made this thread when I was 17! happy to see it doing numbers today as the message still stands. though it’s bittersweet as it comes with the knowledge that we’ve lost so many of our sisters since then. please, ffs, love us while we are STILL HERE!
Let all of this be a testament to the urgency surrounding awareness for the merciless killings of trans people, especially trans women of color. We will not be forgotten. We will not let our deaths be more memorable than our lives. You will not silence us anymore.
The theory of Eddie Murphy being complicit has only ever been mentioned on small Internet forums. This man still remains successful while trans women of color remain subject to violence, vitriol, and murder.
Shamilar Seuli was a Somoan born trans woman who won Miss Island Queen in 1993. She later relocated to Los Angeles to become a fashion designer. When that didn’t work out, she resorted to being a sex worker on Santa Monica Boulevard
Police hypothesized that she fell from the fifth story of her building after trying to use her robe as a rope swing, hanging the roof, into an open window. Of course, nobody cared enough to question the absurdity of this.
Tenika was dropped for her modeling agency when the news broke the she was trans. This is very similar to what happened with Tracey Africa Norman, ballroom legend. They’re both still alive.
Beyond the boss that she was, Shalimar capitalized off of her infamy. She began working as a house madame for a nightclub called, 7969, where she performed BDSM shows with live snakes. Charlie Sheen and Demi Moore were said to have attended a few.
After some time working the streets, LAPD knew her by name. They were watching her one fateful night when she entered the tinted SUV of, you guessed it, Eddie Murphy.
At this time, Murphy was a very successful actor and comedian with films that are viewed as classics in the Black community. In recent years, he’s gotten called out for his jokes being misogynistic, homophobic, and in poor taste (mocking the AIDS virus.)
The story was to be featured in a tell-all book by trans author, Candace Watkins, entitled “In Bed with Eddie Murphy.” The book included stories from other trans sex workers who claimed to have been picked up by Murphy.
On April 22, 1998, Shalimar’s lingerie clad dead body was found on the pavement outside her apartment building. The autopsy revealed the cause of death to be severe head trauma.
This story has drawn comparisons to the 1982 incident when Teddy Pendergrass crashed his Rolls Royce into a tree and was left paralyzed from the chest down.
The reports stressed that he knew her by name, so you could infer that this may have not been the first time he picked her up. Shalimar was arrested for multiple charges of loitering, solicitation, and prostitution.
Baressi also paid off Watkins and her friends $15,000 to remove the book from all sites and stop sharing the stories. They needed the money. Shalimar did not, so she maintained that she was gonna write a book of her own telling of her childhood and relationship with Murphy.
On May 2, 1997, Shalimar was approached by a Toyota Land Cruiser with Murphy in the driver’s seat. The car was immediately pulled over by cops to whom he told, “I was just being a Good samaritan” by “offering Shalimar a ride.”
Due to Shalimar’s rising celebrity from an upcoming erotic film, Murphy hired Hollywood private investigator, Paul Barresi to follow her from the club and eventually blackmail her in hopes of defusing the scandal.
Murphy was considered the pinnacle of a charismatic, witty Black man. He was filming the Nutty Professor in hopes of rebranding towards a more family friendly demo. You can imagine the public’s shock when this scandal broke.
The passenger was Tenika Watson, a trans woman who was working as a model at the time. She claimed there was nothing sexual between them. The media responded the same why they would to Murphy’s case, with mockery and disgust.
anyone who’s asking for clear evidence is in denial of our governments blatant disregard for the humanity of trans people. why would there be evidence? he’s eddie murphy. she was a trans woman with zero visibility not unlike the rest of us who are subject to violence every day.
@_ShamGod
I didn’t realize she had Haitian ancestry or was part Lebanese until that L’Oréal (?) ad that acted like her being a spokeswoman covered all grounds. She only ever claims to be Latina until it’s convenient to mention her blackness (ie: Nina.)
@onlinegirlie
there’s a fine line between prioritizing passing as a means of survival and prioritizing passing bc you think looking cis makes your transness more valid or superior. people don’t understand this. ofc passing is something some of us strive for.
and for what it’s worth, since this threads been posted, I’ve been contacted over the years by various people to take it down. not even if the man himself requested that of me would I do it. his day of reckoning is imminent! 🧐
this thread was intended to paint the picture of what happened in this woman’s life leading up to her death that implicates murphy whether you like it or not. she was preparing to foreground information that could’ve tarnished his image and career.
@grandmathebaby
I understand where you’re coming from, but at the same time, it put a strain on a lot of us who felt genuinely concerned for another one of ours sisters. not to mention it’s already harder enough to have people take our suffering seriously.
@iconickbeauty
I use “people who experience misogyny” all the time. femshaming is an aspect of misogyny but not it’s entirety. and misogyny doesn’t just oppress binary women. the only time I specify “fem” is in reference to fem queer men or trans feminine ppl.
@xismosita
@angelicaross
This is all amazing and true except that not all young kids are cis. I knew that I wasn’t a cis boy since I developed cognitive abilities. The best way is to support as they explore their identity with age, and that isn’t “dangerous”. hope you understand
TRANS MEN ARE MEN
TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN
TRANS NON BINARY PPL ARE VALID
INTERSEX PEOPLE ARE VALID
A PENIS DOES NOT MAKE YOU A MAN
A VAGINA DOES NOT MAKE YOU A WOMAN
MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY ARE INTERNAL
EXPRESSION IS EXTERNAL
YOU ARE YOU
AND THAT IS ENOUGH.
@Mrtbroadway
@IndyaMoore
Trans people are continuously told that we’re obligated to educate others. Instead of asking invasive questions to another human being you should consider googling it. Cis people need to come down from their pedestals and get informed. We don’t exist for them.