Foota Hype was placed on the back foot on Friday after some Dancehall fans lambasted him for harshly criticizing the men who had participated in the ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ march at the University of the West Indies (UWI), last week.
The march which was spearheaded by the UWI’s Institute of Gender and Development Studies and actor Owen ‘Blakka’ Ellis, saw more than 50 men of varying ages turning out at the University’s Ring Road in stilettos, wedges, and other female shoes, in a symbolic move to show solidarity with women to decry rape, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence.
Responding to an article in the Jamaica Star, which was posted on the tabloid’s Instagram page, Foota declared that the wearing of female footwear by the men on campus was a guise to promote LGBT lifestyles. “Dem can’t trick; a battyman dem. Mi nuh affi do that fi show say mi against violence towards females. Mind game dem a play,” the selector posted.
But the Cassava Piece native was in for a rude awakening as fans rained blows of accusations at him, claiming he was a woman beater. The first comment that knocked him off balance was from mhz_taniece. “Foota Hype, moove from yah suh bout against violence to woman! Afta yuh use to beat Ishawna suh!” she declared, to which Foota replied: ‘mhz_taniece me and her use to fight every minute big difference.”
The selector was again knocked off balance when another woman posted: “Foota Hype didn’t you beat your ex? You wouldn’t have a clue would you?” This question evoked a seemingly contrite response from the selector, who was at pains to explain that he was not a woman beater. “Mi never beat her; we fight everyday,” he responded.
According to the organizers, the three main goals of the march were to raise awareness, generate funding to support initiatives to help female victims, and to drive dialogue about gender-based violence. However, there were other persons who expressed support for Foota’s stance claiming that the wearing of heels made no sense, and engaging in community outreach activities would have been more effective in meeting the three goals.
“Foota Hype, lol them take people for fool. How man walking high heel ladies shoe for miles going to bring awareness to violence against women, when they could easily reach out to communities via meetings or social programs to get their message across more accurately to man,” one follower said.
Another man contended that the wearing of anti-violence memorabilia would have been the most appropriate way to how solidarity. “Foota Hype, same ting mi deh yah say. U no haffi do that to protest violence against woman; plenty of other ways wristbands t-shirt etc.” the man said.
