The so-called “make rape legal” events planned by controversial men’s rights activist Roosh V have been canceled amid a worldwide backlash.
The internet-famous pickup artist known as Daryush “Roosh V” Valizadeh had announced the events, which were supposed to take place on Saturday across 43 different countries. The so-called “tribal meetings” were organized through the Return of Kings website, a haven for men’s rights activists and anti-feminists.
Roosh V told other like-minded men to “come out of the shadows and not have to hide behind a computer screen for fear of retaliation.” But the “make rape legal” events were also shrouded in secrecy, with Roosh V telling participants to go to a public area where the meetings were being held and ask, “Do you know where I can find a pet shop?”
“Supporters of anti-woman group Return of Kings to meet in Sydney” https://t.co/wJBc9Dlazu Look at the pic of me they used.. I’m dying????????????
— Roosh (@rooshv) February 1, 2016
The events were billed as an effort to “make rape legal” across the globe, citing a 2015 article from Roosh V in which he proposed making rape legal in private homes. Roosh V claimed that the story was satirical, and that the events scheduled this week were just a way for like-minded men’s rights activists to meet and discuss issues.
I can tattoo “It was satire!” on my head but the anger wouldn’t be one decibel softer. The masses think what the media tells them to think.
— Roosh (@rooshv) February 3, 2016
“The media in Canada, Iceland, and the United Kingdom have also put out defamatory reports about the meetup that falsely claim it’s a “rape” gathering where we will strategize on how to rape women,” he wrote on Return of Kings . “ Snopes has debunked their lies , but the media continues to maliciously distort the meetups’ legal and social intent.”
The cancellation of the so-called “make rape legal” events came as a sharp change from the initial announcement, when Roosh V vowed not to let critics bring down the event.
On RooshV , he wrote the following.
“I have created a private Central Command for meetup hosts and other trusted insiders to device protocols that allow all meetups on Saturday to proceed as planned. I will publish protocols for meetup attendees here by Thursday. Not a single meetup will be cancelled. We will not be intimidated by the actions of the lying media and leftist political establishment. If you are a host, check your email for further information.”
But this week Return of Kings posted another message, noting that the so-called “make rape legal” events had been canceled due to security concerns.
“I can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend on February 6, especially since most of the meetups can not be made private in time. While I can’t stop men who want to continue meeting in private groups, there will be no official Return Of Kings meetups. The listing page has been scrubbed of all locations. I apologize to all the supporters who are let down by my decision.”
There had been some specific threats against the events, which Roosh V shared on Twitter.
Being a “victim” allows you to assault men you don’t know with baseball bats pic.twitter.com/L8MZl7efyA
— Roosh (@rooshv) February 3, 2016
But amid the backlash and questions of whether this announcement was also satire, Roosh V also assured that the controversial “make rape legal” meetups were indeed real — only they had nothing to do with making rape legal.
[Image via YouTube]