Last week when I hit "send" on our announcement that we'd been sued, I almost threw up. I was scared of what you'd all think. I was worried about public retaliation. I was nervous no one would care.
For seven months, we'd silently been dealing with lawsuits brought by a group of men who claimed we discriminated against them. They argued that they were at a disadvantage because they couldn't attend our events.
The reality is that they're trying to silence us, and stop us from doing this important work towards gender equality. They even admitted as much:
“He [the plaintiff] wanted to see if the supposedly pro-diversity Ladies Get Paid would actually have the audacity or stupidity—some people in the progressive state of California, ground zero for the #MeToo movement regarding sex discrimination in the year 2017, might say both—to kick men out of this event based solely on their sex,” Rava said in an email.
In just over a week, we raised more than $70k (from 1,338 backers!), well on our way to our goal of $100k. It isn't just the money that's blown us away, it's all of your emails, tweets, and FB posts. Your support has been incredible.
Please continue to raise your voices (and your dollars!) to show that when we're told to be silent, we only get louder.
Now that we can speak up, damn, it feels good.
<3 Claire & Team LGP
PODCAST:
To give more clarity into what happened to us, we recorded a special podcast series dedicated to the lawsuit. Give it a listen and share!
LADIES GET PRESS:
Check us out in the news!
This group says they are trying to close the gender pay gap. Then they got sued. Here’s why. Washington Post
#MenToo: Are guys the real victims of sexism? Well, no — but some want to claim it anyway Salon
Ladies Get Paid…and Some Men Don’t Like It—Female-Led Organization Fights Back Against “Discrimination” Lawsuit The Mary Sue
This woman held events to empower women—and men sued for discrimination New York Post
Men Cry Discrimination in Legal Attack on Women’s Organizations Bloomberg
Men’s Rights Activists Newest Target: Universities Daily Beast
LADIES GET TROLLED:
Last but certainly not least, a sampling of the trollling we received week 1. Look ma, we made it!
"She has man - hater written all over that hard core face........"
- Homer Price
"Ha! The pump is now on the other foot, eh beaches?"
- Hugh Janus
"A small part of me wants to donate 78¢ and tell them to enjoy their dollar."
- Glok0113
"Bleed the feminists dry."
- lostapwbm
We love y'all, and thank you for supporting Ladies Get Paid! <3