or explains. It’s not. Mansplaining is exactly this, what this guy is doing. It’s offering advice to someone that never asked for it, on a subject that he knows far less than her about to begin with. It’s insulting, and belittling, and it almost always comes with a total lack of authority or expertise. What is it that makes people like this guy think anyone at all wants their unsolicited advice, let alone insulting ones like this?
@Caradelevingne Do you not know who I am? I’ve had a very successful career I think I know what I’m talking about
— BradTheLadLong (@BradTheLadLong) January 7, 2017
While I would guess that his chosen line of work is Professional Troll, his Twitter bio say he’s a “Media Personality” and “Showbiz Journalist.” So… how is that any more of a “real job” than acting? Sure, as a model and an actress who plays roles that often have romantic or sexual appeal, her looks are important to much of her work. But because she is young and beautiful, people like this man feel comfortable in assuming her looks are her job, rather than one element of herself that she chooses to utilize. (Not that those kinds of people know how to separate a woman’s looks from her personhood, no matter how little appearance may play into their work. Any woman that expresses opinions or does pretty much anything on camera inevitably has her looks criticized, often over her actual thoughts or talents.)
Oh, and not that it should even matter—since no one should have to justify their existence to trolls like this, and if Cara wants to be an actress and a model, she doesn’t have to prove her worth to some entitled stranger who doesn’t find that respectable—but that warning she gave that Brad would “regret saying that”? She was right. That “incredibly exciting” project she was talking about turned out to be working with the U.N.’s refugee agency in Uganda.
We’re in Uganda with @GirlUp Champion @Caradelevingne and UNHCR! Follow our trip all week at #WithRefugees to go inside refugee settlements. pic.twitter.com/9xE4gFjsne
— Girl Up (@GirlUp) January 8, 2017
On education challenges & future aspirations – @GirlUp champion @Caradelevingne speaking with South Sudan @Refugees in Uganda.#WithRefugees pic.twitter.com/92ksadpvqN
— Khaled Kabbara (@khaled_kabbara) January 10, 2017
(via HuffPo, image via Shutterstock)
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