Thread by @TaranaBurke

So...I had a little ‘incident’ tonight and I’m gonna his ahead and share it myself.
I spoke at the U of Akron tonight to a wonderful, generous crowd who put up with my hacking cough bc I’m sick.
During Q&A a woman gets up holding a camera phone on me while asking a question +

She starts screaming out the names Bill Clinton’s accusers and says am I afraid that the #metoo movement has become too partisan and why these women weren’t names as Silence Breakers in Time magazine. By now she’s screaming. +

I say...well I guess I know who you voted for...and then I attempt to answer her question but she starts screaming. So I’m saying “be quiet and let me answer your question if you really want an answer...” but she’s still yelling. So I say ‘lady shut up!’ 😒

I regret saying shut up. I really do...but she was ON ONE. And so I say, “don’t come in here asking about Bill Clinton’s accusers being the original silence breakers if you don’t mention Anita Hill! I don’t want to hear it. We’re both yelling now. 😐

She yells some more stuff and I tell the moderator to take her mic and let’s move on. Security escorts her out. I apologize to the audience who then starts clapping for me, but I really feel bad...i hate to lose my cool like that.

Well...I stay about 30-40 mins taking pics and talking to folks and then I leave the building. The woman and her husband are WAITING BY RIDE IN THE PARKING LOT! He runs up to me with a camera and starts yelling “why did you allow my wife to get assaulted!” +

He runs up to the car and I jump in the passenger seat and pull off, but I have to say I was unnerved. Folks are CRAZY out here and although I have had some awful threats, I have had few upclose situations like this.

I’m just sharing 1) to have a public record I guess 2) so if some weird chopped up video comes out you have my side 3) to say I am VERY human. I am trying my best to navigate this newfound visibility with grace and integrity. But I won’t ever respond well to foolishness. #ImsoBX