STEVE HARVEY TO SONS: IT’S NOT RIGHT TO HIT A WOMAN
In an exclusive interview with Essence.com, comedian, actor, philanthropist, entrepreneur and radio personality Steve Harvey gives his two cents on the highly publicized altercation between singers Rihanna and Chris Brown. The father of seven(from (L) to (R): Jason, 16, Lori, 11, twins Brandi and Karli, 26, Steve 17, Wynton, 10, and Morgan, 21) says, “First to Chris, any young man or my sons, I’d say there is no reason to ever put your hands on a woman. Unless you’re defending yourself because your life is in jeopardy—like a guy who called my show and told me his girl stabbed him, then okay, I believe you have a right to defend yourself if you’re under attack that could possibly be fatal.”
ESSENCE.COM: Court documents allege Rihanna began hitting Chris Brown first while he was driving, so some might argue that his life was in jeopardy and he could have lost control of the car. Do you think he had a right to defend himself if this is indeed true?
HARVEY: It’s not right for a woman to ever put her hands on a man either, because that way she doesn’t provoke him. But I tell my daughters all the time,“Everybody don’t have a daddy like me.” The first day I meet any young man or boy who dates one of my three [older] daughters (my twins are 26 and I have one who attends Spelman who is 21) I tell them: “You can talk to my daughter, yell at her, break up with her, have a falling out with her, tell her you never want to see her again, but if you ever put your hands on her I’m putting my hands on you and you’re not going to win and you better be looking over your shoulder because there’s not a place in this g*#damn country where you could hide. I really don’t understand how Rihanna’s father can respond the way he has, because if you touch one of my daughters, I’m whooping your a–, period.
ESSENCE.COM: Why do you feel so strongly about this?
HARVEY: I have been kicked and slapped by a woman, but I just walked away. I am 52 years old and I have never hit a woman, and it has never occurred to me to hit a woman—ever. Neither my father nor any of my brothers have ever hit a woman. I was raised by men and you just don’t do that, and I teach my sons the same: If a woman hits you, walk away.
ESSENCE.COM: What else do you tell your sons?
HARVEY: [I tell them] what happens is, if a man retaliates against a woman, it will be an unfair fight. As men, we have this thing called testosterone and when that rises up in a man and mixes with adrenaline, man, it’s a kind of strength and speed that no woman can fathom. Women don’t even know what they’ve tapped into and it’s a level of ferociousness that is unmatched. A fight between a man and a woman is an uneven match—there’s no contest, so again, fellas need to walk away.
7 Comments to “STEVE HARVEY TO SONS: IT’S NOT RIGHT TO HIT A WOMAN”
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I know everyone is “over” the Chris Brown-Rihanna situation and yes we should grant these individuals the privacy that they deserve, approaching this situation with great sensitivity and lack of judgment. However, the focus should be shifted to what is most important… educating our young men and young men that abuse is not glamorous, it is not tolerant, it is not a rite of passage and it is not love. It worries me that abuse has started to occur in people as young as teenagers! I do not recall ever having a serious boyfriend until college, whom I later married.
Children imitate what they see. So it starts at home, and talking to your children like Steve does. I speak to my four year old daily about what it means to be violated and how to stand up for yourself.
Today’s Tyra Show, 106 & Park and Oprah are dedicated to domestic violence… tune in, if you can.
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*correction:* young men and young women!
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If it is true and Rhianna started hitting Chriis, He should have stopped the car and walked away, But to stop the car and beat her the way the picture showed is a no no. And Steve Harvey, needs to make sure he tell his sons no to cheat on women either, espically if they are your wife.
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Steve Harvey “It’s not right to hit a woman”. But it is ok to treat them like sh*t. Seems he crawls into any opening he can find. This is the last person I want to hear say anything regarding women. Next.
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Very good advice, it could not have been word any other way
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If he would have slapped her face after she hit him….alright….if he slapped her once…but to hit and abuse her the way he did?….I doubt that there was reason for him to believe he would die
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A lot of these stars were (and still after they saw the picture) talking about if a woman puts her hand on you first blah blah; they’re in a dark place; pray for him, etc. etc.
Im’mma just keep it real..that boy gave her a beat down. Yeah, a woman should never hit a man. But there are some double standards that exist for a reason. Because for all of Rihanna’s ‘hits’ which Im sure Chris will use as his defense, it’s pretty obvious he didn’t incur any bruising while she looked like the dude fought her mercilessly. That’s freakin abuse and I dont tolerate it.
Puffy, Will Smith, Magic, and all the rest can say what they want about how they won’t judge. But like Steve, Im gonna tell the children I have influence over the truth..dont EVER, EVER stay with a man who beats you. Obviously women shouldn’t be violent either, but what most people are ignoring is that most abusers don’t need to be ‘provoked’. All you need to do is say the wrong word, knock him in the chest wrong way, or have the wrong outfit on and you get a beatdown. When one of you has the physical advantage in a relationship, that comes with a certain responsibility to not misuse your strength.
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