![]() There's a lot of people doing regretful stuff in that episode, and he's flawed. She's saying really problematic stuff to him that he's trying to ignore just to get that monkey off his shoulder, in a way that people sometimes do in hookups. That's what leads him into this situation with this woman who's got a lot of f***ed-up politics. ![]() What resonated with you most about Kwame's encounter with Nilufer?Įssiedu: Kwame's in survival mode: There's been so many instances of him being disregarded or invalidated, and he's got a real urge to do whatever he can to take control. Q: Especially now with dating apps, it can be so easy to get wrapped up in what you want out of a hookup, without really considering the other person's emotions or experience. It says something about those institutions at large and who they feel is worthy of attention. If you compare Arabella's experience reporting her assault with Kwame's experience reporting his, there's quite a big gap. So as a Black man, when you come in as a victim looking for help, especially as a Black queer man, it seems like that's something that doesn't really compute in the eyes of these institutions, and therefore, you're brushed aside. But that scene is also looking at, what does it mean to be a Black man coming into a police station? Historically, we know that Black men are seen as perpetrators or aggressors they're seen as criminals in those kind of spaces. Paapa Essiedu: I think it's something particularly about Black queer men, and how their assault is statistically underreported and underacted on. What do you think that scene says about how male sexual assault victims can struggle to come forward? Question: It's heartbreaking watching Kwame try to report his rape to police, only to have them cast doubt on his experience. ![]() Women of the Century: Tarana Burke on the power of empathy, the building block of the Me Too movement He's 'a monster': 'On the Record' gives first-hand accounts of Russell Simmons rape claims USA TODAY talked to Essiedu about Kwame's arc and why this show is so necessary. It's a messy but vital conversation that no other project of the #MeToo era has so far tackled as comprehensively or unflinchingly as "I May Destroy You." When Nilufer makes flippant homophobic remarks afterward, Kwame reveals that he's gay, and she resentfully throws him out.Īrabella struggles to sympathize with Kwame, and challenges him for having sex with someone under false pretenses. At the same time, she's forced to confront her own imperfect views of what constitutes consent. The assault occurs right after they had consensual sex, which adds to his confusion about what happened. Grappling with trauma, Kwame decides to meet and have sex with a white woman, Nilufer (Pearl Chanda), who fetishizes his Blackness. ![]() Kwame, a queer Black man, is also raped in an early episode, by a man he met on a hookup app. ![]()
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