If you’re a user of the internet, you will definitely notice that CeeLo Green is, unfortunately, making news, and is a trending meme. All because he attended the Grammy‘s wearing a “weird” gold outfit and full body make-up. I understand this is an easy target for a meme, and that Green is being made fun of rather than endorsed, but it feels as though his sordid past is being looked over.

—-This article contains mention of rape and sexual assault—-

It is of the opinion of the author that the outfit was probably some kind of publicity stunt to rekindle his failing career, which faltered following his drug charge and controversial tweets and to divert attention from said incident. And it’s working. Every time I browse the internet CeeLo Green is inescapable, and there is never any mention of his behaviour. Something as meaningless as an unusual outfit doesn’t deserve the kind of attention it’s getting. If you must make a meme, don’t forget that CeeLo Green is a rape apologist. Abusers need to be held accountable.

I’m gonna start off with a somewhat related note: how about instead of making CeeLo Green memes or reporting on what he’s wearing, report on something worthwhile. There are bigger things in the world to report about than a disgraced performer’s outfit choice, like the Victorian government’s awesome choice to fund LISTEN & SLAM’s sexual assault prevention task force.


Haven’t heard about Green‘s drug and sexual assault charges or his tweets perpetuating victim-blaming and showing him to be a rape apologist? You wouldn’t be the only one.

For background:

NBC reported that Green‘s victim told LA police that whilst the two were on a date, Green slipped ecstasy into the victims drink, who later woke up naked in a hotel room with the accused. The victim had no memory of the evening, or how she came to be naked in the room with Green. Ultimately, insufficient evidence of the assault was found, but Green did plead no contest to drugging the victim. The NY Daily News reported that Green was sentenced “to three years of probation and 360 hours of community service for the felony conviction.”

Although he was found not guilty, his comments on Twitter around the time of the incident paint an ugly picture of a man with extremely skewed views on consent. As you can see, Green, at least at that time, believed that nonconsensual intercourse is not rape if the person is unconscious. It’s the perpetuation of these beliefs that lead to instances like the infamous Brock Turner case in which Turner raped an unconscious victim and only served 3 months of jail time. Green eventually apologised for his comments and briefly deleted his Twitter account. The wording of his apology doesn’t sit comfortably at all. Claiming that the comments were “not what [he] believe[s]” feels like an extreme cop-out. Why would you make extreme claims about consent and rape before going on to get into heated arguments about the topic with other Twitter users if you didn’t believe in them?

In an interview with Steve Harvey in 2015, Green claimed that the whole situation was “unfortunate and inconvenient” for himself and his victim. Although appearing apologetic, he levelled his feelings with that of his victim rather than putting the feelings of the victim above his own. Personally, I believe that getting charged for a drug and sexual assault charge is far less “unfortunate and inconvenient” than being drugged and sexually assaulted.

What’s further interesting about all of this, is that when Green was asked by US entertainment source TMZ about the Grammys, he responded: “I don’t know bro, I wasn’t there.” Dubbing the golden character as “Gnarly Davidson,” Green further commented: “I’ve been hearing about the guy. He’s cool. Keep it up Gnarly! I’m becoming a fan.” I can think of no other purpose from that claim other than to rebrand or recreate his musical career so as to make sales. Or maybe he’s just craving attention after his career faltered for being a rape apologist.

Not limiting his sad stunts to odd outfit choices, Green reportedly reworked “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield into “Jay-Z’s Girl” dedicated to an uncomfortable obsession with Beyoncé – a happily married woman with a child, and with two more on the way. I won’t go into detail about the video in this piece, but it’s worth noting that Green continues to exhibit questionable attitudes towards women. I haven’t seen the video myself (Green doesn’t deserve the views), but, personally, find it unwarranted and inappropriate. Others are finding it humorous. The memes continue.

In conclusion:

  • Don’t give attention to awful people who don’t deserve it.
  • Hold abusers accountable.
  • Don’t victim blame.