The world cannot help but watch through their fingers, utterly horrified, as the Blac Chyna Rob Kardashian revenge porn saga unfolds.
After appearing in court on Monday, Blac Chyna has won a temporary restraining order against Rob Kardashian. This is a small piece of comforting news in what has been a week of disturbing developments following Kardashian posting revenge porn photos of his former fiancé. Rob himself did not appear at the court hearing but sent lawyer Robert Schapiro in his place who did not contest the restraining order. The hearing ruled that the pair will still have joint custody of their baby, Dream. Kardashian’s lawyer said their 'primary concern was the health and welfare of the baby,' but shouldn’t his concern and remorse also be directed toward Chyna?
Chyna’s thanked the judge for 'granting me this restraining order to protect me.' Her lawyer Lisa Bloom has confirmed the restraining order is a domestic violence one, as revenge porn is considered a form of domestic abuse. For the uninitiated,revenge porn is a problem unique to our messed-up digital age, where an online post could ruin someone’s life. It is defined as ‘revealing or sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the Internet, typically by a former sexual partner, without the consent of the subject and in order to cause them distress or embarrassment’. Kardashian shared intimate photos of Chyna with his nine million followers without her consent with the intention of public humiliation. For committing this criminal offence, which is legally punishable in both England and California, many people would like to see Kardashian face some harder punishment.
How does the restraining order protect Chyna? It restrains Rob from coming near her physically, from cyber bullying, and from posting any photos or videos of her of a personal nature. The terms of the restraining order and the case’s roots in social media demonstrates the new, digital, ugly face of domestic abuse. Chyna’s fears for her well-being stem from being subjected not only to online abuse but physical too. According to court documents, Rob threatened to kill himself with a gun, Chyna claims that on April 8th of this year, Kardashian beat her in from of her four-year-old child, King. She also claimed he ripped the bedroom door off its hinges to continue his attack when she ran to hide.
The pair’s tumultuous relationship, which began in early 2016 and ended in December, has played out in their reality TV show, ‘Rob and Chyna’. The Kardashian family have lived their lives on the screen and are known for drama, but this scandal is far darker than a celebrity spat. The fact that physical abuse, revenge porn and domestic violence are becoming the ‘reality’ of our society is disturbing.
The restraining order will be re-examined at the couple’s next hearing in August.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.