Princess Nokia in row over 'public display of sexism' at Cambridge University

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/feb/21/princess-nokia-row-over-sexism-cambridge-university

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Princess Nokia was reportedly involved in a “public display of sexism and misogynoir” at Cambridge University last week.

The New York rapper and R&B artist performed at a charity fashion show at the institution on 15 February, but is said to have left the stage after three songs. A post, written by Richelle George and Jason Okundaye of Cambridge University’s network and forum for women and non-binary people of colour, Fly – or Freedom. Love. You, detailed an incident that the musician was allegedly “left shaken by” and that “will inevitably shape her perception of Cambridge”.

Princess Nokia, whose real name is Destiny Frasqueri, is claimed to have encountered a white male student “who harassed her during her performance” and mouthed “dirty obscenities like, show me your tits,’” reported Fly.

The audience member in question has since denied claims that he had used sexist language: “I was standing in the audience and was told by a fellow audience member that the name of the performer was ‘Abigail’. Given that I was enjoying the performance, I shouted out ‘Let’s go Abigail!’,” he told the Cambridge Student. The report goes on to claim that witnesses saw Frasqueri hit the audience member three times.

.@princessnokia just punched a white guy in the face for disrespecting at a gig in cambridge and walked offstage i am LIVING YES GIRL

The post on Fly, however, described meeting Frasqueri after the event, during which she “soberly expressed that everything had ‘happened so fast’” and that she had a “‘zero tolerance’ stance towards ‘instances of sexism and sexual harassment”.

Princess Nokia regretted that the set had ended abruptly, saying she wanted to “let the women of colour know she was sorry”. The post says that she felt the incident left her in a position “where her safety and comfort were severely compromised”.

According to Fly, there have been many “condemnations” of Princess Nokia’s response to the incident, regarding her allegations made against the audience member. Cambridge University have yet to respond to the Guardian’s request for a comment.

Writers at Fly said that Princess Nokia’s experience was indicative of a wider issue at the university: “The humiliation experienced by Princess Nokia on stage is all too common in the daily experiences of women of colour at Cambridge.” They added that the incident “is emblematic of the routine degradation of women, especially of women of colour, who attempt to operate within spaces dominated by white men – spaces like Cambridge”.