Jessani And Omah Lay Versus The World
A week ago, we witnessed a woman named Jessani rush with excitement on stage to dance with Omah Lay at his concert in London. From the video, we can see she’s so excited to dance with him that all regard for the man she came with is suddenly non-existent. We’ve seen the usual stage performances when artists bring up women to serenade them. Usher and Keke Palmer caused a similar uproar when he serenaded her during his Vegas residency. However, this performance differed in the sense that Jessani and Omah Lay gave a sensual performance so good that it almost appeared to be rehearsed or a PR stunt. All I can say is she was definitely ready for her moment.
This viral video has brought out mixed emotions from people and a crusade for the unnamed ex-boyfriend of Jessani. Kai Cenat gave $20,000 and hosted a speed dating session for him where he ended up selecting a new girlfriend. Now, he’s posted a video teasing a possible brand deal and dissing Jessani’s apology video. Mind you, this is all in the course of a week that this has been unraveling and I must ask why as a society has this captured the minds of people for so long?
There’s a hyperfixation on witnessing the downfall of Jessani and it’s been disappointing to watch. Over the week, Jessani has released two videos explaining her side and mentioning how she’s apologized and wants to move on but somehow it has increased the trolls and bullying. Yes, she went too far with the dance but does she really deserve social suicide? There’s been attacks on her looks and different curses being sent to her but why is it to this extent? I understand trolling her the day of the event but for it to go on for this long seems like harassment.
This occurrence brings out a deeper theme of hatred and harshness that the world has towards women when they make mistakes. For starters, why are her looks being discussed when it comes to what she did on stage. The comments about her looks insinuated that she was not pretty enough to do that to her boyfriend. Does desirability have a role to play in whether she can dance on stage? Does this mean if she was pretty enough, she could dance on stage and get her boyfriend back?
Another thing to note is that in all this, the ex-boyfriend’s identity has been protected. There’s been no mention of who he is or what he does. Meanwhile, Jessani’s haters have gone to post her social media pages and reveal her name which probably prompted her to release the apology video.
We’ve seen a history of women having to work overtime to defend their name but men that do the same thing get less judgment. Women are traumatized daily and no one is offering men up on a platter to date them and give them money for their troubles. Instead, it’s the same ol’ nitpicking on why she ended up in that situation. A woman can be a hoe for life based on her mistakes and seen as damaged goods while a man can have that same history and still get the best. It’s really a man’s world and women are just existing in it. Tyler Perry movies have shown us enough of this.
Ultimately, a situation like this shouldn’t have been dragged out online. Both of them should’ve sorted it out in private and left it as that. However, we live in a world where clout is a drug and everyone wants to cash out.