Brock Turner was released today. He arrived home to a 55-gallon drum of Passion Lubes lubricant from Mike Kulich, the PR person for the (seriously problematic) porn website xhamster. Kulich tweeted that he was sending Turner “Butt Lube.”
Last night, on (problematic) local radio station DC101, I heard a brief interview with Kulich about his reasoning for sending Turner the drum. Unfortunately, I could not find a recording or transcript of the interview. In it, Kulich and the DJ insinuated that after his time in prison, Turner will have wished he had lube. Thus, the “gift” is meant to humiliate Turner.
Let me be clear: I am not defending Turner or his actions in any form. What I am saying is that rape is not a matter to be joked about. Prison rape is still rape. One rape does not deserve another. No one deserves to be raped, ever.
We need to stop proliferating this facet of rape culture. We need to stop telling rape jokes. We need to stop supporting those who do.
