T.I. faced a lot of backlash when he said he took his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah Harris to the gynecologist to "check her hymen." While he has since appeared on Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk to further explain the situation and apologize for his comments, two New York-based politicians have introduced new legislation that would make the controversial "virginity examinations" a felony.
As Page Six reports, state senator Roxanne Persaud and assemblywoman Michaelle Solages have called the procedure both abusive and unscientific. "These examinations are not only a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights, but in cases of rape, can cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatization and re-victimization," wrote the two in the memo for the bill.
If the legislation were to go into effect, it would mean any doctors conducting the procedure would face professional misconduct penalties and a sexual abuse charge in the first degree felony. "It's misogynistic, it's appalling," Solages explained. "I was horrified to see this was happening. If a celebrity can impose his power to ensure his 18-year-old daughter gets checked, imagine what can be done in households across New York state?" Both the United Nations and World Health Organization has already called to prohibit the exams world-wide.
In his interview with Jada Pinkett-Smith, T.I. explained that he was talking about the situation in a "very joking matter."
