A Michigan mother is speaking out after her social media post on Taylor Swift was shared without thanking her.
“This is literally about women deserving to be heard, whether that’s Taylor Swift being able to show up to a football game, or it’s me being able to share my honest opinions about how we can do better for our kids and how women deserve respect and to be appreciated for the good things they do.”It seemed so odd that a man took that role and received so much credit for it.”
When LeVeck, an entrepreneur and a mother of two, saw her social media feeds fill up recently with critical posts about the pop star receiving attention while attending NFL games to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, she decided to share a message with others, particularly parents.
LeVeck, a mother of a 5-year-old daughter and a 9-month-old son, expressed her opinion in a Facebook post on January 30. Her post coincided with the backlash Swift was receiving, with some complaining she was getting unnecessary airtime during NFL game broadcasts. The argument has since been addressed, with The New York Times reporting Swift appears on screen for less than 25 seconds on average during a typical three-hour NFL game.
“I’m SO disappointed in so many of you who think that ‘not being a fan’ of someone means you’re entitled to s— all over them,” LeVeck wrote at one point.
“Your kids, nieces, and nephews are watching you run your mouth. And they are witnessing the world despise a woman who accomplishes so much good simply because she is in their line of sight. “Do better,” she added.
Then, a complete stranger — a male — stole LeVeck’s post, edited it, and reposted it. His post has gone viral.
LeVeck said she discovered out after others online, including her friends, began forwarding her the other message and pointing out that it was nearly identical but with minor modifications, and that it was shared without mentioning her. She told “GMA” she was “shocked” by how much attention the post was receiving and felt obliged to speak out once more.
“It was just really frustrating because it’s like, why would my words and it coming from a woman not be as powerful as random man in a suit sharing it?” she told me.
She said, “It’s nothing against him. I simply wish it wasn’t that way. And I hope that people would start to examine their hidden biases.”
LeVeck claimed she later contacted the man who re-shared her remark, and he updated his post to make it obvious she wrote the initial comment.
Following the backlash to her Facebook post, LeVeck moved to TikTok to criticize the repost and how her words were initially changed without her consent. She stated that by expressing her views, she intends to demonstrate that women and girls should receive the recognition they deserve.
“[Children] will learn that women must take up less space and be less, and that they cannot fight for what they believe in or show up in large numbers without being torn apart simply for being. So I just wanted to help folks make the conscious choice to to be better because our kids deserve that,” she said.
LeVeck also hopes that the experience may prompt others to think twice before posting on social media without hesitation.
“It’s OK to get inspiration from someone else’s thoughts but you should not steal them as your own,” she went on to say. “I want him and everyone to just do a little bit better when it comes to giving women recognition for the work that they do.”