MC Lyte Thinks Her Comments on Flirting in the Workplace Were Taken Out of Context
Predictably, MC Lyte found herself in hot water when she used social media to suggest there was a fine line between flirtation and sexual harassment, and that that line was deteremined by people's level of attraction to the person initiating the behavior.
“Sexual harassment or flirting – probably determined whether she likes him,” she wrote in the caption for an Instagram post. “Some of y’all flirt on Monday to get what you want and then when he/she flirts on Friday and you mad?!”
Now, Lyte's stepping forth to address her comments, which she says were misinterpreted. "My last post was taken out of context. I was talking about flirting in the workspace," begins Lyte, who was married over the summer. "Is it cool, or is it not? I actually met my first boyfriend working at Chi Chi's Mexican restaurant, and I know plenty of people who have met at work, started dating and wound up getting married. So of course sexual harassment is completely unacceptable, but it's very different from flirting. I still believe that the rules of engagement need to be discussed."
At the time of her original post, people took Lyte's comments to be dismissive of systemic sexism in the workplace, which is a topic that has popped back into the national consciousness following the outing of alleged sexual harasser, disgraced Hollywood exec Harvey Weinstein.
In the months following Weinstein's outing, rap mogul Russell Simmons was accused of rape or sexual assault by at least 11 different women. Many of the alleged instances of sexual misconduct took place in the context of the workplace.
Check out Lyte's clarification post for yourself below.
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