The Bravo reality star shared on her personal blog that “the idea of anyone being sexually assaulted horrifies me. The fact that I’ve upset women who have been sexually assaulted horrifies me. And for that I am truly, truly sorry.”
“My intentions with this latest episode got lost with some of the comments I made that were insensitive and thoughtless,” she continued. “Before I explain my intent, I want to WHOLLY apologize for the flippant remarks where I said that no one could make me go down on someone, where I said it is easy to say no, and where I said it’s easy to not go to someone’s hotel room alone. I don’t know what each individual woman was being put through in each instance. That was inexcusable and reckless of me.”
“I’ve read countless emails from you where you’ve shared your stories with me. Some of your stories have shown me just how sorry I am for lumping sexual assault victims into one category and making those ignorant remarks. Other stories have made me realize that there still is a dialogue that people are having privately, a dialogue that we might not be ready for publicly,” she added.
Schroeder explained why she decided to speak on this sensitive issue on her podcast. “The whole purpose of the episode was to bring attention to real victims of sexual assault,” she said. “While we all have a different level of what we deem assault, a story about a man touching a woman’s backside isn’t the same as being sexually raped. And I have felt like these stories have taken away from the women who have truly been violated.”
Schroeder said she decided to record her now-deleted podcast episode after reading “about men who were fired within hours of one allegation.”
“This doesn’t just affect the men, it trickles down to, not only their families, but also their colleagues. Movie and television shows that are now being canceled are putting artists and people out of work. What about the screenwriter of the show? Or the set director? Or the sound technicians? All because of one uninvestigated allegation,” she said.
“I was never trying to hurt anyone. I was trying to express my opinion and start a dialogue that I think may have come too soon,” she added. “I’ve now realized just how big this issue is and it’s something I can’t even begin to tackle. When the dialogue becomes acceptable, I hope to be a part of it.”
Schroeder first apologized for her controversial comments on Saturday when she posted a screenshot from her iPhone Notes app on Twitter which read: “My podcast is an outlet for me to share my unfiltered opinion with my listeners; but on my latest episode I crossed a line. It was irresponsible for me to make generalized statements about a very serious topic, such as sexual harassment, as it is not my place to speak out anyone else’s experiences.”
— Stassi Schroeder (@stassi) November 25, 2017
“I apologize and will continue to speak my mind on my podcast, but will put more thought behind my dialogue moving forward,” she continued, adding in a separate tweet that “these 24 hours have been sobering.”
The backlash began after several people on Twitter spoke out against Schroeder, saying she had allegedly made comments on her podcast Straight Up with Stassi criticizing those who have accused men of assault or harassment, reports the publication.
Schroeder has since deleted the episode titled “Are we on a male witch hunt?” which included her friend Jennifer Hoffner, co-founder of the lifestyle and beauty blog Pucker & Pout.
Schroeder previously addressed the comments in a now-deleted tweet responding to someone who had criticized her.
“Hold up. There is ZERO bashing, & I repeat myself 3726 times how I feel the whole media frenzy has taken away from the victims who were truly assaulted. You may be misinterpreting my point, because we had the best intentions w/ this episode,” she wrote.
She followed that comment up hours later with a second tweet, writing: “About 5 ppl heard this podcast & everyone else read ONE quote without the backstory or context of a TWO hours episode.”
About 5 ppl heard this podcast & everyone else read ONE quote without the backstory or context of a TWO hour episode. pic.twitter.com/23EMPZpcMU— Stassi Schroeder (@stassi) November 25, 2017
One of the first advertisers to pull their support was Rent the Runway, an online service that provides designer dress and accessory rentals.
The fashion rental company responded on Twitter, writing, “We’re shocked by @stassi’s comments re the #metoo campaign. It goes against everything RTR stands for as a company and has publicly advocated. Our 1st ads were slated to run on Mon but effective immediately we’ve terminated our relationship with her podcast.”
Picture frame company Framebridge also responded on Twitter, writing,: "In no way do @stassi's comments about the #metoo campaign reflect our beliefs. We are ending our relationship with the Straight Up with Stassi Podcast effective immediately. We will always stand by brave women sharing their stories."
Both companies have ended their business relationship with Schroeder.
Photo Credit: Bravo
The fashion rental company responded on Twitter, writing, “We’re shocked by @stassi’s comments re the #metoo campaign. It goes against everything RTR stands for as a company and has publicly advocated. Our 1st ads were slated to run on Mon but effective immediately we’ve terminated our relationship with her podcast.”
We’re shocked by @stassi's comments re the #metoo campaign. It goes against everything RTR stands for as a company and has publicly advocated. Our 1st ads were slated to run on Mon but effective immediately we’ve terminated our relationship with her podcast.— Rent the Runway (@RenttheRunway) November 24, 2017
Picture frame company Framebridge also responded on Twitter, writing,: "In no way do @stassi's comments about the #metoo campaign reflect our beliefs. We are ending our relationship with the Straight Up with Stassi Podcast effective immediately. We will always stand by brave women sharing their stories."
In no way do @stassi's comments about the #metoo campaign reflect our beliefs. We are ending our relationship with the Straight Up with Stassi Podcast effective immediately. We will always stand by brave women sharing their stories.— Framebridge (@framebridge) November 25, 2017
Both companies have ended their business relationship with Schroeder.
Photo Credit: Bravo
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