Self-proclaimed feminist man condemns Trump video, is promptly accused of sexual assault

On Friday evening the entire world listened to a 2005 recording of Donald Trump bragging to Access Hollywood‘s Billy Bush about how he would grab women he found attractive “by the pussy” without their consent.

Within hours of the audio’s release, women from across the world began to come forward with their own stories of being sexually assaulted by men in ways similar to the way that Trump described to make the point.

That same evening, Devin Faraci, editor-in-chief of the popular film blog Birth.Movies.Death, added his voice to the chorus of thousands already condemning Trump’s comments and called the Republican nominee a “true ideological monster.” Faraci also went on to take issue with other men speaking up to distance themselves from Trump’s assertion that most men bragged about thinks like grabbing women “by the pussy” in locker rooms all the time.

I’m currently terrified of Trump dropping out and Pence, a true ideological monster, sailing through on being Not Trump/Hillary hate.
— devin faraci (@devincf) October 8, 2016
I am not wild about dudes #notallmen-ing this Trump pussy grabbing tape.
— devin faraci (@devincf) October 9, 2016

While a number of people echoed Faraci’s statements and liked his anti-Trump tweets, one woman in particular was appalled at the performative display of solidarity with women considering that, by her account, Faraci himself had once grabbed her by the vagina against her will.

“Do you remember grabbing me by the pussy and bragging to our friends about it,” she tweeted. “Telling them to smell your fingers?”

@devincf quick question: do you remember grabbing me by the pussy and bragging to our friends about it, telling them to smell your fingers?
— INVISIGOTH (@spacecrone) October 9, 2016

Minutes after the woman’s tweet went live and began to rack up shares, Faraci responded, stating that he didn’t remember having ever grabbed the woman, but that he believed her account of the events, and was begging for her forgiveness.

Undeterred by Faraci’s non-apology, the woman went on to describe how he allegedly forced his hand down her pants, fondled her, and then proudly bragged to other people about having “fingerbanged” her. The decision to speak up about the alleged assault, the woman explained, wasn’t to hurt Faraci, but rather to make it clear that Trump’s mistreatment of women is an all too common phenomenon, even among men who think they are somehow above such things.

“I’ve avoided making that public for over a decade but I guess my rage at trump has uncasked the Gorgon in me,” the woman explained. “It’s not just your Trumps or your Republicans, it’s your friendly neighborhood film critics and twitter feminists.”

The woman went on to elaborate she she chose to publicize the allegations about Faraci out on Twitter specifically for a number of specific reasons—chief among them the fact that he’d opted to voice his opinions about another man assaulting a woman in such a highly-visible, public way.

“I think in this political climate it is no longer time to work on letting things go, being quiet, figuring out how to move on,” she said. “Maybe right now it’s time to cut the bullshit.”

In the wake of the accusations being leveled at him, Faraci has gone on to retweet a handful of anti-Trump memes and share his thoughts on the recently-cancelled Showtime series Penny Dreadful.

 
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