Australian hip hop luminary and champion of the DIY cause has let down 50% of his massive following this week, by taking to Instagram to share his views on gender equality which were, unfortunately, outdated, confused and above all, offensive to women.
On Instagram, where Kerser enjoys 150,000 followers, the emcee commented on a post by Instagram account The NRL Roast of Belinda Sharpe, honoured as “the first female referee to officiate a first grade game.”
A milestone for Australian culture, NRL, and gender equality however Kerser didn’t agree and rather than just scrolling on, he shared his thoughts on the topic…
Beginning his post with the tired “Friend argument” by listing the roles women play in relation to his life – wife, daughter, manager – to prove that he isn’t in fact sexist, Kerser then adds a “But…”
And, well, here we go…
“Fuckin hell there’s some shit woman (sic) just shouldn’t do .. a male should be out there calling the shots lets be real.” Not content with shutting down Sharpe’s incredible moment, Kerser then goes onto tell Sharpe where she should go: “give her time to shine at next years (sic) female origin or something.”
“Soon we (sic) gonna have bitches in the second row,” again challenging his own stance that he isn’t sexist by referring to women as a whole as ‘bitches’.
Of course, the post was met with support but these types of low-hanging, ice cold takes often do with people gravitating towards them for safety in numbers. However, the condemnation has been swift and plenty.
In a follow up comment, Kerser, who isn’t known to back down from a tiff, doubled down adding that his girlfriend was laughing at how “triggered” other commenters were by his initial remarks, once again learning into the aforementioned tired “Friend argument.”
Kerser, who’s real name is Scott Barrow, has enjoyed unprecedented success as an independent Australian rapper. Throughout his career, five of his albums have debuted in the ARIA Top 10, including Lifestyle which was released earlier this year.
It would be fantastic if Kerser used these dizzying heights of success to empower women, including his daughter, wife and manager, by supporting the prevailing wisdom of 2019; that women and girls can do or be whatever they damn well want.
It’s an important time to remind Kerser that in Australia, on average one women is killed a week by a current or former partner. It’s comments like his that embolden sexist views and help support the culture that leads to this alarming statistic.
Be better…Lift as you rise.
